PROSPECTS SHOW SKILLS AT PETCO
MLB promotes game with combine similar to what NFL does
Jurrangelo Cijntje was on a major league mound Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park being watched intently by major league executives and scouts in attendance for the 2022 MLB Draft Combine.
A high school senior who played for Florida’s Champagnat Catholic, Cijntje is hardly a household name.
He was compelling to watch nonetheless because he is both a right-handed and left-handed pitcher.
Cijntje, using a specially made Rawlings glove, switched naturally from one side to the other depending on which batter’s box the hitter was in.
The ambidextrous pitcher from Curacao touched 96 mph right-handed and 91 mph left-handed, with 200 rpm more on his curveball from the right side.
Cijntje is a legitimate prospect, one of 300 top high school and college prospects invited to San Diego this week as MLB tries its hand at a get-together similar to the one the NFL made into an event over the past four decades.
The MLB Draft last year was moved from its traditional spot during the first week of June to coincide with All-Star weekend (the 2022 draft is July 17-19 in Los Angeles), which opened the calendar for this event. The first one was held at the USA Baseball training complex in Cary, N.C.
“We wanted to bring the combine to baseball for a couple of reasons,” said John D’Angelo, MLB senior vice president of amateur and medical. “It’s a great opportunity right before the draft for players and clubs to interact with each other.”
“It’s also a really exciting event for us because it leads naturally into the draft. It gives us an opportunity to provide more exposure for
now playing the U.S. Open. Rumors have been rampant all week that more players could be signing up for the Saudi money next week.
Mickelson defended his decision. Rory McIlroy said players who signed up for the 54hole events with no cut and guaranteed money are “taking the easy way out.”
Golf, anyone?
“We’re praying that changes tomorrow,” USGA chief Mike Whan said Wednesday. “Even I can say that you don’t have to ask how we feel about it. Ask 156 players that are grinding it out to get to tomorrow. They’re trying to focus on the same thing we’re trying to focus on.
“I think — hopefully — as soon as we tee this up tomorrow, we’ll have something else to talk about, at least for the next four days.”
It starts with a local flavor. Michael Thorbjornsen of Stanford,
who grew up in the Boston area and won a U.S. Junior Amateur, hits the opening tee shot from No. 1. Fran Quinn, who is 57 and lives about 40 minutes away from Brookline, will start on No. 10.
Mickelson has received only cheers and support — not quite as raucous as in other years — during his practice rounds. He can expect a few renditions of “Happy Birthday” during his opening round because he turns 52 today.
What they face is an oldstyled course, dense rough around most of the tiny greens, fescue framing fairways that are not the narrowest for a U.S. Open and still an important part of keeping big numbers off the card.
The par-3 11th hole is 131 yards by the card and likely will play under 100 yards at some point. The fifth hole is short enough that players can drive the green.
The U.S. Open typically is about precision over power, with patience key for anyone. Recent history, however, leans
toward big hitters — Jon Rahm last year, Bryson DeChambeau at Winged Foot, Gary Woodland at Pebble Beach, Brooks Koepka back-to-back and Johnson at Oakmont.
“You should probably have an advantage if you’re a little bit longer,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer who sets up the course. “How it plays here, I don’t know. We’re going to find out. It’s been 34 years since we’ve been here.”
That was in 1988, when Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo in a playoff. Both were known for precision iron play and avoiding big mistakes.
“This will be a good oldfashioned U.S. Open with rough, and we’ll see how they navigate that and what they use off the tee,” Bodehamer said. “I am telling you, with these small greens and the firmness, they’re going to need to be in the fairway.”
As for the prize money, the U.S. Open has fallen in line with other majors, if not a step up. The PGA Tour set the tone by jacking up the purse of The Players Championship to $20 million with hopes the majors might tag along.
The Masters and PGA Championship bumped their purses to $15 million (both at least a $3 million increase), while the U.S. Open has gone up $5 million to $17.5 million.
That doesn’t compare with the $25 million in prize money the LIV Golf series is offering for its 54-hole events that last week only had four of the top 50 players in the world.
This is about history, a trophy that dates to 1895, making it the second-oldest championship in golf. That should be enough to get anyone’s attention over four days.
“We’re here at major championship, and we’re here to win the U.S. Open, and we’re here to play and beat everyone else in this field, in this great field,” two-time major champion Collin Morikawa said. “That’s what it’s about.”