The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Small state makes big impact on baseball
It is a rite of spring for young baseball players in Connecticut: Game postponed because of snow, game postponed because of a wet field, game finally played in temperatures appropriate for the Winter Olympics.
The high school and college baseball seasons are short. What is long are the odds of coming out of Connecticut and making it to the major leagues.
Yet Jeff Bagwell, who grew up in Killingworth before attending Xavier High in Middletown and the University of Hartford, entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame last year after hitting 449 home runs and driving in 1,529 runs over 15 seasons with the Houston Astros.
Bagwell is just the latest big-league talent to rise from the state and make a mark. Mo Vaughn of Norwalk spent 12 seasons in the big leagues, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award with the Red Sox in 1995. Walt Dropo of tiny Moosup in the eastern part of the state was the American League Rookie of the Year for the Red Sox in 1950, hitting 34 home runs and driving in 144 runs. And Joey Jay of Middletown led the NL in wins (21) for the Reds in 1961, a year in which he beat the Yankees in a World Series game.
The list of Connecticut big leaguers is surprisingly long, from Cheshire’s Brad Ausmus to Stamford’s Bobby Valentine. There’s an array of All-Stars, including Charles Nagy of Fairfield, Rob Dibble of Southington, Jimmy Piersall of Waterbury and Spec Shea of Naugatuck.
It is a small state, yet Connecticut’s impact on the game continues to loom large. Last season, the Houston Astros won the World Series with outfielder George Springer of New Britain and pitcher Charlie Morton, who went to Joel Barlow High in Redding, playing key roles. Springer was World Series MVP and Morton was the winning pitcher in Game 7.
Little Connecticut came up big.
Given its size, it’s easy to find links from one MLB player to another. Craig Breslow played for the legendary Jerry McDougall at Trumbull High School. McDougall’s final high school game in 2005 was a loss in the CIAC Class LL semifinals at Yale Field, where Breslow would later pitch in college. And he lost to Fitch High of Groton and future New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey.
And the players also have something in common — it took more than talent to emerge from Connecticut, given the weather challenges. Perseverance and creativity were required.
As a high school player, Morton had a way to beat the always tricky New England weather, remembers Mike Santangeli, the school’s athletic director and assistant varsity coach at the time. Morton’s family lived a few miles from the school and if the team could not practice outside, the kids sometimes went to Morton’s basement, which was designed for baseball.
Yes, big enough to have a mound and a batting cage.
Yankee ingenuity or some such thing (sorry, Red Sox fans).
Springer and Morton are among a handful of current Connecticut player making their marks in The Show. In a sport that draws players from all over the world and is saturated with players from such warm-weather states as Florida, Texas and California, reaching the major leagues from New England is no small feat.
What did it take?
GEORGE SPRINGER, HOUSTON ASTROS
CT background: New Britain, Avon Old Farms, UConn
Position: Outfielder
Age: 28
Career: His first major league hit was an infield dribbler and there was a typo in his first name on the scoreboard. Now everyone knows his name. He was the 2017 World Series MVP after hitting five home runs. That topped off a season in which he hit 34 home runs. He gets better each year and continues to make memorable plays in the outfield. Type in George Springer catches on YouTube and kill some time. Well worth the trip. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area, Springer teamed with the New Britain Bees in an event called Pack The Truck to collect donations. He delivers on and off the field.
What we saw: Dan Kennedy is the director of Team Connecticut Baseball, a non-profit in its 25th year. Springer played in the program as a teen, as did Matt Barnes of Bethel. Now each is in the majors. Kennedy says of Springer: “He’s just a great athlete. Just watch the kid and you know he’s a great athlete.” Kennedy also says there is no way you predict someone will be a first-round draft pick or a star in the major leagues. There are just too many variables. But he says, “Just their work ethic, baseball IQ, background, family support, I’m not surprised.”
CHARLIE MORTON, HOUSTON ASTROS
CT background: Joel Barlow High School, Redding Position: Right-handed pitcher
Age: 34
Career: He came into the season with a 46-71 career record with three teams. But he was 14-7 with a 3.62 Earned Run Average last season and won the clinching games in the American League Championship Series over the Yankees and in the World Series against the Dodgers. No pitcher had won Game 7 of the League Championship and World Series in the same season. There was no misunderstanding what he meant to the Astros last season, though there was a bit of a mixup on Wikipedia last year. He was said to be part of the family that owns the Morton’s Steakhouse chain. That was not true, but there is no doubt he beefed up his resume forever with his postseason performance.
What we saw: Mike Santangeli says Morton was an “under-the-radar kid who was an outstanding teammate, who did anything you asked of him.” He just wanted to be one of the guys, says Santangeli, although it was clear he more than that. He was throwing in the 80s as a freshman. “He always kept things on an even keel, stayed calm, which served him well, pitching in two Game 7’s.” Santangeli is a Yankees fan, so that provided some interesting text exchanges during the American League Championship Series last year.
