Blog of AFLAC All-American Games - coach's view

AFLAC day 2

Follow Mitty head coach Bill Hutton as he wil be blogging from San Diego, the site of the AFLAC All-American Game, where he is the head coach of the West squad. Enjoy!

Hello everybody. Day #2 down here in San Diego was spectacular. Breakfast at 8:00. Board bus for USD for a scrimmage. Giant inflatable AFLAC duck greets us as we walk down into Cunningham Stadium. At least 20 or so fans greet the teams and want autographs signed on bats and cards and balls. Hoping to cash in on some of the inevitable fame that is in the cards for some of these kids. (Most of the first round of the 2011 MLB draft will be former AFLAC players) Teams loosened up and take turns with batting practice and then an infield/outfield precedes a 7 inning scrimmage. Billy Flamion hits a grand slam in the first and the West team never looked back. Worked up a pretty good sweat hitting a million ground balls but then felt guilty for complaining with more about 3/4 of the players and coaches living in parts of the country where the temperature is unbearable now. Shawon Dunston Jr. had a booming double. The pitchers were kids that were brought in to throw that were not on the AFLAC team, but these "ringers" all were blowing past 90 on the guns.

First impressions as the teams took batting practice: Put a metal bat in the hands of most of these kids and you immediately jump to the side of those that want metal bats banished. These kids absolutely crushed the ball during batting practice. I can not imagine balls being hit harder, then I remember they are swinging wood bats. There are some very strong boys here. When our friend "ncball" tries to prod us to remember that the talent in different parts of the country is comparable to our beloved NorCal, I know what he is talking about. Incredible display with wood bats.

After the scrimmage, lunch was brought in and then we boarded busses to the Rady Children's Hospital. This was a humbling experience to say the least. The hospital specializes in cancer treatments for young children and it was a moving tour. The head of the hospital talked to us about how much progress has been made in treatment of cancer for children and how the high rate of success in treating the disease is due to the continued funding of research in the study of cancer. Then the director reminded the boys that all proceeds from the game on Sunday go directly to cancer research, so the boys were actually helping cure the disease while having 10,000 fans come out and watch them play a baseball game. It was quite moving. Then we toured the facility, which is spectacular, and played with kids. We played baseball with inflatable bats and balls, we played foosball, built puzzles, made craft projects and had a great time. You would have been proud of the way these 38 boys interacted with the hospital staff and especially the children. The kids were awesome role models today. After a group picture outside the hospital, it was back on the bus and back to the hotel for dinner and then FOX TV comes in and shoots the player intros for Sunday's game.

Back on the bus at 8:45 tomorrow morning for another trip to USD for another practice. No scrimmage tomorrow. Tomorrow after the baseball end of things ends, it is back to the hotel and then the AFLAC All American banquet at the San Diego Hall of Champions. Coat and tie and lots of awards to hand out and people to meet.

I think most of these kids are tired and ready for a break, but after the trip to the hospital, they got a jolt of energy and everyone is excited to get to Petco Park on Sunday.

Bill Hutton
Archbishop Mitty High School

AFLAC Day 3

Follow Mitty head coach Bill Hutton as he wil be blogging from San Diego, the site of the AFLAC All-American Game, where he is the head coach of the West squad. Enjoy!

Well it is really starting to hit me with regard to how special this opportunity is for the players and coaches. It is a tremendous reward and opportunity to beam with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Now on day #3, I am getting to know the players a lot better. I can recognize each player by their face and am much farther along matching names with positions and high schools that the kids attend. We had a practice again this morning at USD. I did not hit infield/outfield, but instead had Manny Hermosillo from Montgomery High School in San Ysidro, California hit the round. I stood back and tried real hard to quiz myself on each kids name and school and position and those 15 minutes meant the world to me. A time to step back and learn. It felt like the first day of class when you are trying to learn the kids’ names. So, I was feeling better after the morning workout. Hit a million more ground balls during BP to the 4 middle infielders that we have. The drills were more laid back today as everyone was more comfortable with each other. Players were pulled aside to shoot spots for the MLB network and FOX sports during the time when their squad was not taking BP. Met with FOX producers who indeed confirmed that I would be wearing a wire during the game. They had me mention to the team that if they were to be sitting by me to watch their language and told me they might use live action between innings or a good clip on tape if they liked it. So I am practicing my "way to go's" and "good jobs"

After drills, we had round one of the home run derby. All players got a shot at hitting balls out of USD. The wind was blowing in fairly hard and there was a heavy layer of fog, so the only home runs were directly down either line where the fence was a bit shorter. The laid back atmosphere of the derby gave all of us a chance to get to know each other a bit and by the time the derby and the lunch was over everyone was a lot more comfortable with each other. Lots more smiling and joking. Good traditional baseball humor.

