I found this interesting-
Ever since he was born, Blake Beavan knew how to compete. With two brothers, 13 and 11 years older, Beavan had no other option.
"He was roughed up and made tough early," his mother, Michele, said. "His two brothers were very instrumental in his love of sports so quickly."
Especially with baseball. Both brothers played college baseball, but neither experienced what the youngest sibling, a 6-foot-7 right-handed pitcher, will on June 7 as a projected first-round selection in the upcoming First-Year Player Draft.
The 18-year-old Beavan, from Irving, Texas, is near the top of several teams' draft boards because of his ability to compete, especially in pressure situations.
Beavan's summer coach, Linty Ingram of the Dallas Tigers, remembers a junior Olympic tournament in Arizona when a 16-year-old Beavan showcased his desire.
Beavan had thrown 80 pitches two days earlier, and the team was in a pitching bind to get the final two outs in the following game.
"Blake says, 'Coach, I can get [the No. 3 and 4 hitters] out," said Ingram, who's coached Beavan the past six seasons. "Then, he threw six pitches, all strikes, all over 90 [mph], and it's the hardest he'd thrown to that point.
"In pressure situations, he can always find another gear. That's something you can't teach. That comes from within."
Beavan showed that inner toughness again when he threw a complete-game shutout for the U.S. junior national team against Cuba in the 2006 World Junior Championship.
"It was a very hostile environment," Beavan said. "That is where I grew up a lot as a baseball player and as a person, by playing for an Olympic team. It was definitely the best competition I've faced."
Beavan continued his pitching dominance in his final season with Irving High School this past spring. He threw 66 innings, with an eye-catching 124 strikeouts and 0.23 ERA.
Beavan has good command with his fastball, which topped out at 98 mph during a playoff game earlier this spring, and consistently hits 94 mph on the radar gun. Beavan throws a slider and changeup as well
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http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...=draft2007&fext=.jsp
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