MATT BARNES, BOSTON RED SOX
CT connection: Bethel High School, UConn
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Age: 27
Career: In four big league seasons for the Red Sox he is 14-10, including 7-3 last season. He has pitched in 132 games the past two seasons. Barnes was a teammate of George Springer at UConn, where he was the 2011 Big East pitcher of the year and a first-round draft pick that year. Springer, too, went in the first round.
What we saw: “His arm strength, body type … he was not one of those skinny kids,” says Dan Kennedy, Team Connecticut Baseball director. “He had a pro-type body right off the bat.” He was about 16 years old back then and possessed much more than just the body. “He was a phenomenal player who worked hard at it, loved the game and had a great family. They’re great people and you could tell his work ethic came directly from his mom and dad. Matt wasn’t cocky, he just went out and played.”
MATT HARVEY, NEW YORK METS
CT connection: Fitch High School-Groton, born in New London
Position: Right-handed pitcher Age: 29
Career: Staying healthy has been the issue. Harvey is 34-35 with a 3.51 ERA in his career with the Mets and has nearly a strikeout per inning ratio with 592 in 6121⁄3 innings pitched. He was 13-8 in 2015 when he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. Since then he is 9-17 in just 36 starts over two seasons. The firstround pick of the Mets in 2010 out of North Carolina is a free agent in 2019, so the 2018 season looms large. Harvey, the 2007 Gatorade state Player of the Year, was drafted that year out of Fitch by the Angels but went to UNC instead.
What we saw: John Schiffner, now an assistant coach at the University of Maine, was the baseball coach at Plainfield High for more than 30 years and coached college prospects in the summer Cape Cod League. Harvey was coached at Groton by his father, Ed. “He’s going to play for you one day,” Schiffner remembers the elder Harvey saying. That would come true as Schiffner went on to coach Harvey on the Cape. Schiffner remembers Harvey pitching against Plainfield as a freshman and knew he would be special. “Just the way he walked, the way he carried himself,” Schiffner said. “He wasn’t arrogant, he just had an air of confidence.” Schiffner knows there’s only about one thing that can stop Harvey, his health: “If everything comes together, he’s special.”
RAJAI DAVIS, CLEVELAND INDIANS
CT connection: New London High School, UConn Avery Point
Position: Outfielder
Age: 37
Career: Davis was a 38thround draft choice in 2001 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has played for seven teams, including the Red Sox in 2017. He has had 40 or more stolen bases in a season five times. He was a key player on the 2016 Cleveland Indians, with 12 home runs, 48 RBI and an American League-leading 43 steals. Davis also had a memorable Game 7 in the 2016 World Series vs. the Cubs. He tied the game with a home run in the eighth inning and had a two-out RBI single in the 10th but the Cubs hung on for an 8-7 win, giving Chicago their long-awaited title.
What we saw: Jonathan Mikula is In his second season as New London coach. He also was on the varsity staff when Davis was a freshman. “He was the new kid on the block,” Mikula said. Word spread that Davis was someone the varsity coaches should look at. Miklua went to a freshman game and came back saying, “He should be with us.” Up to the varsity came Davis, starting in right field. He was a switch hitter who was in the lineup the rest of the season. “Quiet kid, worked hard,” Miklua said. The baseball team this year got a surprise. “Out of the blue,” Mikula says, Davis stopped at the school, asked to see the athletic director and left a bunch of bats, gloves, batting gloves, wrist bands and other things. Imagine how that makes the kids feel.
A.J. POLLOCK, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
CT connection: RHAM High School, Marlborough
Position: Outfielder
Age: 30
Career: A first-round pick in 2009 out of Notre Dame, Pollock has hit. 286 in six seasons in Arizona. Had a breakout 2015 season when he was an All-Star with 20 home runs, 76 RBI, 39 stolen bases and a .315 batting average in 157 games. He also led the league in putouts that season. Since then he has had some injury issues. He played in only 12 games in 2016 and last season played in 112 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI.
What we saw: Paul Steiner, who started coaching RHAM baseball in 1992, had Pollock for four seasons. Pollack stated as a freshman at shortstop. “He was small but he had the tools and what separated him was a strong desire to be good,” Steiner said. “He had a tremendous work ethic and was very, very competitive.” Steiner said Pollock would have 50-70 grounders hit to him at practice, but worked beyond that. Pollock would be in the outfield shagging fly balls. “Little did I know that’s where he’d end up,” Steiner says. “He’s just a tremendous human being, fine man, a fine individual who happens to be very good in baseball. He would have been successful no matter what he did. His parents did a great job. I look at it that I had him for four years; I was in the right place at the right time, and I didn’t screw him up. I hope he got a few things out of playing here. We did win a state title, and I know he’s proud of that.”