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| Barnstormer - Ezell named to the ABCA All-Central Region Second Team |
10/3/2008 |
Joplin, Mo. - Missouri Southern junior first baseman Derek Ezell (Lees Summit, Mo.) has been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region second team, as announced by the organization.
Players from the MIAA, the North Central Conference and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference make up the Central Region and were all eligible for the honor. Coaches from within the region vote on the teams.
Ezell led the Lions with a .394 batting average this season and finished sixth in the MIAA in hitting. He hit .394 on the season with eight home runs and 42 RBIs, while leading the Lions in Slugging (.653), doubles (18), hits (67), runs (37), on base percentage (.488), total bases (111) and fielding percentage (.989).
It was conference play where Ezell really showed his offensive strength. During MIAA play, Ezell hit .406 with seven of his eight home runs and 33 of his 42 RBIs. He had a two home run game at Truman State as part of a four home run weekend against the Bulldogs.
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| Who is this $5,000 Traveling team? |
8/30/2008 |
By Bill Althaus - bill.althaus@examiner.net
The Examiner
Posted Aug 23, 2008 @ 01:54 AM
Blue Springs, MO —
Mike Rooney was in a foul mood.
“Rooney in a foul mood?” asked Blue Springs Rod’s Sports A’s catcher/outfielder Matt McHenry, with a big grin, “stop the presses!”
For those folks outside of the A’s tight-knit American Legion family, the veteran manager might seem like a stern taskmaster who learned most of his vocabulary from an angry Marine Corps drill instructor.
“If you don’t know Mike, you don’t know what he means to us,” A’s shortstop Bret Schwartz said. “He loves us, and we love him.”
Adds McHenry: “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for us – and nothing we wouldn’t do for him.”
The A’s just wrapped up one of the most successful and surprising seasons in team history, going 53-8 with a squad that lost many of the studs from last year’s state championship team.
The season posed a challenge – and the A’s love a challenge.
Tell Rooney his team can’t do something, and he’ll prove you wrong.
He accepts and savors the challenges that come from solid American Legion stars like Blaine Hines, Kirk Huismann or Ross Taylor from Blue Springs Post 499/Fike, Post 21’s Kyle Clifton or Hi-Boy Drive In/Post 340’s Christian Velez.
But he’s about to face a new challenge that has him hacked off – so hacked off his forehead turns a scarlet red and steam pours out of his ears.
“They’re doing it to us again,” Rooney said. “There’s a new competitive/traveling team out there for 15- and 16-year-olds and they’re talking all this negative crap about American Legion ball and it just pisses me off.
“These teams want $5,000 a kid, plus travel expenses and tell them they’re going to get them a Division I scholarship. Do you know how you get a Division I scholarship?
“You have Division I talent. Look at our team – we won 53 games and we have one D-I guy, and that’s (11-0 left-handed pitcher Kyle) Barbeck. Now, you want to talk about scholarships? Any kid on our team who wanted to play ball in college got some money and got a scholarship.
“It’s not like the scouts and college coaches don’t come watch us play. Dave Bingham (the former University of Kansas head baseball coach who is now an assistant at the University of Nebraska) told us we could play with any traveling team he’s seen.
“He said our kids were well coached and knew the game. That’s what we do in Legion ball. But you couldn’t tell it by what some other people say about us.”
The Missouri Gatorade High School Player of the Year, Nick Tepesch, played American Legion Ball.
Ditto for Barbeck, who is about to start his freshman year at the University of Mississippi.
What are their takes on the ability of American Legion ball to produce scholarships?
“I dreamed of playing American Legion ball since I was a little kid,” said Tepesch, who was a standout in the Mizzou bullpen this past year. “I could have played on the traveling teams, but I didn’t want to. If you want to play and have scouts and college coaches see you, play Legion ball.
“You’ll get plenty of attention.”
Barbeck agrees.
“After we won state (at Blue Springs High School his junior year), I got a lot of calls. I could have played for just about any team in the area – and I know a lot of guys who played on traveling teams – but I thought that Legion ball was the only way to go.
