Cummings excited about Olympics

HUNTINGTON -- Jeremy Cummings said he's just a small town guy who has the home folks excited about what he's doing.

Cummings is a resident of East Pea Ridge in Huntington who was selected to play for the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team. He graduated from South Charleston High School in 1995. His parents, Jeff and Bambi Slack, live in Hurricane.

The AAA minor league pitcher for the Durham (N.C.) Bulls participated in a conference call Thursday with some other Olympic players. The players said there is no bigger thrill than having the opportunity to represent your country.

A reporter asked Cummings about the hometown reaction to his selection.

"They're ecstatic," Cummings said. "A hometown boy representing your country is pretty big."

Cummings said he has been swamped with media interview requests since he was selected for the team.

At first, he didn't make the 24-player roster. USA Baseball added him as a replacement for someone on the original roster who dropped out.

"It was actually a oller coaster with my emotions," he said. "I was disappointed when I didn't make the team. What an honor it is to make this team and to be with these guys."

Olympic baseball competition in Beijing is Aug. 13-23. The U.S. team gathers Monday in San Jose, Calif., for some practice before playing a series of exhibition games in North Carolina against the Canadian team, Aug. 1-4.

The Olympic format is an eight-team round robin schedule to determine who qualifies for the medal round. Other qualifiers were Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Japan, Netherlands and South Korea. Cuba was the gold medal winner in the 2004 Athens Olympics when the U.S. didn't qualify.

Cummings, 31, has a 7-3 record and 2.95 ERA as a right-handed starter for Durham. He started the season 5-0 and was picked for the International League All-Star Game.

This is his 10th season in the minors. The Tampa Bay Rays are his fifth major league organization.

"I've never been to the big leagues," he said. "This is my big leagues."