By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

TUCSON, Ariz. — Over the course of covering college baseball the last 46 years, I have come across some of the most unique people you could ever imagine.

Here are four of my favorites.

Pitcher Jason Haynie
South Carolina
Ever hear of a pitcher who performs a fire-breathing as well as fire-eating act?

From 1993-1996, Jason Haynie of the University of South Carolina was not only an incredible pitcher for the Gamecocks but a diverse entertainer who also juggled and performed sleight of hand.

His fire act always brought down the house which he performed at numerous hotels.

“Fire eating is when you take a stick on fire and bring it inside your mouth to put out the flame,” explained Haynie during the 1994 interview with Collegiate Baseball.

“Fire breathing is different. You take charcoal lighter fluid and pour it in your mouth. You have a torch in front of your mouth and spit out the lighter fluid as far as you can. The flames have erupted outward as far as 10 feet with a huge ball of fire.”

Haynie, who stressed people should not try fire eating or breathing unless they are well trained, said that butane is the fuel of choice when fire eating.

“The reason you use butane is that the fuel is the only thing that burns. I usually pour butane on a wire hanger wrapped with gauze and tied on with dental floss. I light it on fire, and then touch my tongue with the butane-coated gauze. My tongue is momentarily on fire, but it goes out very quickly. Before the butane burns off my tongue, another torch is lit by my tongue. People come away impressed with part of the act.

Haynie said his mouth was never coated with anything special to prevent the fire from scorching it.

His fire act was extremely dangerous to perform.

“You should never breathe in while you are fire eating because you might damage your lungs. The butane may run down your throat into your lungs, and then you would be in trouble.”

He injured himself while a photographer was shooting him and two other players for the back cover of the 1994 South Carolina media guide.

“I was fire breathing and spit out lighter fluid as usual into a torch of fire. This big ball of fire came out. But because it was a windy day, my left eye lash caught on fire.”

David Stevens
Wickenburg H.S. (Ariz.)
David Stevens is one of the most unbelievable baseball players the game has ever seen.

When he played for Wickenburg High School (Wickenburg, Ariz.) from 1981-1984, he played his favorite sport without legs (see photo of him attempting to pitch on page 5).

He was a thalidomide baby, born with stumps instead of legs.

During his high school career, he ran by utilizing the palms of his hands as feet and his leg stubs, one a misshapen foot with two toes, the other several inches of fused toes.

It goes without saying that he played with grit and determin-ation.

His story could have been tragic, but David’s indomitable spirit, to the amazement of everyone he knows, lifted him to remarkable deeds.

At birth, he was given a slim chance of living without brain damage. He defied the odds. His mother, believed to be 15 or 16 years of age at the time, abandoned David in a Phoenix hospital.

Fortunately, a loving couple by the name of Bill and Bee Stevens adopted young David at the hospital.

During his high school career, he normally walked on artificial legs. But as an athlete in football, wrestling and basketball, he used the palm of his hands and his leg stubs as legs.

Here is a sample of his athletic drive during his athletic career at Wickenburg H.S.:

• During a junior varsity football season, he played nose guard in eight games. He was involved in seven unassisted tackles and one quarterback sack.
• As a first-year wrestler, he registered an amazing 10-11 record.
• He bench pressed 208 pounds through his sophomore year.
• Once during a physical education basketball class, he scored 22 points.

So it wasn’t a case where coaches or students felt sorry for David. He had legitimate athletic talent.

In baseball games, he was normally put into games in the late innings of tight games because he draws walks. His strike zone begins about one inch above home plate and extends eight inches above that.

Stepping to the plate, he used a 27 ounce aluminum bat that was about 2 ½ feet long. In seven plate appearances during his sophomore year, he walked five times, cracked a base hit and struck out once.

He ran with remarkable speed from home to first base on any hit balls or walks for that matter.

He hustled more than anyone on the team. And because of the physical abuse that his hands took, the skin on each hand was as tough as boot leather.

On occasion, he played right field for Wickenburg H.S. and actually swiped two bases and knocked in a run for the junior varsity and varsity squads.

On one of his steals, he outscrambled the throw to second base by diving head first into the bag.

Life was not perfect for David. One time he was unceremoniously stuffed in a locker at school by a jerk.

But for the vast majority of the time, life was good for this remarkable young man.

No other athlete I have interviewed in the last 46 years stacks up to the inspirational level as this young man. Not even close.