Upon return to the hotel the players had to sit down and sign the boxed sets of Topps baseball cards made for the game. So everyone sat and signed for about an hour. Cards, posters, and bats. Then some down time before dressing up for a meet and greet with the honorary chairman, Andre Dawson. Then we were off to the San Diego Hall of Champions for the AFLAC All American Banquet and Awards night.

Meeting Andre Dawson was a thrill and an honor. He spoke to the teams and coaches in a private room and took pictures with everyone and answered questions. It was quite a thrill. After Andre spoke with us, we boarded the bus for the trip to the AFLAC Awards Banquet at the San Diego Hall of Champions. On the way to the hall, the bus driver drove us by Petco Park and again that was a wakeup call to me about how much of an honor it is to be part of this game. All 38 players and 6 coaches had their jaws in their laps as we drove around the empty stadium. It was to say the least, a bit overwhelming.

The banquet was first class all the way. The Hall of Champions is amazing. It is a mini-Cooperstown celebrating all the sports legends of the San Diego area. All sports, all levels, both amateur and professional. It was amazing. Then a classy dinner and awards for each player (and coaches), special awards for national honors, a great speech by Andre Dawson, video clips of the players and all the activities we have been part of so far. A really classy evening all the way around.
Tomorrow it is off to Petco.

This is an amazing experience for myself. I have met great people, been treated like a celebrity, and am very thankful for all of it. Tomorrow it is off to Petco at 12:15 for a 5:00 game. Just like it should be. Get there early and enjoy it. Team picture, batting practice, snack time, home run derby finals and the ball game.

The kids have been great. And the adults in charge are noticing and grateful for that. What a great time.

Talk to you tomorrow night. GO WEST!

Bill Hutton
Archbishop Mitty High School

Have a great time! RR23JR will be watching his former teammate Ricky Jacquez! He can bring on some gas !

This is not me writing the blog, it is Bill Hutton:

Managing the West squad will be Bill Hutton of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif. Hutton is in his 28th season as head coach at Archibishop Mitty, where his team has secured four West Catholic Athletic League Championship titles and four Central Coast Section Championship titles. His team finished the past season ranked No. 1 in California with a 31-3 record.

He is a very well respected high school coach here is Northern Calif, when reading his blogs you can feel the excitement that he feels about the privilege of being part of the event for himself and of the players.

I am not sure how much exposure Coach Hutton has had to summer or fall travel baseball, I having had two players do an extensive amount of very high level summer and fall travel ball throughout the country, it is interesting to see the excitement of this event through the eyes of a well respected high school coach.

I was sitting in the stands of East Cobb at a Perfect Game tournament with another very successful and well respected high school coach in the No Cal area, he had not been back to the PG events before and he was so impressed with level and ability of the players. Several years latter he still talks about how impressed he was with my son and some of the great plays he saw him make and those which other players made during the tournament.

One of my HS teammates is playing for East. RHP Michael Kelly.

Good luck to the 4 Canes on the East squad!

The game is starting in a few minutes here in AZ on FOX sports. Tell my wife that I am busy for the 3 hours.

Go figure...Verizon FIOS doesn't carry the Fox Sports Net...I know I watched this game last year, but it must have been on a different network.

Here in No Cal, ATT U-verse, it is being carried on Comcast Sports Net.

The talent is awesome. Really fun to watch.

how did Daniel Norris from the East do? He started on the mound but I missed it.

I turned it on in the bottom of the 2nd. I did get to see Dillon Maples a kid from NC pitch. First pitch was a 94mph fastball that got hammered to the lcf gap. He did pretty well after that. The hitters are facing some great arms. But you can tell these guys are very comfortable with the wood they are more than holding their own.

Did Cameron Gallagher from PA get in the game yet?

He just hit a bomb off the left field wall for a dbl. Good looking player.

