How competitive does this baseball season promise to be? As competitive as 10 fans chasing a Mark McGuire home run ball.
How could it not be a dogfight with nine first-team All-Howard County players returning and seven second-team all-county players back?
And when is the last time the Player of the Year returned? Glenelg's Jeff Starcher, who led the Gladiators to the county championship and a state Class 1A title, with two pitching victories and four home runs in the playoffs, is certainly a rarity.
This season's title race promises to be so competitive that it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite.
Seven different teams return at least one first-team, all-county player. Centennial and River Hill return two apiece, with Hammond, Glenelg, Atholton, Howard and Wilde Lake each having one.
Five different teams have at least one second-team all-county player back. Centennial and Glenelg have two apiece. Atholton, Howard and Mount Hebron each have one.
Maybe that makes Centennial, with a total of four all-county players returning, the favorite. If so, then Glenelg is right behind the Eagles with three returning all-county players.
Five .500 hitters back
When is the last time the county had five .500 hitters returning? Has it ever had five .500 hitters in one season before last season? Well, five in the lofty .500 club are back this season.
River Hill's Chris Becraft led the league by hitting a mind-boggling .540, as a sophomore no less.
Wilde Lake's Chris Yetter pounded opposing pitchers for a .525 average.
Howard's outfielder extraordinaire, Anthony Aceves, batted .520.
Centennial's catcher deluxe, Matt Deuchler, hit a scorching .508.
And Hammond's precocious Jason Maxey hit an even .500. Not bad for a freshman!
Transfers
Mount Hebron has an outstanding transfer from Pittsburgh named Jonathan Crow, who will pitch in relief and play center field.
Crow is 5 feet 11, 200 pounds and can hit. "He'll be one of our best players," said Mount Hebron coach Matt Forsyth.
Chapelgate has three transfers from Montrose School who all figure to help -- Matt Tigert, Bob Kuehl and Jonathan Bennett.
Tigert is a senior pitcher and catcher, is the best of the trio, He hit 10 home runs last season.
Injured players
The most notable injured player is Oakland Mills' right-handed pitcher T. J. Welsh, who led the football team to a state title last fall.
Welsh may miss four weeks after undergoing surgery on his throwing arm March 4 to remove scar tissue and repair a damaged cartilage. Mount Hebron outfielder Jeff Plank recently broke his nose playing football in the snow.
River Hill outfielder and catcher Mike Schoonmaker is nursing a sore shoulder.
New coaches
Rick Ewart, a 1986 Oakland Mills graduate who teaches social studies there, is the newest Scorpions baseball coach, replacing George Myers.
Ewart played on a Jerome Jefferson-coached team that went 12-6 his senior year. He's hoping to bring some stability to the revolving-door coaching position.
Atholton lost pitching coach Jim Mowder to Catonsville Community College, where he'll be helping head coach Pat Crouse.
Dave Appleby, with previous head coaching experience at Mount Hebron, will join the Raiders as an assistant coach replacing Mowder.
Hardest throwers
Get out the radar guns. Who's the fastest pitcher in the league this season?
Senior Chris Yetter of Wilde Lake has tripped the gun at 84 mph.
Hammond coch Bob Maxey said his 6-1, 215-pound sophomore, Kevin Schwartz, has also clocked in at 84 mph.
Both Yetter and Schwartz are also football players. Yetter is a defensive back and Schwartz a defensive tackle.
Where are they now?
Several graduates from last season are playing college baseball this season.
Howard's Brent Hawauer is at Catonsville Community College, and his former Lions teammate Matt Cisna is pitching for Dundalk Community College.
Hammond's all-county shortstop Brian Pietryka is now playing for Catholic University, and his former Bears teammate Ken Beck is playing for Maryland.
Fathers and sons
Four sons of Howard County coaches are playing baseball this season -- three of them for their fathers.
Mike Martin of Centennial plays for his father, Ron.
Jason Maxey of Hammond plays for his father, Bob.
Matt Thrasher of Glenelg plays for his father, Tom.
Josh Siegert of Long Reach is the son of Centennial lacrosse coach Mike Siegert.
One early signee
The only early baseball signee this season is Centennial catcher Deuchler, who will attend James Madison University on a scholarship.
All he did to earn his scholarship was bat .508, hit three doubles, two triples, four home runs, knock in 24 runs, scored 27 times, steal 15 bases in 15 attempts, pick off five base runners and throw out eight of 13 would-be base stealers. He's the total package -- speed, arm and power.
Pub Date: 3/17/99