“You don’t just play games on the weekend. You play throughout the week, you do some traveling, but not a lot, and the coaches get to see you play. I’m not putting down travel teams, because there are some good ones out there, and my friends play on them. But I don’t think it gets any better than Legion ball, and I know all the guys on the team agree.”
And moms and dads love the price of a spot on an American Legion team.
“We charge a kid $500,” Rooney said. “Next year, it’s going up to $600, but we cover the expense for all the team travels and if a kid can sell enough ads in our program, it doesn’t cost them anything.”
It’s a big world – certainly big enough for American Legion and independent baseball teams.
They should live in harmony and not use a negative approach to sway players. We get enough of that in today’s politically charged atmosphere that focuses on an opponent’s faults rather than an individual’s strengths.
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| Olathe Opinion Section: Baseball rivals team up |
8/13/2008 |
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008
Opinion: Baseball rivals team up
Andy Marso
sportswriter
Olathe’s high school baseball rivalries may have more teeth next spring.
Two area summer teams, the KC Barnstormers and the Mac-N-Seitz Indians, have brought together a number of top local players this year.
Foster Vielock (Olathe North), Harrison Lambert (Olathe Northwest), Derahn Williams (Olathe East) and Kalin Caton (Olathe South) play for the Barnstormers. Keith Picht (South), Eric Dawson (North) and Garrett Kirk (Northwest) suit up for the Indians.
At first glance one would think that might dilute the Olathe rivalries by making those players too friendly. But Lambert said that would push him to secure bragging rights.
“I’ll definitely want to beat them more (than before),” Lambert said.
Being summer teammates should give the seven players a good sense of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which would add a twist to the rivalries.
Caton won’t get to put that knowledge to use, having graduated in May. But the other six will all be back.
Picht, a South pitcher like Caton, chuckled when asked if he knew effective ways to throw to Dawson and Kirk after watching them hit time and again this summer.
“Possibly, possibly I do,” Picht said. “But that wasn’t my focus, obviously. During the summer we’re with that team and that team is what matters. We’re not really thinking about high school ball right now.”
That familiarity could come back to bite Picht and Vielock, the two pitchers in the group, too. The rest of their Olathe teammates have seen them throw a lot of pitches up close this summer and know exactly what kind of stuff they have and what they like to use in specific situations.
Even without that knowledged, Lambert had some success at the plate against Vielock. He blasted a two-run homer off him and also had an RBI single in a 4-3 Northwest win against North on May 6.
To come together as a team, the Olathe players had to overcome any raw emotions they might have carried with them from incidents like that a few months earlier. Many of them only knew each other as rivals on the diamond.
“I know of a lot of them, but I just didn’t know them that well,” Lambert said. “It was a little different.”
So far the differences don’t seem to have gotten in the way, though. All seven have played key roles in two successful seasons. The Indians won the Show Me Classic tournament at the University of Missouri in mid July and the Barnstormers won the NBC Hap Dumont World Series at Lake Shawnee at the end of July.
No matter what school the seven players go to, one thing unites them, and that’s baseball.
“The rivalry is just between the (Olathe) teams,” Picht said. “When it comes to being players and friends, it wasn’t that hard going from being Olathe school rivals to playing on the same team.”
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| KC Barnstormers get hot, win NBC World Series |
8/13/2008 |
Team puts up string of victories to take Hap Dumont title
By Rick Peterson Jr.
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, August 01, 2008
After a cold start to begin the NBC Hap Dumont World Series, the Kansas City Barnstormers got hot at the right time.
The Barnstormers, who lost their first three games of the tournament, put together a string of wins to close the series, including a 5-1 victory against the Wichita Sluggers in the championship game Thursday at Lake Shawnee to win the 18-and-under division.
"It was awesome," Branstormers pitcher Brandon Simmons said of the tournament. "We started off 0-3 and then we just lit a spark and started playing really good.
"This was against the best teams around the area and it was the best competition."
Simmons, who will be a senior at Kansas City Turner, pitched a complete a game in the championship, giving up just a run on five hits.
