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Sports

A.J. Pierzynski shares ‘quarterback’ mindset with First Academy baseball

Success seems to follow A.J. Pierzynski wherever he goes.Six years after retiring from Major League Baseball, the same IQ he carried through 19 years is helping another championship-level team in his hometown.Advertisement“Catchers make the best [MLB] managers and coaches,” Scott Grove, head coach of The First Academy, said about bringing Pierzynski aboard. “You’re the quarterback on the baseball field.”Before the 2020 season, Grove asked Pierzynski if he could help as an assistant coach. It was cut off after eight games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but last year, in Pierzynski’s first full season as an assistant, TFA (31-1) won the Class 3A state championship.AdvertisementThe Royals are 24-3 this season and rolled to the Class 3A District 9 tournament title, beating Windermere Prep 10-0 in Thursday’s final. They will host a region quarterfinal game Wednesday. The former Dr. Phillips High School standout has had his share of big games — and moments. He was an integral part of two playoff runs with the team that drafted him, the Minnesota Twins, in 1994.In his first year with the Chicago White Sox after signing as a free agent in 2005, Pierzynski had a huge impact on the team winning its first World Series in 88 years.One of the key moments in the World Series run was a usually inconsequential dropped third strike in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Anaheim Angels.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 96Manager Robin Ventura receives a high-five from catcher A.J. Pierzynski after an 11-0 win over the Indians at Progressive Field. (David Richard-US PRESSWIRE, US PRESSWIRE)The White Sox were down 1-0 in the series and the score was tied 1-1 with two outs in the ninth. Pierzynski struck out to seemingly end the inning. But Angels catcher Josh Paul didn’t think the pitch hit the dirt and started walking toward the dugout while Pierzynski ran to first in a heads-up play. Home plate umpire Doug Eddings allowed the dropped third strike. Pablo Ozuna pinch ran for Pierzynski, stole second and scored on a double by Joe Crede to give the Sox a 2-1 victory.He made winning plays for winning teams. One thing First Academy has been good at is winning, and its players can draw from an invaluable resource in Pierzynski. Advertisement“A.J. works with our hitters and shares a lot of knowledge with me,” Grove said. “A.J. has helped with double cutoffs and relays, bunt defense, pickoffs and rundowns, two-strike approach with our hitters, dissecting if a pitcher is tipping pitches. … anything to gain any little advantage.”So why does a Major League veteran with more than 2,000 career hits say yes to being a high school assistant?“My kids have gone to First Academy since kindergarten and I’ve always tried to help out with my son in Little League all the way up,” Pierzynski said, referring to Austin, a freshman catcher (of course) with TFA. “I stay out of his travel baseball stuff, but Scott asked me a couple years ago if I’d be willing to help when Austin was on JV as a seventh-grader.“I enjoy baseball, but I really enjoy being around this group of kids. They’re fun, they enjoy baseball and enjoy being around each other.”AdvertisementPierzynski has become a model “soccer dad” after his playing career, with baseball and volleyball replacing the soccer part. His daughter, Ava, is a sophomore at First Academy, playing volleyball in the fall and beach volleyball in the spring.“I help when I have time with my work and traveling,” he said. “Ava plays competitive travel volleyball. We’ve gone to tournaments in Indianapolis, Omaha, Tampa, Chicago and she practices an hour away in Melbourne. I can’t have my wife drive her all the time, so when we don’t have a game, I’ll drive her over there.“I was very blessed to be able to play baseball for a long time and being able to make enough money to support my family. Now I have time to spend more time with them. I missed a lot playing baseball. My daughter was born in 2005 [and Austin was born in 2006] and I retired in 2016. For eight months a year during those 11 years I was gone a lot. You can’t ever make up for that, but now that I have time and don’t travel as much for work, I want to spend as much time with my kids. I love my kids and enjoy being a part of their lives.”Austin appreciates Dad being a part of the TFA baseball in more ways than one.