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Spotlight: Rookies
With every new year in our sport, the league has
approximately four or five new guys come out that are going to have
to understand the game of wiffleball. They may have heard tales
of glory and defeat, but they really don't know exactly what is
going to happen when they drive their car in the cul-de-sac named
Smith Brothers Court (or Dove Creek Court) for the first time. This
year, in 2001, there will be four new guys out in the field who
are going to experience in wiffle ball what basic training is in
the army. Here are their stories.
Dean Evans:
Dean Evans comes to the league standing in at six feet tall and
weighing in at a slim 150lbs. Not the most threatening figure to
step up the plate, but one that may be the most prepared for his
rookie season. Since the time he knew he was going to be trying
out at Winterball, his priorities suddenly changed. All day he wanted
to train: throw the ball, take some hacks, and for some reason,
field some grounders. How far did this get him? A solid performance
at Winterball, going 7-21, with a double and homerun. Though he
did have 10 Ks in 21 at-bats, he and others considered Winterball
a success. One of those people was named Casey Sylvester, last year's
Most Improved winner, who drafted Dean 8th in the draft. Casey has
been high on Dean thanks largely to his positive attitude and commitment,
along with his unpolished talent. So now it's time for the real
deal. It's the 2001 season and Dean is ready…almost.
"I don't think my batting will be a problem, along with my fielding.
I'm skeptical about my control [pitching] though," he states in
our interview.
Yes, the pitching. Dean succeeded in his batting, but pitching was
another story. He showed light speed and light control, but did
manage to go five innings with giving up only two runs in Winterball.
This could change dramatically during the season when players are
putting everything into every at-bat. But as he stated above, he's
not going into the season blind as a bat.
"I'm a rookie, I have to work on everything" described Dean when
asked what he's going to be training for. This means Dean may not
walk onto the field on March 24h ready to be mauled by the opposing
players. As the interview ends, Dean talks about the first gameday,
playing the Horsemen and the Holy Whites, "It's the two best teams…hopefully
my team will work well together. But I'm not expecting everything
to go right for the first week."
Aaron Kemper:
Since being drafted 15th by the Road Warriors, Aaron Kemper has
nowhere to go in his rookie year but up. He believes that he didn't
show all of his talent at Winterball and plans on doing some serious
damage. "I thought I had more talent than any of the other rookies,
whether I proved that at Winterball is arguable," said Aaron.
If this is the truth, Terry Creighton could have gotten the biggest
bargain in the 2001 draft, and got himself a team that could go
the playoffs. Aaron sure thinks so!
"As long as I do my fair share of contributing, with all the factors
we have, the only thing that could come out is the championship."
Maybe so, but are we all sure of a decent season from Aaron? Not
really. What do we have to go on? A 2-13 batting performance and
five runs on three innings pitched (league high: 6.67 ERA)? Not
exactly the most impressive numbers. But as I stated above, he has
nowhere to go but up and he knows it. "All I really want to do is
establish a foundation for myself" states Kemper. This kind of desire
is needed in rookies. This kind of desire prevents rookies from
quitting after a bad gameday, and that is exactly why Creighton
picked him over two other rookies who shall remain nameless. As
long as Aaron shows up with this attitude, sets himself some reasonable
goals and sticks to them, this road is sure to be a successful one
for the 15th pick.
Jordan Lockhart:
As I started to begin my interview with Jordan, I thought I was
going to be getting a clueless attitude about what will be going
on during the summer. Jordan only knows a few people in the league,
none of which are on his team, and this kind of situation is always
pretty rough on a rookie. But after I got off the phone with him,
my senses all changed. He knew about his team, and seemed to not
be the clueless man I imagined.
When asked about him team, Jordan remarks, "I actually think we'll
do pretty well…really well, regardless of what people have said".
But wait, there's more! "Old guys always have something up their
sleeves," referring to having the 51 year old, Greg Creighton, on
his team. It was nice to know that Jordan can look at the assets
of a 51-year-old (us old men have to stick together!).
"I think I'll be good at getting on base," states Jordan about his
upcoming season, "having the other guy hit me home, but we'll see."
This doesn't really seem like the attitude of a man who is going
to be overwhelmed with the schedule, but more like someone who is
looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead of him.
When I brought up the other rookies and the coveted Rookie of the
Year award, Jordan made a statement that I think his teammate, James
Vassar, 1999's Rookie of the Year, may be proud of. "I've already
won it, definately. With my positive mindset, I know I can do it."
I can see James hiding a tear right now.
Ian Byrd:
Ian Byrd becomes, along with Eric Christensen, one of the youngest
players in the league. Both come into the 2001 season just 16 years
old, but Ian has a slight advantage on Eric…he can play baseball.
Not much information is known on Ian. Younger brother of Derek Byrd,
Ian looks a little odd playing on a team with Nate Stuempfig (21yrs
old, six year veteran), Mike Walsh (21yrs old) and Scott Carmichael
(19yrs old, eight year veteran). But at least he knows Scott, who
has told him to just swing for the fence every at-bat. Ian is an
established baseball player, playing on a traveling team for the
last couple years. He knows how to swing, he knows how to throw
a ball, and he knows how to field a ball, so Ian should pick up
the game of wiffle ball through time. Please don't start comparing
him to Eric, because he hasn't deserved it. He showed decent ability
at Winterball, though he only played one game. Greg Creighton was
hoping to get a hold of Ian in the draft due to his pitching, but
was unsuccessful when Scott Carmichael took him 12th overall.
With all the rookies here in the 2001 season, Ian is the one that
may have the most ups and downs, since he seems to be going into
the league with the same clueless attitude we have for him.
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