The Barnstomers, made up of several players form different high schools in the Kansas City area, got runs off a Wichita error in the third inning and a Drew Trout solo home run in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.
After the Sluggers got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, Kansas City catcher Harrison Lambert hit a three-run home run to account for the final score.
Lambert, who will be a senior at Olathe Northwest, agreed with Simmons that the Barnstomers came together down the stretch.
"We just caught fire at the right time," he said. "We started to play better, play as a team and started hitting the ball better."
The Sluggers threatened in both the second and fourth innings of the championship game, putting two runners on base in each inning, but Simmons managed to get out of both situations unscathed.
"I like the pressure situations and I've got the team to back me up," Simmons said.
Lambert said he enjoyed the competition and feels that he benefited from it.
"It's huge," he said. "You can see a lot better pitching than what you will in school. You get a lot more experience and exposure.
"We had great competition here. It was really fun and I had a good time."
KC Sox win 17U title
The Kansas City White Sox survived a late rally from the Wichita Red Sox to win the 17-and-under division with a 5-4 win in the championship game.
Wichita came within a run of Kansas City after a two-run homer by Cody Mills in the sixth inning and put the tying run on second with one out in the seventh inning.
But White Sox pitcher Dominic LaRocca got a strikeout and groundout to preserve the win.
"All I really had to do was keep my composure and throw strikes and let my defense do the work," said LaRocca, who will be a senior at Liberty, Mo., High School. "It was a really great tournament, I enjoyed it."
LaRocca picked up the win for the White Sox, going the distance.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Kansas City's Eddie High came up with a run-scoring double before scoring on a wild pitch to give the White Sox the lead for good.
Wichita out-hit Kansas City 7 to 4, but was hampered by four errors.
BARNSTORMERS 5, SLUGGERS 1
Kansas City 001 100 3 — 5 8 1
Wichita 000 001 0 — 1 5 1
Simmons and Lambert. Sinclair and Mellington. W — Simmons. L — Sinclair. HR — Kansas City: Trout, Lambert.
WHITE SOX 4, RED SOX 3
Wichita 200 002 0 — 4 7 4
Kansas City 010 310 x — 5 4 1
Stefan, Valcore (4), Higgins (4), Nielson (5) and McElguan. LaRocca and Quick. 2B — Kansas City: High. HR — Wichita: Mills.
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| KC Barnstormers rally, win World Series (18u NBC) |
8/13/2008 |
By Chris Wristen
August 13, 2008
The 2008 Kansas City Barnstormers did their best 2004 Boston Red Sox impression and, just like the major league baseball team, won a World Series championship.
The Red Sox lost the first three games of the American League Championship Series in 2004 before storming back to win four straight and then sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
In similar fashion, the Barnstormers rallied after losing three straight games and won the NBC World Series on July 31 at Lake Shawnee in Topeka.
“We had the toughest pool,” Barnstormers coach Karl Carswell said of his squad’s 0-3 record in pool play.
The pool only served to set up the bracket, however, so early losses wouldn’t result in ultimate advancement or elimination of the tournament. Carswell said the Barnstormers kept that in perspective. Knowing that, they also saved their best pitchers for bracket play.
“We said, ‘if we lose them it doesn’t’ cost anything but a loss. It doesn’t keep us from moving on,’” Carswell said. “We said, ‘the tournament doesn’t start until after pool play.’”
With pool play in the rearview mirror, the Barnstormers hopped in the driver’s seat. They routed the Spivey Stars 13-6 in the first round and then edged the Wichita Reds, 6-5. An 8-1 blowout of the Butler County Cubs propelled the Barnstormers into the semifinals where they ran into the Wichita Sluggers, a team that handed them one of their pool play losses. This time around the Barnstormers squeaked out a 4-3 decision.
The Sluggers moved to the loser’s bracket and fought back to beat the Texas Bombers and earn a spot in the finals and a rematch with the Barnstormers.
Carswell said he and assistant coaches Kristopher McDonald and Dorain Williams had hoped to have ace Brandon Simmons of Turner High School throw in the finals, but he’d already pitched a few days earlier and didn’t know if his arm would be ready.
