Players with Maine ties united in Iowa Williams, Hammond now in Single-A

Simon Williams was visibly impressed.

He had just witnessed one of his new teammates hit two home runs in the season-opening game for the Swing of the Quad Cities – the low Single-A minor-league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The former University of Maine outfielder and Portland native had never heard of Derry Levar Hammond before, so he was intrigued enough to check him out on the Internet when he got home later that day.

“I was like ‘Who is this guy?’ so I looked him up and found out he played in Bangor last year,” the 22-year-old Williams recalled. “That was pretty cool. The next day we started talking about all the places we liked in Bangor and Orono.”

For the record, they agreed Pat’s Pizza in Orono was the best eatery around.

Their routes were quite different, but the outfielders from Portland and Tupelo, Miss., both wound up in Davenport, Iowa this spring by way of the Pine Tree State.

Williams’ path was rooted in his productivity as a Black Bears co-captain, four-year starter, and All-America East first-team pick. The two-time high school all-state pick was a 2003 11th-round draft pick by the Cardinals. Last season, he hit .281 with three homers, 20 RBIs and eight stolen bases with rookie league affiliate Johnson City (N.J.).

Hammond, 25, was signed by the Cardinals on April 15, just 24 hours after being released as a free agent from Toronto’s spring training camp in Dunedin, Fla. His spring training invite came about as a result of his 2004 season in the independent Northeast League, when he batted .287 with 23 home runs and 66 RBIs for the Bangor Lumberjacks.

“That definitely was a big reason the Cardinals were interested in me,” Hammond said. “Without independent ball, I don’t know where I’d be … Probably in college somewhere scraping up money for tuition.”

Instead, the 6-foot-2, 200 pound Hammond is battling for playing time on a Swing roster chock full of outfielders including former pitching phenom Rick Ankiel, who is trying to get to the majors as a position player after arm troubles and injuries effectively ended his pitching career.

Hammond made a big first impression in that first game and is second on the team in homers with seven despite playing in a platoon system with three other outfielders. Hammond is hitting .235, but is only one RBI short of the team leader with 27.

“I’m not where I feel I want to be right now. I still have a lot of adjustments to make,” Hammond said. “If I pick it up in the next couple weeks like I was when I first got here, I think I’ll be moving up to Double-A or Triple-A.”

That’s quite a turnabout for a guy who was days away from signing up for another season of independent ball. Hammond, who is now in his sixth season of affiliated ball and eighth season of pro ball overall, was thinking this might be his last season of pro ball after he was released by the Blue Jays.

“That’s what’s so great about independent ball,” he said. “It’s a second chance for guys like me who love the game and have a burning desire to play it.”

Williams is also more than holding his own with a .269 average, four homers, 18 RBIs and six steals. He hit three home runs last week after struggling through a prolonged slump.

“I think a lot of it was getting reps with my hitting and taking a lot of extra BP,” said Williams, who has been working intensively with hitting coach Keith Mitchell. “I was getting into bad habits. It’s really all about your approach.”

The 6-2, 220-pound Williams has committed just one error in 43 games for the Swing, who occupy third place in the Midwest League’s western division.

“I think the organization likes me a lot,” Williams said. “This is awesome. The team chemistry is great and the organization is fantastic.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net.