CHS Field gets rave reviews as North All-Stars, with help from Saints, win game

The outcome was not of any real importance — the North team, with five players from the St. Paul Saints, won the American Association All-Star Game 6-1 in front of 8,015 fans at CHS Field in St. Paul.

Tuesday night was more a recognition of the best the American Association has to offer, much of it with a Minnesota connection. There was Mounds View's own Mark Hamburger of the Saints starting and pitching a scoreless first inning, picking up the victory. Teammate Alonzo Harris scored the game's first run. Saints closer Ryan Rodebaugh pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

And Eden Prairie's Blake Schmit, who plays for Sioux Falls, had a double, a run scored and a terrific defensive play at second base for the North, salve for the disappointment of having been released by the Twins organization in March.

And, of course, CHS Field was the gem hosting it all.

"This is something I'll never forget," Schmit said. "St. Paul put on a great show. This is absolutely one of the highlights of my career."

North outfielder David Rohm talked with a Major League scout before the game, then went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI to earn the game's MVP honor.

"Yeah, I might as well have gone out and gotten a couple of hits," said Rohm, an outfielder for Winnipeg. "The support for this game, with all of the fans who came out, was great and my wife was here to see it. It was a night I'll never forget."

"It's a beautiful ballpark," Charles said. "You can tell just by looking at the playing surface. I played in Double-A last year [Charles was with Reading (Pa.) of the Eastern League] and this is better than a lot of those parks. The whole atmosphere here is first class. This is special."

One year ago, outfielder David Espinosa was a late-season Saints acquisition.

Now Espinosa, 34, a first-round draft pick of the Reds in 2000, is a scout for the Marlins. He, along with nearly 30 other major league scouts, was in attendance Tuesday.

Espinosa specializes in independent leagues scouting. He said that, while other scouts scoff at the level of baseball, he knows there is plenty of talent just waiting for another shot at the big leagues.

"So much of it is about timing and other things they can't control," Espinosa said. "It might be money. Or maybe a player wasn't a high draft choice, so it's easier to let him go, particularly if he was injured."