Simmons had no doubt he could throw.
“He pitched three days before and wasn’t slated to pitch,” Carswell said, “but he spent the night before the game text-messaging the other coaches and told them that he was going to pitch the game.”
The Barnstormers exuded confidence with Simmons on the mound.
“We told him we’d put him on a pitch count of 60 pitches and three or four innings,” Carswell said. “He threw 28 pitches through three innings, and at that point there was no way we could take him out of the game. He really took the game over. He never faltered and was in control of his pitches.”
The Barnstormers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an error and a home run by Blue Valley West’s Drew Trout. The Sluggers pulled within a run in the sixth, but the Barnstormers used a three-run homer by Olathe Northwest’s Harrison Lambert to put the lead out of reach in the 5-1 victory.
After the victory, Carswell said the Barnstormers — who were one of the youngest teams in the 18-and-under field — said his players were excited about what they’d accomplished, but that they also came away from the World Series with a sense of just how much they still can improve. That said, Carswell said the way his team regrouped to win five straight games and claim a World Series title capped a fun season.
“I’ve done this for 12 years and this has been my most enjoyable summer by far, not because we won the World Series but because they were just eager to learn and get better and they had a lot of support as individuals and from the families, and each one rooted and made my job better,” he said.
In addition to Simmons, Trout and Lambert, other team members were Luke Lawyer (Mill Valley), Chance Mason (Blue Springs South), David Chew (Shawnee Mission West, Kalin Caton (Olathe South), Albert Minnis (Park Hill), Jordan Brown (Blue Springs), Brett Baldwin (Liberty), Foster Vielock (Olathe North), Alex Klonowski (Kearney), Stuart Pudenz (Blue Springs South), Clay Smith (Park Hill), Brett Winfrey (Liberty), Jake Ormsby (Liberty), Logan Moon (Blue Springs) and DeRhan Williams (Olathe East).
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| Video Workout Saturday, August 30 |
7/30/2008 |
| KC Barnstormers Alumni GROWING DAILY |
3/13/2008 |
From the early 1990s-today. If you see someone we are missing please send us their information to info@BarnstormersBaseball.com
BEFORE 1998
Brendon Huttman, Hutchinson CC
Brian Buckley, Dodge City CC
Cameron White, Neosho County CC
Eric Absher, Wichita State University
Brandon English, Kansas University
Tom Buchman, Texas A&M
Craig Verstaete, Butler County CC
Kirk Moore, Neosho County CC
Scott Hennesey, KC Royals
Nathan Reese, Wichita State University
Dusty Hollingsworth, Vanderbelt University
Marvin Kaplan, Florida State University
Ryan Dixon, Butler County CC
Gary Hampton, Kansas City CC
Trish Tannahill, University of Nebraska
John Adams, Wichita State University
Jeremy Lowry, Longview CC
Pat Magness, Wichita State University
Adam Shabala, University of Nebraska
Justin Shuster, Longview CC
Aaron Blosser, JCCC
Corby Lange, Coe College
Chip Mitchell, Baker University
Jim Audley, Wichita State Unviversity
Scott Wood, Florida State University
Terrance McDanials, New York mets
Jerome Toliver, New York Mets
Butch Cole, KC Royals
Nel Daney, University of Missouri
Jason Quiarte, Kansas City CC
Quigly Brunning, Datmouth
Matt Culp, Butler CC
Mike Jackson, Butler CC
Chad Westbrooks, Butler CC
Greer Jones, Butler CC
Toby Chahon, K-State
Christie Ambrosie, UCLA
Phil Krizman, Kansas City CC
Jeff Vose, KCK
Kelly Pinkypank, University of Nebraska