Nice firepower from East with back to back triples and HR.

There was a time when this type of pitching would dominate hitters this age especially with wood. Even hitters as good as these guys at this age. But it is very apparent that these kids are swinging the wood more frequently and at an earlier age. And its paying off for them.

I've seem some really good FB's at 86-88ish and some not so good FB's at 95+. Is it just me or is there something going on with the radar gun?

Could be my old eyes...

Cave has a nasty change up. 92-93 from the left side with a filthy change up. Wow!

In talking with Coach Hutton leading up to the game he was indeed really excited and honored to be a part of it.

Pretty special and I am so happy for him. Best HS coach...heck, maybe best coach period I've ever been around.

Here in AZ, as a rising Junior or Senior, most everybody swings wood except for spring. I agree, kids nowadays starts wood early.

Did Malette, the kid who won MVP actually call the pitcher he hit the homer off of "dumb" in the interview?

I reviewed the tape and he said the first curve ball made him look dumb so he sat on the 2nd one and hit it out!

AFLAC Game Day

We hope you have enjoyed the running blog from Archbishop Mitty head coach Bill Hutton as he led the West Team in the AFLAC All-American Game. We would like to thank Coach Hutton for giving us an inside look at the week and also send out a final congratulations to him and the four NorCal players selected for the event (Robert Stephenson, Joe Ross, Billy Flamionn, Shaownn Dunston Jr.) Enjoy the final blog entry from San Diego!

Well this will be the 4th and final report on the AFLAC All American game for me. (I am assuming no one is interested in whether my family and I got an "A" boarding pass on Southwest or a "B")

Game day was a blast! Kids got to sleep in. They were thrilled. Finally had our complete roster in town. (3 of our West players flew in Saturday afternoon after competing in the Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico.) Boarded the bus for Petco at 12:15 and walked in like the kids in Hoosiers when they made it to the state finals. We were looking all around as we entered Petco through the players entrance. Both teams hung out in the visitors’ locker room for a while, had a bite to eat from the "spread" that was constantly being replenished throughout the day. (Always wanted to eat from the "spread" in a big league clubhouse!) Went out onto the field and it was stunning. Literally a field of dreams. Took pictures in the outfield, individuals, each team, and then the two teams together. Back to the clubhouse. Each team had a batting practice session followed by infield/outfield. Absolute heaven. The locker room was a constant "signing" party. Kids and coaches signing cards, bats, and posters for each other. Everyone trying to make sure they had all the other players’ signatures. Back on the field for the finals of the home run derby, then introductions, and play ball. Game was a blast. It was heaven. Kids played great defense. Players had some great at-bats. It just ended too fast!!! Great kids. Great pitching. Every pitcher that threw was 91 or above on the gun according to Jerry Ford of Perfect game. By about the 6th inning I was beginning to get sad because it was going to all end soon. We all knew how Cinderella felt as the clock struck midnight. Game ended all too soon. Awards after the game. A lot of hanging out, hugs, thank you's, and eventually we made it to the bus and then off the bus and bam...it was over.

Now it is just a matter of getting 38 players and 6 coaches to the airport in time tomorrow. The Blue Ridge staff was amazing. The players were great. Humble, classy, proud, tough competitors. The parents were proud. Jerry Ford said it was the best AFLAC game they had had yet. I had the time of my life. I cannot wait to get home and watch the recording on the DVR. Hope I did not sound like a fool.

To sum up the experiences that I have had these past 5 days and to possibly put into perspective how the players feel I would like to steal a phrase from one of the umpires. As we were talking on Friday during the scrimmage at USD, one of the umpires asked me if I was enjoying myself and I said that it had really not sunk in yet. He told me that within a day or two, I would realize what an honor it was to be down here. He said that for him, being selected to come out and work the game and be part or every aspect of "game week" was as good as it is going to get for him as an umpire. He had started at youth league, progressed through high school, and was now a college umpire in the Southeast. He said that for him, this was the end of his professional rainbow, a reward for a career of hard work. He looked at me and said, "You too coach. Being here is a reward for having a good career, for all the work you have done and fields you have raked. Neither one of us are done yet, but this is near the end of our rainbow....and it is just the beginning of these kids rainbows."

Here's to chasing rainbows.

