Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) senior catcher/first baseman
Kevin Cron may have the most compact, powerful swing in high school baseball.
Mountain Pointe's Kevin Cron.
Photo by Mary Conant
Coach Brandon Buck told MaxPreps, "He's a kid who's been around baseball all of his life. He understands the swing. He has a great approach at the plate and as good of a swing as you'll see. He's able to make adjustments from pitch to pitch. There's not a high school hitter in the country who can do what he does."
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Texas Christian University recruit has the numbers to back up all the accolades. He recently has established state records for most home runs in a season (24) and a career (57). He currently is batting a lofty .578 and has driven in 62 runs in 29 games. He has struck out just three times.
His longest home run has been an estimated 450-foot blast – against a strong wind – last year at Gilbert, Ariz. It is believed to have split the goalposts on the football field.
Behind Cron's leadership, Mountain Pointe also has established a one-season state record with 82 home runs and counting.
Buck added, "His brother, C.J., is a junior catcher/first baseman at the University of Utah. The whole family is just an awesome baseball family. They are hard workers and they listen. I'm just disappointed that their mom and dad didn't have any more boys."
Cron calls his records "just icing on the cake. Growing up, I always was the kid who wanted to win. I always wanted to win the state. Our school never has won a state championship in baseball, football or basketball."
Mountain Pointe came close last year, losing to Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.), 11-4, in the Class 5A-Division I state title game. The legend of Kevin Cron actually started that day because – despite playing with an excruciating stress fracture in his left foot - he tied what then was the state single-season home run record with No. 22 in the first inning.
"I didn't even feel anything running the bases, but I almost collapsed when I got to the dugout," he recalled. "I actually hurt it with about two months of the season left. It just felt like I rolled my ankle. In the playoffs I was covering first when I was pitching and aggravated it."
Kevin had discussed the severity of the injury with his father, Chris Cron, who has been a minor league baseball manager since 1995 and currently directs the Detroit Tigers' Class AA team in Erie, Pa. Chris told him to get it checked out, but Kevin replied, "It doesn't matter; I'm going to play."
Realizing it could have been a career-ending injury if his son was hurt any more seriously, Chris said, "I love that he just wanted to help his team so much. It was flat-out, unbelievable – amazing."
Kevin's love for baseball started at a very young age. Chris would be tutoring older brother C.J. and Kevin always was there to absorb every last word. As an 8-year-old, he already was playing on a 10-year-old team.
"I grasped the concept of the swing pretty early," he pointed out. "I do it over and over again and it does wonders. Now my dad doesn't even have to talk to me. I just fix it on my own."
Kevin studies film of Justin Upton (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees). He notes that Upton "has a smooth swing, but a powerful swing. Rodriguez, I really like his balance at the plate."
Since eighth grade, he has done a lot of weight training, stressing power and explosion and also strengthening his wrists.
Kevin has a tough decision coming in June, because both he and C.J., who leads the NCAA in batting, are expected to be taken in the Major League Draft. He carries an outstanding 3.9 GPA and is No. 18 in a class of 549, so he has a bright future at TCU.
He acknowledges, "It's definitely going to be a big-time decision and I definitely look forward to the experience."
Meanwhile, Chris sums up a lifetime of family dedication to baseball when he says, "They just played and played and now all of that playing has paid off."
*
Chatsworth (Calif.) tied its school scoring record with a 28-0 rout of Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) in five innings.
*
Smoky Hill (Aurora, Colo.) senior
Shane Fessel had a recent streak during which he slammed eight home runs in 12 at-bats. Before the streak, he had hit just two homers in 270 at-bats.
*
Will Morris belted a home run in the 14th inning to give
Durango (Las Vegas) a 3-2 victory over Spring Valley (Las Vegas). His eighth-inning homer had sent the game into extra innings. In addition, he got the pitching victory in relief by allowing just one hit and striking out seven in seven innings.
*
Legacy (North Las Vegas) survived three home runs by
Zachary Quintana to post an 8-5 victory over Arbor View (Las Vegas).
*
Hunter Schryver hit a single, double and triple while driving in five runs during a 16-run sixth inning as
Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) routed Red Land (Lewisberry, Pa.), 19-7.
* Coaching milestone victories: Dan Oliastro of
Riverside (Ellwood City, Pa.) posted No. 500, while Jeff Hogan of
Hamilton (Milwaukee, Wis.) gained No. 300.
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