Marci Wedell, UMKC
Lauren Young, Central Missouri State
Stepanie Wise, Central Missouri State
Kimberly Jones, University of Arkansas
Devon Glover, Benedictine University
Blake Hardwick, Mid America Nazarene University
Chad Bell, William Jewell
Dan Asbill, William Jewell
Doug Antilla, Mid America Nazarene University
1998
Robbie Ward, University of Santa Clara
Chris Downard, JCCC/Appalacian State
Brett Reid, Kansas State University
Aaron Long, Pittsburg State University
1999
Ty White, Emporia State University
Scott Lero, Butler CC
Alex Eskina, Butler CC
Sean Doyle, University of Missouri (football)
Mike Consiglio, Fort Scott CC
Matt Gerrelts, Fort Scott CC
Joe Urnise, University of Missouri (walk on)
Kevin Henry, University of Missouri
Paul Sterrit, Emporia State University
Christian Dyrbal, Emporia State University
Mark Nato, Neosho CC
Brent Chrisjon, Johnson County CC
Dirk Hoagland, Tulane University
Graham Parrish, Oral Roberts University
Mike Dennison, Wichita State Universtiy/Boston Red Sox
Steven Sharpe, Central Missouri State University/Oakland A's
Pat Maloney, Kansas State University
Ryan Bell, Wichita State University
2000
Jason Allinder, Neosho CC
Tyler Banker, University of Nebraska
Josh Bowen, Cloud CC
Mike Boyd, Cloud CC
Brian Driscoll, Central Missouri State University
Hank Edwards, Butler CC/Park University
Matt Fulgem, Northwestern Oklahoma University
Drew Gibson, Cloud CC
Sean Jarvis, Allen County CC
John Renzi, Neosho CC
Chris Shultz, Johnson CC
Drew Wilson, Johnson CC
Jon Youness, Cloud CC/North Dakota State University
Adam Hill, William Jewell
Tom Hottovy, Wichita Stae University/Boston Red Sox
2001
Scott Sharpe, University of Kansas
Drew Garner, Benedictine University
Cole Essington,Benedictine University
Sean Jarvis, Allen County C.C.
Ryan Rielly, Butler County C.C.
Richard Zey, Allen County C.C.
Clif Thomas, Florida County C.C./Middle Tennesse
Jimmy Bondurant, Barton County C.C
Stephen Holdren, Butler County/Texas A&M
Chris Johnson, Truman State University
BJ Kissel, Kansas State University
Andy Bruce, Garden City C.C.
Michael Gomez, Park University
Tony Alonge, Allen County CC
Mike Scivani,Mid America Nazarene
Justin Agre, Johnson County CC
Justin Greiner, Baker University
Andy Ohmes, Avila University
Chris Johnson, Truman State University
2002
Rusty Jones, Butler County CC
Matt Grey, Butler County CC
Steven Holdren, Butler County CC
Danny Holmes, Ottawa University
Ben Majea, Baker University
Matt Shipley, William Jewell
Matt Webb, Centenary College
Tim Hottovy, Fort Hays State University
John Martin, Hutchinson/Emporia State University
Matt Petty, Neosho CC/Emporia State University
Steven Wright, Arkansas University
Bryan Peterson, Hutchinson CC
Gus Milner, Hutchinson CC
Jeff Vose, Kansas City CC/Mid America Nazareen University
2003
Brett Vena, William Jewell
Carter Holt, Neosho CC
Derrick McKinney, Rockhurst Univesity
Kevin Sloan, Brigaham Young Univesity
Eric Shortell, South Alabama
Robert Harper, Creighton University
Sean Land, Kansas University
Micheal Younghanz, Maple Woods
Kris Johnson, Wichita State University/Boston Red Sox
Pup Mathis, Kansas City CC
Chris Redman, Maple Woods
Ryan Owenby, Rockhurst University
Grant Kholstadt, University of Missouri
Clent Rehmert, Butler CC
Alex Rose, New Mexico
Timmy Odonell, Butler CC
Hunter Mense, University of Missouri
Billy Sharp, Emporia State University
Kris McDonald, Baker University
Gus Milner, Hutchinson CC/University of Kansas
Josh Carroll, Someplace Carolina (wrestling)
Jaren Brewer, Oregon Community College
Alex Harvey, Butler CC
Chad Bell, William Jewell
Eric Smith, Kansas State University
