Originally Posted by BWillie:
You got all of that because he struggled at the very end of the game while being left in too long?
Did you watch the game?
He went into that inning at only 66 pitches. Was cruising along. Got a couple bad pitch calls from the ump, gave up the infield single. Bases got loaded and his body language just changed. You could tell he was ‘done’ at that point.
I guess you can argue Yost should have pulled him sooner (before the slam), but he was only around 80 pitches and the bullpen is spent right now. Yost needed a little more from him and he needed to give it. Duffy’s GOTTA battle there. He SHOULD be the leader of this pitching staff and he seems to not want to be that guy at all. Watch Keller and Junis pitch. They battle. They dig down deep. They’re not nearly as talented as Duffy is and don’t have close to his stuff, but they leave it all out there.
Just wish Duffy would do the same . . . . . [Reply]
Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin:
Did you watch the game?
He went into that inning at only 66 pitches. Was cruising along. Got a couple bad pitch calls from the ump, gave up the infield single. Bases got loaded and his body language just changed. You could tell he was ‘done’ at that point.
I guess you can argue Yost should have pulled him sooner (before the slam), but he was only around 80 pitches and the bullpen is spent right now. Yost needed a little more from him and he needed to give it. Duffy’s GOTTA battle there. He SHOULD be the leader of this pitching staff and he seems to not want to be that guy at all. Watch Keller and Junis pitch. They battle. They dig down deep. They’re not nearly as talented as Duffy is and don’t have close to his stuff, but they leave it all out there.
Just wish Duffy would do the same . . . . .
You're too stupid to watch sports.
Why isn't ____ great all the time? Must be a mental midget and or not "bearing down" enough! [Reply]
Says another guy who didn’t watch the game . . . .
Being called a ‘moron’ by you I’ll wear as a badge of honor, since everyone on this site knows what a complete fucking moron you are. Your baseball takes are shit and always have been. [Reply]
We're so thin on starting pitching, I don't think we can afford to trade Duffy just yet. He rarely gets through a season without a time on the DL. He'll probably have shoulder or elbow issues in July or August. Then trade him in the off season. [Reply]
As Bobby Witt Jr. stood in front of his graduating class in the Colleyville Heritage High School gym Wednesday morning, seven-time All-Star and Texas Rangers Hall of Famer Michael Young came through the side door and was given a microphone. His introduction of Witt spoke for itself.
“Not only is he the state Player of the Year,” Young said, “but he has been named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.”
Witt Jr. didn’t even flinch, cracking a winning smile and giving Young a hug.
The moment was equally surprising and expected for the baseball phenom. He thought he was going to an ordinary graduation rehearsal, so seeing Young take center stage announcing the award caught him off-guard. But the award itself was just fulfillment of another goal, the latest addition to a long list of accolades.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to try and win every award and just try to be the best I can, on the field and off the field,” Witt Jr. said.
Witt Jr. took the trophy, heavy enough to test the strength of powerlifters, and started walking toward the school’s weight room. As he exited, trophy in hand, he paused to hold the door for the family, friends and media members who trailed after him.
Not all great athletes look the same because greatness isn’t uniform. Some players may be quality starters while others may be perennial All-Stars. Some may have the tools on the field. Others boast great charisma off it.
When Ryan Nelson, a former MLB scout and the current CEO of youth baseball program USA Prime Baseball, looks at Witt Jr., he sees a generational talent that encapsulates it all.
“Everything you would ever want in a draft pick, he’s got it,” Nelson said. “On top of his physical gifts, he as a person is an unbelievable man. Comes from a great family and really genuinely nice kid. There’s no doubt in my mind that whoever ends up drafting him, in five to seven years, he’s going to be Mike Trout. He’s going to be that guy that’s just everywhere, like Derek Jeter.
“You won’t see negative stuff in the press about him. All you’ll hear is the great stuff that he’s doing for other people. He’s just a great kid overall.”
The top of the draft will be very interesting for the Witt family. Witt Jr.’s uncle, Doug Witt, was hired as a scout by the Baltimore Orioles just eight months ago, and the team will have the opportunity to draft his nephew with the first overall pick when the MLB draft kicks off on Monday. In most years, Witt Jr.’s talent would make that a foregone conclusion. This isn’t most years. Few drafts feature a catching prospect as highly-touted as Adley Rutschman of Oregon State, who is the safe bet to be Baltimore’s pick. If that happens, the clock will start ticking on the Kansas City Royals at No. 2, and there is virtually no way Witt Jr. slides any further than that.
Kansas City is infatuated with Witt Jr. The Royals have had a presence at every single game Witt Jr. has played this season.
“I’ll give it to them, they’re at every game, whether it’s 100 degrees or 30 degrees in the rain,” Witt Jr. said. “They’re always there.”
Royals general manager Dayton Moore has been in town to talk Witt Jr. in person as well. High school statistics are not always an indicator of future success, but Witt’s are particularly absurd. Through 38 games, he’s batting .500 with a .571 on-base percentage and 1.103 slugging percentage. He has hit 15 doubles, eight triples and 15 home runs. He has scored 62 runs and driven in 54. He’s stolen 17 bases. With runners in scoring position, Witt Jr. is hitting .478 and has struck out just 11 times in 154 plate appearances.
Witt Jr. also had a summer to remember in 2018. Among the highlights: He had the third-highest velocity among infield arms at the Perfect Game National Showcase; he hit a home run and reached base three times at Wrigley Field in the Under Armour All-Star game; and he won the high school Home Run Derby at Nationals Park by going yard eight times in 76 seconds.
Witt will turn 19 in June, but his talent has been evident for years.
