Lots of names, of lots of big men playing baseball flying around today, with C.C. Sabathia(6’7/290), Prince Fielder(5’11/280) and even Babe Ruth(6’2/215) being tossed around and how about Ryan Minor, when he was with the Baltimore Orioles at 6’7/250, when he replaced Cal Ripken Jr. on September 20, 1998 and he was playing in Greensboro for the Delmarva Shorebirds, in the South Atlantic League Championship in August of 1997…..One of his teammates with the Orioles and the Shorebirds was first baseman Calvin Pickering who stood 6’5 and weighed 295 pounds…..
Minor on the corner at third at 6’7/250 and Pickering on the corner at first checking in at 6’5/295…..D.J. Reader(Grimsley High School) can play both of those spots at 3b and 1b, at least he can in high school, so he ought to fit right in with those guys….D.J. should get a shot at first base in college, if all goes well…
Another big man that played third base and he was no shrimp and that was Bob Horner, of the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals….Bob started large and got extra-large before it was all over…He was at 240 pounds in one of his prime frames, but later they said Bob might have bulged up to 270…..
Big men have been around for a long time….Got any more prime examples for us???
*****I also remember Lamar Hoyt going real big at the end of his career and that may not be a stretch….*****
Adam Dunn is 6’6″ and “officially” 285 pounds although he may go about 3 spins by now.
If he doesn’t eat himself out of the Big Leagues first, he’s closing in on 400 career HRs.
They don’t call him “Big Donkey” for nothin’…
This is crazy to be making all these comparisons to a local HS player at this stage. It’s the same hype as when this site and the N&R were talking about a local player who was 5’7″ and could not even make the throw from left field to second base on a line being drafted in the MLB draft.. Read Baseball America sometime and see where all these local heroes are in the minds of the big boys. A high school pitcher with 5 pitches would be mowing down local opposition, and it ain’t happening!!!!
I don’t get it either………..this thread is comparing a local high school kid that is a talented athlete yes, but this crap about hyping kids up is getting downright comical. The analogy “big fish in small pond” definitely suffices here……If this athlete was as great as he is being portrayed on this site he would be at Perfect Game showcases…..listed in Baseball America as a top prospect. If I do remember correctly the same athlete that Don’t Get It talks about wasn’t that highly rated by Baseball America and/or Collegiate Baseball, publications that have their finger on the pulse of amateur baseball in the United States. Talent has definitely fallen to the wayside over the last decade and social media is to blame…..player rankings and websites are about the almighty dollar and until people realize this……then we can get down to athlete evaluation the way it needs to be. Finally, the watered down competition is because opportunities are so spread out the best at one showcase or event maybe middle of the pack at another.
You guys want to make a mountain out of a mole hill….All that is being compared is size…..There is no push for ability here, this is all about size….Did you guys play football too? You may have suffered too many concussions…..
Yes a comparison to MAJOR LEAGUE baseball players………perception is 9/10ths of the law! And no never played football so no concussions! Masters Degree in Sports Management with a 132 page thesis on youth sports and parents and coaches! So I know a little bit about sport and the effects on development of the physical and MENTAL aspects of the game. A lot of kids are being set up for a tough future after their hopes and dreams (which media puts on them) aren’t fulfilled and realized. So just the comparison does the kid no justice at all……..
Go ahead and throw us all out to pature where we can no longer Dare to Dream…..I spoke with Daniel Downing of Northern Guilford last night and he asked me if I remembered questioning him about possibly attending Coastal Carolina when we talked on a video show three years or so ago….I remembered about inquiring with him in regards to South Carolina and I dropped in Coastal Carolina too as a possiblity…”You had me going to Coastal two years ago, said Daniel” and in turn I guess I did….I have always had this ability to see where people are going before they get there….I have never fully understood it, but I see all of the options and I know there is no such thing as a closed door….I remember one day back in the early ’90’s when a kid called me and said he needed/wanted to get into N.C. State…..I had a meeting set up in less than 24 hours with the President of the Guilford County Wolfpack Club, at that time Mr. R.B. Arthur and we/he had the kid in at N.C. State in a very short time….I studied hard as kid, read many newspapers and sports sections and meomorized names and numbers and have used them to get things done and to help people over the years……In my studies on-line and off-line through the Harvard School of Higher Learning, I have found and seen things many people can not understand…..
I do not totally understand this higher calling, but I have been chosen to lead the people and that is what I intend to do….To the pros, the recreation level, college, whatever, we must march on……