Pitcher Jamie Bluma
Wichita State
This gentleman is the wildest free spirit I ever met. After all, this is a man who:

• Licked bugs off the grill of the team bus while on a trip from the University of Arkansas to Wichita, Kan. during his freshman season after teammates dared him to do it for $20.
• During a series with Bradley, Bluma was dared by pitcher Jason Jordan to eat a medium sized nightcrawler. Bluma obliged and received a hot dog as payment for services rendered.
• He put a live moth in his mouth and put it under his lip as if he were dipping tobacco.
• Early during one season at Wichita St., he and his bullpen crew captured several mice, played with them for about five innings and then “terminated” them.
• He once captured a toad in the bullpen during a regional game and promptly put a leash on it.
• To make the toad comfortable, he constructed a habitat where he and other pitchers in the bullpen constructed a miniature pond complete with grass, trees (from weeds), aquatic animals (plastic turtle and toad), and bridge (made of stretched out gum).

Bluma added a final human element to the magnificent engineering feat.

He threw in a touch of garbage (small paper crumpled up) so that no one could mistake this area as virgin land never inhabited by man.

He carried around an intriguing mix of plastic creatures during his Wichita State career, including a rat named “Scroogie,” a turtle named “Changeup,” and a snake called “Gaaas.”

In his collection of bizarre creatures were plastic cockroaches and a chicken.

The most famous part of his plastic creature collection was a 1 ½ foot long green grasshopper and a plastic baby doll. He took the head off the baby doll and transferred it to the top of the grasshopper’s head (see photo below).

Having a plastic baby head located on a grasshopper is something to behold. He actually hung this creature from the ceiling of the dugout during the College World Series in games involving Wichita St.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Silence Of The Lambs was one of Bluma’s all-time favorite movies and the psychotic character in the movie, Hannibal Lecter, his favorite character.

1B Bryant Winslow
Wichita State
This young man was without a doubt the most courageous baseball player I have ever interviewed.

Who else would play the last few weeks of the 1989 college baseball season with not only a sore shoulder, sore elbow and pulled groin muscle but a broken leg (stress fracture of his right leg).

When the Shockers qualified for the 1989 College World Series (which they eventually won), he hobbled around the confines of Rosenblatt Stadium for Wichita State’s first five games of the CWS with a lump so severe that he grimaced in pain when any weight was put on his broken right leg which was heavily taped for each game.

During the fifth inning of the national championship game against Texas, Longhorn runner Lance Jones collided with Bryant at first base after a throw from third baseman Mikes Jones pulled Winslow off the bag and into the first base line.

Both players sprawled to the ground in pain. After a few minutes, Jones brushed the dirt off his jersey and seemed to be okay.

But Bryant (see photo above, right) was on his back near the coaching box at first base in excruciating pain as he held his right leg for approximately five minutes.

He was helped up by Shocker Coach Gene Stephenson. But any weight put on the leg caused intense pain to Bryant.

His already fractured right leg was now broken in another spot — on the fibula bone as X-rays would reveal after the game. In addition, he broke his left wrist.

But despite having three broken bones now, he pleaded with Shocker Head Coach Gene Stephenson to stay in the game.

Winslow brokered a deal with Stephenson to let him stay out there for at least that inning.

After Winslow took his position at first base and pitcher Greg Brummett delivered a pitch to the batter, Winslow called time and slowly hobbled toward the Wichita State dugout located along the third base line as he was eventually helped to the dugout.

To read more great stories like this, subscribe to Collegiate Baseball by CLICKING HERE.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Brian O’Connor is one of the elite coaches in baseball at the University of Virginia.

Entering his 15th year at the helm, he led the Cavaliers to their first national title in 2015 along with four overall appearances at the College World Series and 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

He enters 2018 with a career record of 639-239-2.

Over the years, his ball clubs have featured baseball players who are tremendous athletes that not only pitch but play a position on the field and hit.

Five of the best include:

• LHP/1B Joe Koshansky (sixth round draft pick in 2004 by Colorado).
• LHP/1B Sean Doolittle (first round draft pick in 2007 by Oakland).
• LHP/DH/1B Danny Hultzen (first round pick in 2011 by Seattle).
• RHP/DH/3B Nick Howard (first round pick in 2014 by Reds).
• OF/LHP Adam Haseley (first round pick in 2017 by Phillies).

If you look at the landscape of college baseball today, it is rare to see dual position athletes like this.

Most who are able to pitch and also play another position and hit are asked to specialize in only one position when they get to college. They rarely are allowed to pitch, hit and play a position on the field defensively.

