At the age of 17, I was fortunate enough to earn a roster spot in the Empire State Games. At the time, this was one of the preeminent tournaments in the state of New York. There were 18 roster spots...and 153 people trying out.
Upon arriving to the first practice for the team, I saw some very talented players. Some of these young men that I played with would go on to be drafted, most to high profile college programs. It was an elite team...a best of the best for the area if you will. I was impressed.
Standing at shortstop was a young man who was pretty average sized. He was maybe about 6 feet tall, maybe 170 pounds. He seemed to have a pretty good glove and a pretty good arm. He seemed to run pretty well, and seemed to have a pretty nice lefty swing. He came into the dugout and introduced himself with a big smile on his face.
The Empire State Games lasted a week back in 2007. As I said, it was a very talented team. In 5 games, we outscored our opponents by a combined score of 60-7. Impressive to say the least.
I've always considered myself pretty good at noticing talent for a person my age. Albeit the fact that I was 17 years old, I thought I was a pretty good judge then also. After the tournament I went up to my father and I pointed at the shortstop and I said "Hey Dad, he's gonna play in the Majors some day. I guarantee it." It was a bold statement that probably didn't hold much water in his mind. The undersized, average tooled middle infielder just didn't seem like he was to be draft material out of high school, let alone a future star.
A few months later he signed an NLI to a local DI school...not a national powerhouse...but certainly a well respected institution for baseball. His senior year, he set and broke the all-time New York state record for career hits. And still, he fell under the radar because his tools were, well, average.
During his freshman campaign, he proved to be one of the best players on his college team. Still, he was considered an average tooled MIF. I stuck to my word...I had told my dad there was something about him...almost like a sixth tool. It was a leadership quality that he naturally possessed that enabled him to portray an enormous amount of confidence on the field while gaining an enormous amount of respect.
Well, the accolades continued to roll in after freshman year. All-Conference, All-America. A trip to Fenway for the Cape League All-Star Game. His name began to be discussed in the all-time school record books and, inevitably, the MLB Draft.
A few hours ago, the San Francisco Giants selected St. John's shortstop Joe Panik with the 29th pick overall in the 1st round of the MLB Draft. Upon hearing the news, I immediately pulled out my phone and sent a congratulatory text message his way. We had kept in touch a bit over the years, although we weren't really good friends. I assumed he'd read it and pass it along, centering his attention to those he was with and celebrating along with those there with him. About 30 seconds after I sent the text, I got a response back thanking me. We had a short discussion and then I stopped, letting him most likely continue celebrating.
Joe Panik is well on his way to making my prediction four years ago come true. He is truly one of the nicest people I know and a consummate teammate. I am certainly elated about the news and I can assure Giants fans out there that barring injury...I have a feeling he's going to be very good for a very long time. I'm proud to say I shared a field with him once and I'm proud to call him a friend. I've played with and against many people that were drafted, some higher than Joe. But none have had the impact on me like he did. None had that "sixth tool" that was sensed around Joe. And the feeling of pride that I have for him is great.
Original Post