From Wildcat to Rocket… to Royalty
6/4/2003
There’s a draft in the air. About this time each June I check with every
contact I have around the country, and especially on the West Coast, to
get the latest updates. For about 1,000 lucky young men their dream of
being drafted by a Major League Baseball team is about to come true.
Enter Mitch Maier, Novi High School Class of 2000. In earlier columns
I’d touted his potential as a ballplayer. A long-lean, left-handed
hitting catcher with pop in his bat and the ability to run caught my
attention 3 years ago. In addition his strong throwing arm, competitive
nature, and work ethic contributed to the type of makeup that pro scouts
pay attention to.
 Since
leaving Novi High School, Mitch Maier has been lighting it up for the
Toledo Rockets in the highly competitive MAC conference. He’s put up
impressive numbers, and has progressed in every aspect of his game. It
was my belief he was a lock to get drafted.
The Kansas City Royals noticed… On June 3rd, Mitch Maier was drafted in
the 1st round, the 30th pick overall by the same team that noticed the
likes of George Brett and Bo Jackson back in the day.
Now I’m taking my prediction further. Maier will do very well in
professional baseball, and here’s why. He’ll have to adjust to wood bats
again, but he already proved he can do it last summer by raking in the
Cape Cod league, which also uses wooden bats.
He’ll have to adjust to living away from home, but he’s already done
plenty of that in the last 3 years as well.
But the real key is that I believe he has the toughness, mentally and
physically to put up with long bus rides, idiosyncratic coaches and
teammates, and the bitter reality that this is a game predicated on
failure, and one’s inability to deal with it will do in even the most
talented player.
Maier showed the kind of toughness that Michigan football Coach Lloyd
Carr thought enough of to try to encourage him to become a Wolverine… on
the gridiron.
Minor League Baseball is a different kind of tough… No days off,
fatigue, nagging little injuries and the pressure to perform every day.
And all the while they’re looking to replace you with someone better.
Mitch Maier is going to do just fine. He always has, and he always will.
The chances of getting to the Big Leagues for anyone that actually ends
up in someone’s farm system is about 3%. That number jumps to 33% when
you’re drafted in the 1st round.
Dreams come true Mitch… Believe it.
(c) 2003 Novi
Information Network
www.novi.org
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Bernie Fratto is a freelance writer, radio personality, and
motivational speaker. His passion for sports comes in part from
his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand. "Behind
every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings"
said Fratto. "These athletic endeavors often serve as a
metaphor for the game we call life."
Bernie is also the voice of Novi Wildcat Hockey
and host of Wildcat Face-off, a local
radio program dedicated to youth sports in Novi.
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