“It’s good to have Dad around, but it’s hard to blend being a coach and father,” he said. “I love having him here and he’s definitely helped our pitchers and catchers with pitch calling and swings.”With Pierzynski’s career highlights available readily through Google and YouTube, every TFA player knows plenty about their assistant coach. Experiencing the veteran’s knowledge in person is a different story.Advertisement“AJ has been for me — and I feel like I can speak for others when I say this — a great person to look up to,” said TFA senior Greg Pettay, a UCF recruit who’s batting .462 with 7 home runs and 27 RBI. “He’s one of the reasons this year has been going so well for me because we always talk after most at-bats and he always gives good input.”Pierzynski’s ability to handle pitchers during his MLB career was impressive. He was the catcher when the White Sox set a record with four consecutive complete games in that 2005 ALCS and he’s one of only 22 catchers in MLB history to catch a perfect game (Philip Humber in 2012).Pierzynski has helped with the development of TFA’s pitchers, too.“A.J. has been a tremendous help for the team and me personally,” said senior Isaac Sewell, a Virginia Tech recruit who is 9-1 with a 1.38 ERA. “In our postseason run last year, there were many times that he would sit down with me and others about approach and doing a job.“In the semifinal game against [Jacksonville] Bolles, I was overthinking about how to pitch but he simplified it to just getting nine outs. As pitchers we have to upset the timing of the hitters, and AJ has helped us understand how to pitch with more intent to getting hitters off balance and putting ourselves in the best position to succeed.”[ Baseball state champion First Academy finishes atop Sentinel Super Six rankings ]ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 11White Sox baserunner A.J. Pierzysnki collides with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett at home plate during the second inning at U.S. Cellular Field on May 20, 2006. The result? (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune)Pierzynski was considered an agitator and edgy as a player. His White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen, once said, “If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less.”AdvertisementThe most famous example is when Pierzynski ran over Chicago Cubs’ catcher Michael Barrett to score on May 20, 2006. Pierzynski slapped home plate emphatically, and before he could grab his helmet off the ground near Barrett he was punched in the face.Pierzynski was similar to another Chicago athlete, Dennis Rodman, who played for the NBA’s Bulls from 1995-98 after seven years with fierce rival Detroit. Pierzynski was disliked when he was with the division rival Twins, but that changed when he played on the South Side.Grove was familiar with the reputation before asking him to join the coaching staff.“I knew about it, but he’s been great for us,” said Grove, who also played pro baseball with nine years in the minors after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1987. “He’s a good listener. We don’t agree on everything, but we sit down and come together for the betterment of the team. The beautiful thing about baseball is there’s different ways to win.”[ Pierzynski hardly fits bad-boy image, those who knew him at Dr. Phillips say ]Who knew the agitator could become an arbitrator?“Scott’s great. I trust him as a coach,” Pierzynski said. “You’re not going to agree with somebody 100 percent on stuff, but when we have a disagreement, we talk about it and get on the same page. I wouldn’t help if I didn’t believe in what the coaches are doing with the whole program.”AdvertisementAnd Pierzynski truly cares about the program, school and community. He was an all-state baseball player at Dr. Phillips, but his wife, Lisa, went to TFA through grade school before they met at DP. His family attends The First Baptist Church of Orlando, which founded TFA on its campus in 1986.Pierzynski misses practices and some games due his Fox Sports MLB analyst job and taking Ava to volleyball commitments, but he stays connected from afar.“I’ll be doing something, but I’ll be watching a [TFA] game on my phone, living and dying with every pitch,” he said. “I did a tour and fell in love with it. People can believe whatever they want to believe, but there’s something about having a Christ-centered school. I believe children need something bigger to answer to than mom or dad.“TFA promotes a very equal, inclusive environment where they intermix all the students and that’s important to me. When you get out in the real world you are around people that are different from you and you need to be able to handle all situations.”With Pierzynski in the dugout, the Royals are ready for all situations, too. This report was first published at Orlandosentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.

