MLBPAA holds Legends for Youth Clinic in Tarentum

TARENTUM, Pa. --- It can be hard to get the undivided attention of 175 youngsters.

However, having a National League Most Valuable Player award to your name helps get anyone’s attention. So, Andrew McCutchen had a captive audience Saturday morning when he addressed the scores of young ballplayers who attended the Legends for Youth Clinic at the No Offseason Sports training facility, presented by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.

The Philadelphia Phillies outfielder’s message was a simple one – you can learn something about baseball every day.

McCutchen talked about how he attended a youth camp at the Roberto Clemente Sports City complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico when he was 11 years old and one of the best pieces of advice he was ever given.

One of the instructors noticed that the alignment of McCutchen’s knuckles on the barrel of the bat was wrong. He showed McCutchen the proper grip to ensure he was relaxed as possible when he was in the batter’s box.

“Imagine if I hadn’t been there that day and didn’t learn that,” McCutchen told the young players. “Who knows what would have happened? I might not be here today talking to you. I might have never become a professional baseball player. You always have to be willing to learn in this game.”

McCutchen learned his lessons well. He has been playing in the major leagues for 11 years, been selected to five All-Star Games and was the NL MVP in 2013 when he helped the Pittsburgh Pirates end a streak of 20 straight losing seasons and reach the postseason for the first time since 1992.

There was a lot of teaching and learning going on Saturday at the sprawling facility 20 miles north of Pittsburgh. Aspiring big leaguers were taught the nuances of pitching, hitting, fielding, baserunning and even the proper way to warm up before practicing from a host of current and former major league players.

Another active player participating was infielder Neil Walker, who spent this season with the Miami Marlins. Among the retired players were Sean Casey, Jason Grilli, Steve Grilli, Omar Olivares, Kevin Orie, Chris Peters, Scott Seabol and Marc Wilkins.

It was difficult to tell who had a better time on a beautiful autumn afternoon, the children or the instructors.

Orie enjoyed sharing some of the wisdom gained while playing 13 seasons of professional baseball after being the Chicago Cubs’ first-round draft pick in the 1993 amateur draft. The third baseman spent four seasons in the major leagues with the Cubs between 1997 and 2002.

“It’s a great way to stay connected to the game,” Orie said. “Being able to come out to an event like this, to be around the kids, to try to teach them some things, is a lot of fun. It’s good from both a physical and mental standpoint to be able to come out and work with the kids and it’s important to the game itself to have kids want to learn more about the game and develop a love of baseball.”

While there was plenty of work on the fundamentals of the game, every instructor had the same theme while talking to the youngsters – you can achieve anything with hard work.

Steve Grilli talked about how he was so skinny that he did not make the team at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tenn., until his senior year. Even after blossoming at Division II Gannon University, Grilli went undrafted and signed with the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1970.

Yet Grilli made to the major leagues and pitched in 70 games for the Tigers from 1975-79.

Grilli’s son, Jason, wound up being a first-round draft of the San Francisco Giants in 1997, selected fourth overall after starring at Seton Hall University. Jason Grilli, who pitched for nine teams during a 15-year major league career that ended in 2017, relayed to the attendees how a strong work ethic enabled him to reach a lofty draft status and eventually pitch in four postseasons and an All-Star Game.

“I wasn’t always the best player on my team when I was growing up,” Grilli told the campers. “What made the difference is I put in the work. I worked harder than anyone else so I could reach my dreams. It’s like that in anything. Say you’re a C student. If you put in the work and try hard, you can become an A student. Hard work makes a difference.”

Sean Casey, who played in three All-Star Games during his 12-year career as a first baseman from 1997-2008, used Washington Nationals second baseman Howie Kendrick as an example of how hard work continues to yield dividends even after a player reaches the pinnacle of the sport. Kendrick was named the MVP of the National League Championship Series following the Nationals’ sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In his role as a studio analyst for MLB Network, Casey had the opportunity to interview Kendrick following the NLCS. Casey relayed how Kendrick said he has been able to keep his batting stroke sharp thanks in part to hitting off a tee during his daily pre-game work.

“That’s going back to the basics, but it just shows how mastering the basics pay off, even for guys in the big leagues,” Casey said.

Almost all the instructors either grew up or live in the Pittsburgh area. What was heartening to each of them was the large turnout of young players, even after the youth league and tournament seasons have ended.

Grilli and Wilkins have played a large part in the development of No Offseason Sports, which is owned and founded by Charles Vrabel Jr. and is considered one of the top baseball training facilities in Pennsylvania.

By the time Offseason Baseball’s latest expansion project is finished, it will have 21 fields to go with its spacious indoor facility. Six of the fields will be covered by a bubble, allowing kids to work on their games all year round.

Grilli is so hands on that he regularly operates a bulldozer as part of the expansion effort.

“The community has given so much to us that it’s nice to give back, thanks to the Vrabel family,” Grilli said. “It’s just a good time for a bunch of us ex-players to get together and maybe give a kid a piece of information or a nugget to help him further his career.

“You never ever want to take the uniform off and I always tried to play as long as I could. There’s that transition period where you try to decide how you might be able to stay in the game. Could it be broadcasting? Could I get into coaching? Could I become a scout? To me, personally, Chuck Vrabel has been a saving grace to have this wonderful opportunity to allow me to work with kids and try to help them realize their dreams.”

Wilkins, a relief pitcher with the Pirates from 1996-2001, also enjoys imparting the knowledge gained from playing in the big leagues.

“For me, there’s not a higher honor than to just be able to share what we know,” Wilkins said. “I love to interact with the kids and the real thrill is sharing something with a kid that nobody else can share unless you were able to make it all the way to the major leagues. You don’t know what you don’t know and there’s a certain degree of knowledge that only us (former major leaguers) can teach these kids. That’s pretty special.”