Finding the Olympic Ideal in Vermont
Finding the Olympic Ideal in Vermont
Written by Ted Leavengood
Monday, 11 August 2008
As thousands of international athletes gathered in the infield of Beijing’s Olympic Stadium Friday night for the opening ceremonies, the US announcers focused the viewer’s attention on the well-known competitors from each country as they filed past. For the media the story is the competition at the top, but every Olympic athlete is a hero of some sort. The commentators cannot tell them all but each athlete is a success story born of endless hours of hard work and competition at the highest levels.
The high school and college players recently drafted by the Nationals’ are not Olympians, but they have gotten to the pinnacle of the game of baseball through the same regimen of hard work and dedication. James Keithley was drafted in the 39th round of the 2008 June draft out of the University of Texas, San Antonio. He had a nice season for the Roadrunners, hitting .358 with a little pop, a little speed and a willingness to play any position on the field, even catch. He was contacted by scouts from the Nationals during the season and his hopes soared about the amateur draft. He wasn’t sure where he fit in, but he was hopeful that he had played well enough in his junior season to get a shot at pro ball.
When the first day of the draft ended and Keithley had not been taken, his hopes came back to earth a little. The next day he worked out and went through his usual routine, but late in the day his best friend texted him with the news. The same big league scout contacted him a while later to confirm the news and Jimmy Keithley became a National, signing a contract with a modest bonus and he began packing his bags for Burlington, Vermont to play for the Lake Monsters in granola land.
Ricardo Pecina had a similar journey. Playing for one of the highest profile programs in the country at the University of San Diego, Pecina was stuck behind the best college pitcher in the country, Brian Matusz, as well as highly regarded Josh Romansky, and Matt Couch. That was the San Diego rotation and it was a good one. But Couch came down with arm problems and Pecina got his chance and has not looked back. He proved to highly respected San Diego coach Rich Hill that he could pitch.
“I struggled at first for a few outings, but then it just clicked for me. I had been inconsistent, walking almost as many as I struck out, and then I had a great game against Southern Cal. Suddenly the coaches started to have confidence in me and I started to believe in myself, and I was pumped every time out after that.” Pecina pitched some big ball games for the Torreros down the stretch, winning against Long Beach State in a big elimination game. Ultimately, San Diego lost to the National Champions, Fresno State, in the Regional Finals.
Pecina’s big season got him drafted in the eighth round and joined him with Jim Keithley in Vermont. The two are roommates, living with a host family in Burlington, trying to prove to a new set of coaches that they can do it at a much higher level. “Rusty Meachem is the most positive guy I have ever met, ” says Pecina of his new pitching coach with the Lake Monsters. “He shows you how to do it and has all the confidence in the world in you.” It has had good results for Pecina who ended the eight-game losing streak for the Monsters last week with a six-inning, one-run effort that stood up for a badly needed win. Pecina is part of a rotation that includes Will Atwood, a weekend pitcher for the very successful University of South Carolina program, and 2007 draftee P.J. Dean who was taken one round after Jack McGeary.
The Vermont Lake Monsters have a proud history. Talented players like Ken Griffey and Barry Larkin have lived with many of the same families in this community, played at Centennial Field as they learned the game. Saturday night, Keithley kept the Lake Monster’s winning streak going with three RBI on a 1-for-3 evening where he also collected three walks. Will Atwood blanked the Auburn Doubledays for six innings as the Monsters won 5-2, though the team is below.500 and Keithley is struggling at the plate. It remains to be seen how far Pecina and Keithley will go, how many of their team mates will follow in the footsteps of others who have ended this journey on a big league ball field.
But as fans we often have our attention focused only on the high profile guys. Like in the Olympics the announcers are all about the easy success stories. I will long remember Mike O’Connors’ dad telling me last year at a game in Potomac, “The one thing that separates these guys out there,” he said about the Nationals talent playing that night, “is confidence. The difference in talent is not that great. The difference is up here,” he said, tapping his head. For John Lannan it just clicked one summer working out with Glenn Gibson’s dad and he has never looked back. It may well happen for Keithley and Pecina the same way. But whether it does or not, they are having an experience that they will not soon forget.
“This is what dreams are about,” said Pecina Saturday night. Whether they are Olympic dreams or pro baseball dreams, talented young athletes of all kinds dream the big dream and work hard to make them happen. Both Keithley and Pecina talked about how hard they are working. “It’s not just weekends any more. There are no classes during the week. This is an every day grind,” said James Keithley. So whether the dream is for Olympic gold or to stride onto a major league playing field, the young men deserve respect for the effort they are making, for showing up every day and hoping that one day it is going to “click,” and then there will be no looking back, just dreams to live on