Wet, wild and winning: Vanderbunt has memorable experience at Legion All-Star Game

A lot happened Aug. 10 between the time Dylan Vanderbunt got to American Family Field until he was able to play on it in the 53rd annual Wisconsin American Legion All-Star game, but it all proved to be worth the wait for the Rhinelander senior.

Vanderbunt collected an RBI single in his lone plate appearance as his Stars squad beat the Stripes team 11-10 at the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. 

That was a capper on a crazy day that included braving historic flooding, rubbing shoulders with a few Major Leaguers and seeing the Brewers extend a winning streak in dramatic fashion. 

Describing the experience in a interview with the River News last week, “awesome” was a common refrain for one of the Rebels top hitters this summer. 

“I got to meet a lot of new people, play hard I mean, it was just a super cool atmosphere with all these well-rounded ball players,” he said. “Everyone is just so determined to be good at the game, and everyone is just similar to me in a way, I feel like, and it was just it was just a really awesome experience.”

More than 40 players took part in the event, representing some of the best Class of 2025, and age-eligible 2024, players from across the state. Following a banquet on Saturday evening and a breakfast Sunday morning, the players hopped on a bus to head to American Family Field. That task was much easier said than done, however, due to monsoonal downpours that pelted southeastern Wisconsin Saturday night and Sunday morning — dropping in excess of a foot of rain in some areas. 

Some roads in and around American Family Field were closed due to flooding, as well as some parking lots. Vanderbunt said simply getting to the park was an adventure. 

“The bus, it was honestly an hour late and then we were probably on the bus for an hour,” he said. “We had to take some different routes. We were in this long line too and the bus driver honestly just said, ‘It would be honestly faster if you guys got out and just walk to the park from here.’ So we unloaded all of our stuff and walked in the pouring rain to the to the park actually. So that was interesting.”

Despite the flooding, roughly 33,000 people, attended the game and were treated to a major comeback, as the Brewers rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to defeat the New York Mets 7-6 on walkoff home run by rookie Isaac Collins to lead off the bottom of the ninth. 

“It was pretty awesome. It was probably the best game I’ve ever been at,” Vanderbunt said.

The Legion All-Stars got to be on the field prior to the game, lining up with the Brewers an getting announced to the crowd during pregame introductions. Vanderbunt noted that he and a few other teammates even had a brief interaction with Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor prior to the contest. 

“We were by the dugout when we finished like anthem we were walking out and we went past the opposing team’s batting cages and Lindor walked like right in front of me and three other dudes walk in and said hi to us,” Vanderbunt said. “That was pretty cool.”

As for the game itself, the Stars batted all 21 players on their roster in alphabetical order, meaning it took a while for Vanderbunt to get to the plate, but he made the most of his opportunity when he did. 

“I was down 1-2 he gave me a fastball on the outer half and line drive base hit,” he said.

Vanderbunt made the team as an outfielder and played two innings in the field. He noted he was scheduled to return to the field in the ninth to play center, but the game was called after eight innings after running over a pre-determined time limit.  

Vanderbunt did not have a ball hit his way when he was in the field, but admitted to soaking in the environment when he was out there. 

“I think my favorite part was just stepping in the (batter’s) box,” he said. “I definitely soaked it in when I stepped in there. I was like. ‘Wow, this is it.’ Then being in the outfield was awesome too. The grass is amazing. The grass is awesome. Everything there is just amazing. I soaked in everything that I could. It was awesome.”

Vanderbunt was the second-leading hitter for the Rebels this summer, batting .370 with 11 RBIs. He also led the team with four stolen bases. He was the fourth player in the last seven years from Rhinelander to play in the Legion All-Star game, joining Martin Hoger, Isaac Bixby and Ryan Jamison.

“I want to thank all my family that supported me,” Vanderbunt said. “I had a lot of family out there. A lot of family that came from all around the Milwaukee area. I want to thank all my friends that helped me get that point. They all help me get better, play catch, help me with extra (batting practice) and just take time out of their day to help me. All the coaches I want to thank. All my high school coaches, my legion coaches, even the coaches I had on JV is like a freshman. They all play a factor and just me as a ball player.”

Vanderbunt will be heading to Lake Region State College in Devil’s Lake, N.D. to play collegiately this fall. According to Rhinelander manager Dan Huhnstock, Vanderbunt is age-eligible to return to the Rebels next summer. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].