Sports

4 things we learned at Chicago Bears rookie minicamp, including Jaquan Brisker’s take on a scout’s ‘Ph.D.’ comment

The Chicago Bears’ new draftees and dozens of undrafted free agents and tryout prospects gathered in the Walter Payton Center on Friday in Lake Forest for the first practice of rookie minicamp.The rookies got their first taste of NFL learning, and coach Matt Eberflus said his staff threw a lot at them to see what they could retain.Advertisement“For us, it’s more about can you function as a pro — mentally first,” Eberflus said. “Can you get the schemes and then the formations, the motions down, and then can you operate and make the play?“And then can you listen to instructions? Can you practice the right way? Because you’ve got to be able to stay on your feet and practice the right tempo and do things the right way, and I think guys did a good job with that.”AdvertisementAfter media sessions with Eberflus and several Bears rookies, here are four things we learned.Bears safety Jaquan Brisker speaks to the media before rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on Friday, May 6, 2022, in Lake Forest. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)After the Bears drafted Brisker with the 48th pick in the second round, the former Penn State safety was involved in a social media stir — but not through any action of his own.The Bears made scouts available to the media after each pick, and when talking about Brisker’s special presence off the field, scout Chris Prescott described him as “Ph.D. — poor, hungry and desperate.”“You feel a tough, hard-nosed kid,” Prescott said. “He’s a — what would we call it? — Ph.D.? Poor, hungry and desperate. Football is his life. This is this kid’s life. There’s a lot to like about that when you see a guy who’s so passionate about football.”Several people called the comments offensive after an ESPN tweet about it. ESPN analyst Mina Kimes spoke of the situation this week in a segment on how players can feel “dehumanized, disrespected and stereotyped” by evaluators, coaches and media during the draft process.When we reduce black prospects’ stories of adversity to traits like 40 times, we reduce them as human beings. Some thoughts on the comments from a Bears scout on Jaquan Brisker this weekend, and a problem that continues to persist in draft commentary: pic.twitter.com/zQSCVhp5L9— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 2, 2022

