Ken Griffey Jr.’s legacy is deep and widespread, and it’s not restricted to baseball.
Case in level: Maryland-Eastern Shore graduate scholar outfielder Brantley Cutler mentioned certainly one of his most vivid recollections of Griffey will not be from his taking part in days with the Seattle Mariners, however the 13-time All-Star’s function within the movie “Little Big League.” In the 1994 film, one of many fundamental characters hit a protracted fly ball to heart discipline earlier than Griffey made a leaping catch on the wall to remove a possible dwelling run.
“That’s when I first got introduced to Ken Griffey Jr., and I started to look into his career and saw how cool a guy he was and that kind of stuff,” Cutler mentioned. “So I didn’t necessarily grow up watching him, but I could see that he had a really big impact on the game.”
Griffey continues to affect baseball and those that play in faculty. The Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball/MLB Players Association Youth Development Foundation Ambassador is among the main catalysts behind the inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic, an invitational to be performed Friday — 4 days earlier than MLB’s All-Star Game.
Of the 50 NCAA Division I gamers invited to T-Mobile Park in Seattle, 4 performed this previous spring for 2 traditionally Black faculties and universities in Maryland. Redshirt junior catcher Mike Dorcean, junior outfielder Jordan Hamberg and redshirt junior pitcher Rashad Ruff will characterize Coppin State, and Cutler will seem for Maryland-Eastern Shore.
“It’s always something you dreamed about as a kid, always reaching for the stars, and just to know that I have an opportunity in front of guys that are there, guys that are on TV, guys that I look up to, guys that are in the Hall of Fame, I just hope to go out there and show them what I’m made of,” Dorcean mentioned. “And hopefully one day, I can be on the same field as them.”
MLB Network will air the HBCU Swingman Classic at 10:30 p.m.. When the names of the 50 gamers had been revealed on MLB Network on June 9, Griffey instructed community analyst and former Orioles second baseman Harold Reynolds that the sport’s goal is to make clear and have a good time baseball at HBCUs.
“Not everybody goes to a Power Five conference, not everybody can afford to pay $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year to play baseball,” he mentioned. “It gives an opportunity for these guys to be seen. Plus, they want to continue their baseball careers just like everybody else. This is an opportunity for these guys to be out there on a big stage, to have some fun with some guys who played the game at a high level, and learn some things.”
Maryland-Eastern Shore interim coach Shawn Phillips mentioned he appreciates Griffey’s try to spotlight HBCU baseball.
“Being on one of the biggest weekends in baseball to kick off the festivities and everything for the weekend, it’s huge to bring attention to what we’re trying to do at an HBCU and in baseball,” he mentioned. “We are an HBCU, and we don’t get everything that the Power Five schools get. So as much national attention as we can get, we’ll be better off for it.”
The 4 gamers from Maryland loved a lot success this previous spring. Cutler was tied for second within the Northeast Conference in doubles (16) and eighth in RBIs (49).
Ruff ranked fourth within the NEC in saves (eight); Hamberg led the Eagles in dwelling runs (seven) and triples (4) and ranked second in batting common (.306) and RBIs (38); and Dorcean ranked second on Coppin State in dwelling runs (4) and tenth within the NEC in putouts (296).
Besides getting an opportunity to rub elbows with Griffey — who plans to take a seat in each dugouts through the recreation — Hall of Famer and Florida A&M graduate Andre Dawson and former MLB managers Jerry Manuel and Bo Porter, taking part in inside a serious league park might be a primary. While Hamberg performed on the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park for the HBCU All-Star Game on June 3, 2022, Cutler and Dorcean mentioned they’re desperate to step onto the sphere at T-Mobile Park, dwelling of the Mariners.
“This is going to scratch something off the bucket list,” mentioned Dorcean, who will graduate this summer season with a bachelor’s in well being sciences and entered the switch portal to pursue a grasp’s in athletic coaching. “But at the end of the day, I have to remember that it’s baseball and that it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time. So I can’t let the moment get me too much because at the end of the day, I still have a job to do, and if I can do something special in front of those guys, that will make it way more memorable.”
Both gamers have their favorites they wish to meet. Dorcean, a New York Yankees fan, mentioned he would select Yankees heart fielder Aaron Judge. Cutler mentioned he would choose Philadelphia Phillies proper fielder Bryce Harper as a result of they’re each left-handed batters who play proper discipline.
Hamberg mentioned he’s targeted on speaking to Griffey.
“He was an electric player with a nice swing,” he mentioned. “I just want to pick his brain and just ask him questions about how he was so successful at the game.”
Although a lot in Seattle might be a brand new expertise for the 4 Maryland gamers, Cutler, who’s from Washington, North Carolina, quipped that he’s desperate to deliver one thing totally different: his Southern drawl.
“I can’t wait to go all the way to the West Coast so that those people can hear my country accent,” he mentioned. “I already get faces when I’m up in Maryland and start to talk in the classroom.”
HBCU Swingman Classic
T-Mobile Park, Seattle
Friday, 10:30 p.m.
TV: MLB Network
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Source: www.bostonherald.com