About six years ago, Nelson and Brandon Gowins were coaching kids, and they went up against a team of 12-year-olds which included Witt Jr and was coached by his dad, longtime Texas Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt Sr. Nelson’s team was able to run through most teams in the Metroplex; against Witt Sr.’s team, they were 0-8. Witt Jr. left an impression as an undersized kid with an usual amount of baseball savvy.
Then, once Witt Jr. turned 13 years old, he and good friend Logan Britt — a teammate at Colleyville Heritage and Texas A&M commit — played for Nelson and Gowins. Witt Jr. wouldn’t be undersized for much longer.
“Physically, there was never any doubt that he was a special, special talent,” Nelson said of Witt Jr. “You could see the five tools developing right in front of your eyes at a very young age. I remember telling anybody that would listen when he was 14 years old that he was going to be a first-round draft pick.”
When Witt Jr. and Britt first joined Nelson’s team, Britt was a more vocal player while Witt Jr. was more soft-spoken. Over the years, Nelson has seen Witt Jr. come out of his shell and develop into a standout leader, by his play and his voice. Even as his spotlight grew brighter, Witt Jr. remained unflappable.
“When you’re the No. 1 player in the country your whole high school career, that’s a tough burden to carry,” Nelson said. “People start to look for anything and everything you don’t do well. With Junior, you just can’t find anything. He does everything well. Every tool is there, his love for the game is there and he’s mentally tough.
“[People] criticize things that aren’t really there, which is what we all kind of expected to happen with Junior. It’s just, Junior is on another planet.”
When Witt Jr. is selected Monday, almost certainly with one of the first two selections, he’ll immediately make history. In June of 1985, 34 years ago, Bobby Witt Sr. went third overall to the Texas Rangers. The Witts stand to become the highest-drafted father-son combination in MLB history, surpassing Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve (sixth overall in 1968) and his son, Ben Grieve (second overall in 1994).
Witt Sr. was still an MLB pitcher when Witt Jr. was born. His son was 17 months old in 2001, when the elder Witt won the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks to put a bow on a 16-year MLB career. Seeing his son receive the Gatorade National Player of the Year award from Young and continue his relentless climb was a different type of joy.
“To see him, what he’s done over the past few years, how he’s worked, the time he’s put in to the game—to see all of that pay off, in a sense, getting this type of award, it’s just been unbelievable,” Witt Sr. said. “It’s exciting. I’ve had my days, but this is about him.”
Witt Sr. didn’t force baseball upon his son. His son’s love for the game came organically through growing up in that environment. In addition to his dad’s MLB career, Witt Jr.’s uncle has been a longtime scout, and he has two brothers-in-law playing professionally. James Russell, another Colleyville Heritage alum, is in the Mexican League after playing in MLB for six years while Zach Neal is pitching in Japan’s NPB.
Witt Jr. looked up Young, Jeter and Dustin Pedroia in addition to his dad and put in the work to get to that level. While Witt Sr. has been a valuable baseball asset and mentor to his son, he has also been a father, focused on raising Witt Jr. to be a great human being.
“When we’re together as a family, nobody’s better than anybody else,” Witt Sr. said. “My dad was a firefighter and he worked two jobs his whole life. That was something that he instilled in me, and I’m just hoping to pass that along to him so hopefully, someday when he gets married and has kids, he can do the same thing.”
Witt Jr. hasn’t let his stardom get to his head. He regularly mentors grade-school kids with disabilities, helps the homeless, serves as a youth baseball instructor and is involved in his church community.
“After games, there will be kids asking for autographs, and I’ll always give back to the kids because that was me five, 10 years ago,” Witt Jr. said. “I try to be friends with everyone because you never know in this day and age. Somebody could be our president coming out of Colleyville Heritage, so I just kind of treat everyone with respect and they do the same for me.”
The lessons from his dad aren’t going to stop any time soon. In fact, there will now be an added wrinkle. Witt Jr. will be represented by Octagon Baseball, the agency where his father currently works. The elder Witt said he will take a little bit of a step back, but he will still be involved in his son’s career. Witt Sr. played 16 years across MLB after being the third overall pick, yet Witt Jr. has blazed such a trail that there are those who expect him to be the most successful baseball player in the family.
Right now, though, Witt Jr. is just living a magical week. On Wednesday, he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. On Thursday, he’ll walk the stage and graduate high school, only to turn around on Friday and help his team in the regional finals as Colleyville Heritage pursues a state championship. Next Monday, he’ll have a home in Major League Baseball (he’s also kept the option open to play collegiately at Oklahoma, a decision he’ll make after the draft).
Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin:
Says another guy who didn’t watch the game . . . .
Being called a ‘moron’ by you I’ll wear as a badge of honor, since everyone on this site knows what a complete ****ing moron you are. Your baseball takes are shit and always have been.
Originally Posted by gblowfish:
We're so thin on starting pitching, I don't think we can afford to trade Duffy just yet. He rarely gets through a season without a time on the DL. He'll probably have shoulder or elbow issues in July or August. Then trade him in the off season.
His problem is that he needs to learn to bear down. Maybe dig down deep and maybe battle.
/TomBarndtsTwin [Reply]
Originally Posted by gblowfish:
We're so thin on starting pitching, I don't think we can afford to trade Duffy just yet. He rarely gets through a season without a time on the DL. He'll probably have shoulder or elbow issues in July or August. Then trade him in the off season.
Right behind home player in Springfield tonight. Brady is really shaky so far. Hit the lead off guy, walked the 2nd batter, and the 3rd just advanced on catcher’s interference. [Reply]