Decades ago, the best college programs in the USA featured dual position players like this, and programs thrived with these special athletes.

In this question and answer session, O’Connor explains why athletes should be given a chance to showcase their skills if they are able to play multiple positions on the collegiate level.

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL: Virginia has had some marvelous dual position athletes since you took over the program who can pitch, hit and play a position on the field. This was common years ago in college baseball. But now you rarely see coaches allow players to do this. They prefer to have players only pitch or play a position on the field. Why?

O’CONNOR: Some of it has been circumstance. When we first got to Virginia 15 years ago, we had a player by the name of Joe Koshansky who was the starting first baseman and a lefthanded pitcher for Virginia the previous season. He became the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of The Year, was in our starting rotation and hit in the middle of the lineup. He wound up being a Major Leaguer. We have been fortunate to have a successful line of these guys. The interesting thing about each one of them, for the most part, is that sometimes the industry of baseball doesn’t know yet what some of these guys might be the best at. Let’s look at Sean Doolittle who is the closer for the Washington Nationals. When we recruited him out of high school, nobody knew whether he would be a pitcher or hitter. Most schools were recruiting him as a pitcher. We recruited him as a dual player. After three years with Virginia, he was a first round draft choice as a hitter. As it turned out, because of knee surgeries and issues, he now is in the Big Leagues as a pitcher. The way recruiting is where recruits commit earlier and earlier, there are a lot of kids who pitch for their high school teams and also are position players who hit. Frankly, I’m not smart enough to know what they should specialize in yet. If it is in the best interests of them and the team, having them continue to be a dual player, if they can manage it, is a good thing.

CB: While college baseball always has a few of these tremendous athletes every year, there is no doubt that the numbers have shrunk over the last 40 years in college baseball as the game has become comprised of specialists who do one thing.

O’CONNOR: I can tell you that we don’t actively try to recruit players who are great pitchers who also are skilled hitters and defensive players. However, we have been fortunate to have some great ones in our program over the years. It’s worked out. But to be honest, it’s becoming harder and harder to do because so many kids are becoming specialized even on the high school level. There are so many 15 and 16-year-old pitchers who might only want to pitch. And that’s all they do. That’s fine. Even someone like Pavin Smith who was a first round pick out of our program last year by the Diamondbacks, out of high school there were as many people who liked him as a pitcher as much as a position player. When he came to Virginia, he ended up being a position player and ended up being a first round pick in that role. There really have been five elite guys in our program over the years who excelled at this in LHP/1B Joe Koshansky, LHP/1B Sean Doolittle, LHP/DH/1B Danny Hultzen, RHP/DH/3B Nick Howard and most recently OF/LHP Adam Haseley.

CB: I am curious if dual position athletes like this are at their best when they are allowed to pitch, hit and play a defensive position. If they are told to only pitch or only play a position and hit, have you seen dual position athletes like this perform worse?

O’CONNOR: I would think baseball people would love performing all of these skills on a regular basis. If you think about it, the competitiveness that it takes to do both is what makes special athletes like this excel. They know what it takes to step in that batter’s box at this level or take the mound against tremendous hitters and field as well. Competitors know what it is like on both sides. He knows what it’s like to face a great pitcher with two strikes on him with the winning run on second late in a game or being on the mound having to throw a strike or make a big pitch. I think it can be a real advantage for a player.

To read more of this question and answer session, purchase the Feb. 9, 2018 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE. The rest of the article delves more deeply into the area of multiple position athletes on baseball teams.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

TUCSON, Ariz. — What is the ultimate process for arriving at an ideal pitch mix against opponent hitters?

If you analyze and implement a plan for every facet of what is involved, you have given your pitcher a great chance for success.

In talking to great pitching coaches over the years dating back to the early 1970s, here is what the best in the business have done.

What Is The Strike Zone?
This sounds like the most obvious question in the world.

But how many college and high school coaches in baseball make a serious effort to find out the precise strike zone of each home plate umpire they face?

Most coaches simply deal with the strike zone once the game starts and adjust from that point.

The reality is strike zones are all over the map which drive coaches, hitters and pitchers mad. Some zones are incredibly small while others are as large as the Grand Canyon.

In Major League Baseball, many teams get a readout before every game on what the strike zone will be of the home plate umpire working that day and where he likes to call strikes.

It stands to reason that college and high school coaches would want this valuable information as well and keep detailed records of what each home plate umpire likes to call a strike.

