The Frank Grisanti Athlete of the Week recipients for the week April 16, 2018 are as follows...
7/8 Coach Pitch Division: Tate Sigman - Royals
Coaches Comments: Tate continues to improve with every game and practice. He is a very coachable kid and does everything on the field with a smile on his face. Win or lose he has a positive attitude that is contagious to everyone that is around him. On the field last week Tate had a in the park home run that helped break the game open and ended in a Royals victory.
Co-Recipients 9/10 Division:
Brady Jones - Dbacks
Coaches Comments: This kid is a sponge and everything we throw at him sticks. He had an opportunity participate in another event where he beat out 150 kids to get the part, but he chose to dedicate his time to baseball instead. He is always willing and eager to learn, and he is certainly our most improved player week over week. He plays the tough catcher position and makes it almost impossible for the opposing team to steal. He is an overall great kid and a huge asset to our team. We are truly glad to have him.
Jordan Stevens - Cubs
Coaches Comments: Jordan overcame adversity after having an asthma attack during a game & getting hit in the eye with a fly ball during practice. After all this he persevered and played very well during 2 games this week delivering some key hit and playing well in the field to help his team win both games.
Co-Recipients 11/12 Division:
Patrick Burke - Pirates
Coaches Comments: Patrick never played baseball before in his life and bought his first glove and bat the week before GBL evaluations. Since then he has worked very hard—both at home in the yard and at every practice—to learn the basics of the game. He has not missed a game or practice and has had a positive coachable attitude every day. His hard work is paying off. He has gone from not knowing which hand to put his glove on to consistently making plays in the field in games—from catching pop flies on the run to fielding ground balls and throwing runners out at first. Most importantly, he is a wonderful teammate who is having fun and his presence in the dugout makes playing on his team more fun.
Alex Rehkopf - Cardinals
Coaches Comments: We had a player that was picked off at 3rd base on Saturday. He was our pitcher and he came to the dugout very deflated and upset as it was a close game. Alex went and sat next to him and encouraged him. Alex told the player that that was just part of the game and to let it go and get over it. Whatever he said worked because a couple of minutes later the player was up laughing and went out pitched a great next inning. A true sign of sportsmanship.
13/14 Division: Jake Hellen - Pirates
Coaches Comments Despite being our “A” pitcher, Jake is being nominated for playing catcher all week. Because our other catcher was out sick, Jake was told he would have to play a lot of catcher. Even though he knew keeping him off the mound would hurt our team, his ready response was “Yes, sir” when I told him to don the gear. His solid performance got us through his teammate’s absence 1-1. Jake is a great player to coach and a positive and supportive teammate.