Chad Ogden, Cowley CC/Creighton University
Matt Smith, Wichita State University
Ty Reese, Butler CC/Emporia State University
Kyle Riffle, University of Iowa (football)
Zach Toilo, Kansas State University
Cole Waddell, Cowley CC
Eli Rumler, Kansas State University
Jordan Cruz, Kansas State University
Alex Doebele, Butler County CC
Josh Schuler, Johnson County CC
Greg Rawlings, Pittsburg State University
Nick Adams, Wichita State University
2004
Andy Anderson, Emporia State University
Billy Amidei, Mid America Nazarene University
Dan Wise 04, Missouri University
Derek Ezell, Kansas City CC
Desi Nuckolles, Butler CC
Dustin Moomau, Coffeeville CC
Lance Hoge, Cowley CC
Nate Tinbrink, K-State
Nick Cyzy, Kansas University
Travis Carney, Cowley CCC
Micheal Scavozzo, Park University
Ryan Harding, Crowder CC
Ryan Gargano, Missouri University
Jordan Myers, Rockhurst University
David Hamera, Oklahoma University
Kevin Carby, Texarkana
Preston Land, University of Kansas
Brandon Doherty, Hutchinson CC/Michigan State University
Linds Prestia, Washburn University
Brandon Doherty, Hutchinson CC
Brandon Wayne, Kansas City CC/Maple Woods CC
2005
Joe Kuap, Baker University
Tyler Rzepka, Barton CC
Pete Peters, Maple Woods
Rieley Roacha, Kansas City CC
Frank Allen, Rockhurst University
Preston Land, Kansas University
Ross Kelling, Kansas University
Mike Marx, Benedictine College
Brendan Higgins, Emporia State University
Doug Bodenhammer, Baker University
2006
Alex Gilgus, Fort Scott CC
Chad Griffin, Johnson CCC
Danny Cast, Baker University
Erik Anderson, Barton CC/Nebraska
Grant Lambert, Baker University
Kyle Brouhard, Fort Scott CC
Matt Legree, Hutchinson CC
Miles Cleveland, Longview College
Mitchell Mathis, Johnson CCC
Nick McCoy, Neosho CCC
Nick McKinnis, Benedictine College
Jeff Terrill, Independence CC
Wes Gunther, Brigham Young University
Josh Warner, Mid America Nazarene University
JP Verhulst, Fort Scott CC
Blake Thomas, Missouri Western University
Jon Bond, Missouri Western University
Ryan Thayer, Neosho CC
Parker Amos, Johnson CC
Amanda Jobe, University of Kansas
Mitch Viehauer, Fort Scott CC
Sam Sharpe, University of Nebraska
Scott Limbocker, University of Arkansas
Sean McCarthy, University of Evansville
Jason Rose, Allen County CC
Jason Hunt, Northern Iowa CC
Corey White, Coffeyville CC
Billy Waldman, Coffeyville
2007
Aaron Martens, Longview CC
Adam Maddox, Missouri State University
Andrew Kuhn, Neosho CC
Alex Mueller, Arizona CC
Ben Martin, Allen CCC
Brandon Rusak, Neosho CCC
Brandon Truitt, Kansas City CC
Brian Gomez, Neosho CCC
Cody Cobb, Allen County CC
Camron Kaman, K-State Football
Colton Stock, William Jewel
Cullen Baxter, Fort Scott CC
David Parker, Cloud CCC
Dorain Williams, Butler CC
Frank Specht, Cowley CCC
Eric Cole, Univesity of Central Missouri
Jake Farrington, Cloud CCC
Jake Hosey, Allen CCC
Jake Kraft, Allen CCC
Jason Borchardt, Hutchinson CC
Jason Miller, University of Memphis
Jason Rose, Allen County CC
Jeremiah Bigger, Northwest Missouri State
Josh Ward, Allen County CC
Joe Heater, Cloud CCC
Jordan Land, Longview CC
Kyle Hoge, Cowley CCC
Luke Irvine, Maple Woods CC
Luke Zeller, Cowley CCC
Michael Basler, Allen CCC
Mike Garza, Butler CCC
Nathan Bacon, Harding University
Nate Sybesma, Cloud CCC
Nick McKinnis, Benedictine Univesity
Rick Carroll, Neosho CC
Sean Carter, Rockhurst University
Mitch Patters, Kansas City CC
Reid Robson, Undecided
Seth Dutton, Allen CCC
Taylor Klugman, Hutchinson CC
Taylor Sibala, Pittsburg State University
Tom Rzepka, Longview CC
Tyler Bean, Allen CC
Zach Frerichs, Kansas City CC
Ethan Barnet, Allen County CC
2008