Strangely, very few coaches take the time to track this vital information that will help their pitchers and hitters thrive.

Progressive coaches should have a diagram of the strike zone for every home plate umpire they face broken into right and lefthanded batters.

The reality is that the strike zone slightly changes with every home plate umpire depending on whether a right or left handed batter steps to the plate.

An umpire with proper mechanics typically positions his head on the side of the catcher’s head that the batter is hitting from.

When a righthanded batter comes to the plate, the umpire’s head is behind and to the left of the catcher’s head. When a lefthanded hitter steps into the box, the ump switches to the right side of the catcher’s head.

In most cases, strikes are correctly called on the inside edge of the plate. But outside strikes are much more difficult to see for an umpire.

Some umpires have the skill to call consistent strikes on the outside edge of the zone while others don’t.

Knowing what the precise zone is for right and lefthanded batters for each umpire is essential.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your starting pitcher warm up prior to a game with the knowledge that he will be throwing to a dime-sized strike zone and knows precisely what that umpire likes to call strikes? That goes for every pitcher who follows in that game as well. Your hitters will benefit as well knowing that zone prior to a game.

If you have a home plate with a gigantic strike zone, then why not work on exploiting that big zone to its fullest prior to a game in the bullpen. Some umps even like to call strikes off the plate. Knowledge will help exploit those tendencies to your advantage.

If a coach knows which home plate umpire will be working the next game, then pitchers can work on exploiting the zone in practice.

That’s why knowing the strike zone is No. 1 in our book.

To read more of this article, purchase the Feb. 9, 2018 edition of Collegiate Baseball by CLICKING HERE.

Seven other important areas are covered in the article, including receiving pitches properly, scouting an opponent, what to look for with 26 stance and swing characteristics observed by Jerry Weinstein, value of effective velocity, how pitch selection evolves and statistical data.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

ESTES PARK, Colo. — Miracles happen in life.

Clay Engel is lucky to be alive after suffering a skull fracture, fractured vertebra and leg injuries which required skin grafts during a serious hiking accident last summer.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound first baseman at Drury University had just finished his freshman season in 2017 with the Panthers and was preparing to play summer ball for the Denver Generals of the Mile High Collegiate Baseball League.

“I drove to Denver the last week in May and was really looking forward to being in that area of the country,” said Engel who is from Ozark, Mo.

“I was excited about being in the mountains but only got to play two games before the accident.”

Engel, who enjoys hiking back home, was in Denver for about a week and realized that he had a great opportunity in the coming days.

“I was staying with a family in Denver. I also had a job being an umpire beside my playing duties.

“I thought it would be a lot of fun to hike in Estes Park which is about two hours from Denver and close to Fort Collins where I would be umpiring in several days.

“I drove to Fort Collins which was my first day umpiring. I umpired games in the morning and afternoon. After I finished work, I got some dinner.  Instead of driving back to Denver which was 1 1/2 hours away, I drove to Estes Park which was only 30 minutes away on June 2 at about 6 p.m.

“I got into Estes Park and took my time surveying the area. There was a full moon out so you could see quite a bit of the area.

“I parked on the side of the road at about 9 p.m., got out and hiked up the mountain which was a little more than a mile up. It was a nice, upward climb but not too difficult.”

Engel said he didn’t hike with anybody else.

“I had camping gear on my back which included food, water and a hammock to sleep in. I didn’t wear a head lamp on my forehead since there was a full moon that evening. It was night time, but the area was lit up enough for me to see where I was going.

“I have done a lot of hiking in the past in Springfield, Mo. and also in northern Arkansas. But I had never hiked in the Rocky Mountains before.

“The area I was hiking in was mountainous and rocky but there were trees all the way up. It was more or less like a forest that I was walking through as I started my ascent.

“I was looking forward to spending that evening and the next day in this area. There are a lot of things to do.”

Engel said when he arrived near the top of the mountain, it was like a bluff which had exposed rocks.

“It took about 2 1/2 hours to get there, and now it was about 11:30 p.m.”

To read more of this article, purchase the Feb. 9, 2018 edition of Collegiate Baseball by CLICKING HERE.

It talks about how he became stranded on the mountain and couldn’t come down and ultimately fell as he was seriously injured as he was unconscious for six hours. It also explains how he was able to get off the mountain and get help despite having a skull fracture, vertebra fracture and serious leg injury as he ultimately received help and was operated on at a local hospital. His amazing recovery is also explained.