Bill Hutton
Archbishop Mitty High School

I have seen several AFLAC games on TV. I have to agree with Jerry's statement. This was the best one I have seen. I thought the hitters were outstanding. I thought the pitchers were just as good. And the defense played was outstanding as well. It was a very evenly matched game and both teams got after it. It was a lot of fun to watch and the talent was tremendous.

quote:

Here's to chasing rainbows.

how very true......a great line.

quote:

Originally posted by JMoff:
I've seem some really good FB's at 86-88ish and some not so good FB's at 95+. Is it just me or is there something going on with the radar gun?

Could be my old eyes...

I agree. That gun was terrible from what I can tell. I don't get it.

Maybe PG Staff can let us know how close it was actually if he knows. That last lefty for the East (Jake Cave) is very good but I doubt he hit 100 like it showed on TV.

Other than that, man, what a game! It never got sloppy and you got to see a little of everything; hitting, pitching, defense. It was a real pleasure to watch.

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Unfortunately I couldn't find the game on the Fox network channels here in the Philly area. The AFLAC game was always one of the highlights of the summer for me so I'm hoping that they rebroadcast the game later. Does anyone know if there is a link to the game video anywhere?

Homerun4, thanks for sharing Coach Hutton's blog... the "chasing rainbows" tag is perfect.

Congrats to Jerry and the lucky few that were chosen to participated in the AFLAC game (players, coaches and umpires)... it's a memory that will last a lifetime.

We knew early on that the gun readings shown on television were off. Staff watching the game on TV texted us the velocity shown on TV and it was far from what scouts were getting behind home plate.

For the record... Every pitcher topped out at least at 91. Most at 93-95. The highest reading we got was 96.

This was a very well played game by some outstanding players. No errors, several great plays, not many walks. It really was the best Aflac game so far IMO. The crowd was announced at just under 8,000 and you could here a lot of talk about how well played the game was.

The coaches for both teams were outstanding to work with. The players this year are a very classy group of kids. I know they had a blast, so did I.

Jersey,

We didn't get the game in our area, either. But in years past when that has happened, it has shown up a week or two later on Comcast Sports Net.

I'll do a search on my DVR every now and then in hopes of picking it up.

It was strange which carriers had what, Time Warner in San Diego did not carry it!

I went to the AFLAC game at Petco last night, great to watch the kids live. I recorded the game, and watched it again when I got home to pick up another perspective. In regards to the radar readings, my son was receiving a few text messages from his buddy regarding 98 mile an hour readings, obviously it was a little off. Also, the Petco gun readings on the main scoreboard appeared to be off a little too? It had a few of the kids 3-4 miles an hour lower than PG had recorded? I guess that's why when you look behind home plate, you see 50 plus radar guns during every pitch, so they're going to get it right!

When you see a few of these kids live, you really can appreciate the talent. I've heard a lot about Lindor, but had never seen him play, the kid's a stud! That play he made in the 5.5 hole was amazing and he made it look easy. His first AB he walked up to the plate and gave the cather Hedges, and the Blue knuckles...you can tell he's having fun! Tobias was another kid that seemed to have a smile on his face at all times, and he was all over the field!

I guess I'm a little biased as a Californian, I thought that Evans looked very good at SS too. He also had a couple very good AB's. Ausin Hedges is known for his defense and great pop time, he deservedly received the Rawlings Gold Glove award...it was nice to see him square up a mid-90's FB off Maples, another stud! If I was a betting man, I'd say that UCLA may not see him next year? Besides, one of Hedges HS teammates is the son of Scott Boras...either way, this kid has a great future!

I've seen a few of the Cali kids play since they were 9-10 year olds in travel ball. It's been fun watching them mature over the years and maintain their hunger on the diamond. I've also had the opportunity to see Henry Owens pitch live a couple of times in the last year, he's very impressive. He was fun to watch live Sunday night, but when I watched him on TV, I really got a good look at his nasty breaking ball from the CF camera, wow!

The only draw-back from the game last night, was that we didn't have an opportunity to see a few of the kids toe the rubber. I respect the coaches decision to not run them out there and protect their arms, but it would have been fun. There were still a number of great arms last night, and although he gave up a couple of runs, I enjoyed the little guy Jacquez...reminds me of Lightning in a Bottle! It will be fun watching this group develop, and I'm anxious to see how many more PG High Draft picks we'll see in this 2011 class!