CHICAGO, Ill. — Sam Gillikin had to touch the ivy on the hallowed walls to believe that he was there, leaving summer football practice.
Gavin Cecchini had always added the extra rep, the extra lap, the extra workout to reach this destination, and Jesmuel Valentin had always had a taste and sense of what a Major League ballpark was like, growing up with his father, former 16-year big-leaguer Jose Valentin.
Co-MVPs Jesmuel Valentin (left) and
Gavin Cecchini.
Photo by Joseph Santoliquito
The trio might have arrived by varied ports, but they each certainly helped themselves and their stock at the Under Armour All-American game, powered by the Baseball Factory, and played in a very special place, Wrigley Field, under very adverse conditions Saturday afternoon.
The National team, coached by former Major Leaguer Larry Bowa, outdistanced the American squad, coached by another former big leaguer, Billy Ripken, 6-4, in a game called in the bottom of the eighth due to heavy rains.
Valentin and Cecchini were selected as respective MVPs from each team.
Valentin, from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and headed to LSU on a baseball scholarship, for the National squad, was 2-for-2 with an RBI. While Cecchini, from Barbe High School in Louisiana and headed to Ole Miss for baseball, received the MVP award for the American team scoring the game's first run when he doubled in the top of the third inning, stole third base and then scored on a wild pitch. He later drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth.
Other players, like Gillikin, who's bound for Auburn for baseball,
Fernelys Sanchez, an Oklahoma commit from
Washington (New York, N.Y.),
Ty Hensley, out of
Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.),
Mikey White, from
Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.), rising junior Yairo Munoz, from the Dominican Republic, and Jose Orlando Berrios, from Puerto Rico, were among those that also helped themselves this weekend.
"I came here wanting to prove something," admitted Valentin, who was also exceptional in the field at shortstop and second base. "I wanted to prove I'm not a baseball player because of my last name and who my father is. I wanted to prove I got here on hard work. Sometimes, I see lists of players, and who is the best. I wanted to let the scouts know what I can do, and I know I can be better."
What the scouts didn't see, but certainly should take note of, is that Valentin should have come off the field.
He pulled his right hamstring in the third inning legging out an RBI single to reach second base on a misplayed ball. After the inning, Bowa asked Valentin if he wanted to come out.
"There was no way," Valentin said. "This was too big of an opportunity that I couldn't waste. I had to stay in the game, and I think I opened a few eyes."
He did. So too did Cecchini and Gillikin.
"This was the best, and I think I learned today that I can stay within myself and not over-extend," said Cecchini, a two-time All-American, and two-time Louisiana all-state. "This was a completely different level than I think anyone here was used to seeing, or will see next spring when their high school seasons begin. When you're playing with the best, and to get something like the MVP, it's a real honor. But I know it's going to make me work that much harder."
That will be a hard task to overcome, considering Cecchini hits at least twice a day, including Christmas, and his workout routine consists of everything from swimming laps in the pool to taking hundreds of ground balls daily.
"It's funny, because people think I'm crazy, but I've been home only five days this summer, and I really believe that if you do want something bad enough, you work for it," Cecchini said. "I know what I want to do, I want to make it to the majors and stay there."
Gillikin almost seemed to be an afterthought.
He introduced himself to Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, who was one the Under Armour All-American instructors, before the game and had been working out for summer practice with his Hoover High (Alabama) football team, where he plays quarterback.
The Auburn baseball commit just arrived Friday missing most of the instructional days during the week, yet his RBI single in the top of the seventh tied the score at 4-4.
Gillikin topped that off with a spectacular running catch to deep center field in the bottom of the seventh in a driving rain.
"I had to leave football for this, but this game and this week was a once-in-a-lifetime chance I couldn't pass up," Gillikin said. "I never played in a place like Wrigley Field before. The first thing I did in the outfield today was walk up and touch the ivy on the walls and take in everything. I had to get here and get some exposure. I hope I helped myself."
There is a strong chance he did.
"I think all of these kids helped themselves, some more than others, like the Valentin kid, the (Gillikin) kid who made the catch in center field, Mikey White, Sanchez, the Hensley kid threw a hell of a curve ball," said Bowa, a former Major League all-star and manager. "What gets me is the size of these kids, and how well they move. What I also like is their character. That's the one thing that really impressed me about all of these kids, their character. Talent on top of character helps get you the majors.
"Character helps you fight and scratch for something, and you can tell all of these kids want it. I just hope they don't change. Every kid I worked with this week, and I think it's been pretty much all of them, I hope they keep working and don't change. Because you have a lot of guys in the majors who were once like these kids, and some do change. Maybe it's all those zeroes at the end of their checks. This was a great group of kids, and I was really pleased to be a part of this. These kids make you realize why you love the game."
5 takes from Santoliquito
1. This was the fourth year of the event and it couldn't have been more flawless.
2. Under Armour and the Baseball Factory truly made these players feel like big leaguers for a week, and the structure of the week made it that much better. Each day events were planned to the minute, mixed in with instruction.
3. The Ripkens, Cal and Billy, are exceptional teachers of the game, and their message to the players was absorbed like young children taking in candy.
4. Larry Bowa was also a prime source, as too was Glenn Cecchini, the father of Gavin, and George Washington coach Steve Mandl, for instruction.
5. It seems this event is only growing and getting better.