Brett Winfrey, Ottawa University
Brett Baldwin, Lindenwood University
Kalin Caton, Fort Scott CC
Gage Daniels, Johnson County CC
Jake Ormsby, William Jewell
Jeff Lusardi, Arizona State University
Justin Ziegler, Bradley University
Joey Oxley, Emporia State University
Aaron Baker, University Central Mo (CMSU)
John Smith, Florissant Valley Community College
Matt Garcia, Cowley County CC
Kelson Boyer, University of Kansas
Kevin Huckleberry, Johnson County CC
Alex Nixon - Drury University
2009
Harrison Lambert, University of Northern Colorado
Stewart Pudenz-Dallas Baptist University
Brandon Simmons, Missouri Western University
Derahn Williams
2010
David Chew
Alex Klonowski
Luke Lawyer
Albert Minnis
Clay Smith
Drew Trout
Foster Vielock
Sean Hurley
Chance Mason
Jordan Brown
Logan Moon
Chris Jackson
David Haase
Stewart Jensen
Erik Schoenrock
Keaton Terry
Alec Sarain
David Reese
Richie Alexander
Jesse Castro
Brett Sutton
Cole Fergus
Scott Kennedy
2012
Landon Mason
Austin Holland
Blake Chevilier
Marcus Brown
Kurt Jensen
Dylan Christie
John Ekedahl
Jack Porter
Nick Sweatt
Billy Kirkpatrick
2013
Alec Alvarez
Brett Skillett
Sailor Reese
Luke Knight
James Stroud
Peyton Snell
Jeff Watt
Billy Maloney
Vance Wentz
Jon Roblez
Kyle Wolfe
Joe Simon
Mike Baxter
Brad Baxter
MANY MORE ON THE WAY FROM YEARS TO COME
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| Who is squashing the bug? Who is hitting balls deep in the zone? NOT DEREK LEE |
5/28/2007 |
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I love this clip. Look at the load, the balance, the bat speed, and the extention. Don't forget the right foot. Watch as the toes slide forward through the swing as the bat gets through the hitting zone. He does settle back onto the ball of his foot, but that is after contact.
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| Who is squashing the bug? Who is hitting balls deep in the zone? NOT CARLOS BELTRAN |
5/24/2007 |
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This view says it all. The back leg drives into the ball causing a dragging action in the back foot. When the ball is gone he settles back onto the ball of his foot.
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| Who is squashing the bug? Who is hitting balls deep in the zone? NOT DAVID ECKSTEIN |
5/22/2007 |
What a great picture of a guy who has the body of a normal person doing what it takes for him to be successful at the Big League level.
He is up on the tip toe of the back foot. And look at his space of contact. The old myth of extension at contact is a little off. In theory fully extended arms at contact sound logical, but in reality when we punch or hit things we try and explode through them. This means there needs to flexion through the contact.
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| Who is squashing the bug? Who is hitting balls deep in the zone? NOT Alfonzo Soriano |
5/9/2007 |
Here we go again they say a picture is worth a thousand words. You will see and have been seeing all kinds of new and improved baseball schools and instructors. You will here much of the same old stuff. Get to a place where they are teaching what is really happening in your swing. Not cause they played, not cause the coached, not cause they look good in a uniform, but because they have trained hundreds to thousands of successful hitters for years.
Alfonzo is not squshing anything but balls off his bat.
His back foot is almost off the ground through contact. His back foot is actually dragging forward. Wait til you see the next guy we got for you.
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