Brisker said Friday he didn’t hear about the comments until later because he was enjoying his draft night with his family.“The Bears organization did a great job of communicating with me and things like that, so I don’t really let things like that get to me because I’ve already been through a whole lot,” he said. “People say a lot of things, but you know, that’s not really who I am. You can’t judge a book by its cover.“I’m actually a great person, great football player and I also graduated from college at Penn State. I overcame a lot of things, but I don’t let little things like that get to me.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Column: How Trestan Ebner’s fast-acting agent — and his sister’s cellphone — connected the Bears with the Baylor RB ]When asked if he was offended by the comments, Brisker said: “No, sir. It really just brushed off my shoulders. I heard about it super late, but I’m good. I’m fine. It’s time to play football.”The Bears and Prescott parted ways this week as general manager Ryan Poles made changes to his scouting staff, including dismissing college scouting director Mark Sadowski.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 11 Meet the Chicago Bears’ 2022 NFL draft class. (Jae C. Hong/AP)Gordon — the Bears’ top pick at No. 39 in the second round — came off the field limping during team drills, clearly in discomfort after defending a pass over the middle. While the former Washington cornerback did not return, he was merely experiencing cramps according to Eberflus.“We’ll just get him hydrated and get him ready for tomorrow,” Eberflus said.Gordon wasn’t the only member of the draft class to miss practice time. Safety Elijah Hicks, a seventh-round pick out of Cal, was unable to participate at all. Eberflus declined to provide a health update on Hicks, who fractured his foot during practice for the East-West Shrine Bowl in January and had surgery shortly after.[ [Don’t miss] Bears Q&A: Why didn’t GM Ryan Poles get more help for QB Justin Fields? How many starters did they draft? ]Hicks’ rehabilitation isn’t expected to drag on, but for now he’s in a wait-and-see situation.Advertisement“When he’s ready to go, he’ll get back in there,” Eberflus said. “I’m not going to put timetables on it.”Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon (6) at rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on Friday, May 6, 2022, in Lake Forest. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)Gordon said he was initially confused when a Thursday evening meeting began with a montage of Tillman highlights. Then he looked around the room.“We watched him at (Washington) all the time,” Gordon said. “We always practiced the ‘Peanut Punch.’ When he walked behind us, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s him!’ That was cool.”Receiver Velus Jones said Tillman addressed the room from the heart.“Man, it just shows the passion,” Jones said, “especially the passion he played with. And it goes for even the offensive (side of the) ball. (It’s) the passion you play with, the greatness, the determination.“It really fired me up even though he was a defensive guy. Even just showing the history here: What are the standards? That definitely fired me up as a receiver.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Bears draft class is older with more college experience — a byproduct of COVID-19. Could it be deeper too? ]Connecting with standout Bears alumni has been a priority for Eberflus. He was thrilled Tillman accepted his invitation to speak and appreciated the message Tillman delivered.“(It was) just about being a pro and being a Chicago Bear and what that means to him and what it means to the fans and what it means to the city,” Eberflus said. “To me, you can’t have enough of that.“I told Charles, pass the word around. Talk to the guys. As you know, I texted a bunch of (former players) when I got the job. I’ve talked to several of them. They’re all welcome to come in. We would love to see them.”The Bears announced the signings of Hicks, offensive linemen Braxton Jones, Doug Kramer and Ja’Tyre Carter, running back Trestan Ebner, defensive end Dominique Robinson and punter Trenton Gill.Gordon, Brisker, Jones and offensive lineman Zachary Thomas are the only draftees who haven’t signed.

Sports

Column: How Trestan Ebner’s fast-acting agent — and his sister’s cellphone — connected the Chicago Bears with the Baylor RB

Trestan Ebner’s draft party last Saturday could have gone in a different direction had it not been for his quick-acting agent.Ebner was with about 40 family members and friends at his mother’s house in Henderson, Texas, a small town of 13,000 in the northeast corner of the state. The Baylor running back felt pretty good about his chances of being drafted, but midway through the sixth round, he hadn’t been chosen.AdvertisementRon Slavin, Ebner’s Dallas-based agent, had been trying to reach his client multiple times. Every time he called, it went straight to voicemail. Cellphone reception in Henderson can be spotty on a good day.The Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had reached out to Slavin to see if he had an idea where Ebner might go. That’s common policy as the end of the draft draws near. Teams want to know if they need to use a draft pick or have a shot at signing a player as an undrafted free agent. It’s how the Bears determined they needed to use a seventh-round pick on Boise State left tackle Charles Leno in 2014, as Slavin had a lucrative UDFA deal all but done with another team.Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Bears Q&A: Why didn’t GM Ryan Poles get more help for QB Justin Fields? How many starters did they draft? ]Slavin finally reached Ebner on his fourth try. That was just before Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles called Slavin.“We can’t pick him if we can’t talk to him,” Poles told Slavin, explaining the Bears had been trying to reach Ebner and their calls also were going straight to voicemail with time becoming critical.Talk about a rough way to fall out of the draft or fall multiple spots.NFL teams have a long-standing practice of talking to players on the phone before submitting their names to the league office to ensure they’re not choosing a player who encountered recent misfortune.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 11 Meet the Chicago Bears’ 2022 NFL draft class. (Jae C. Hong/AP)Former Bears college scouting director Greg Gabriel said his mentor, Norm Pollom, a chief scout for the Buffalo Bills, warned Gabriel of what happened to the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983. They selected USC All-America offensive lineman Don Mosebar with the 26th pick in the first round without realizing he underwent back surgery eight days earlier. Owner Al Davis was reportedly furious.If the Raiders had known and gone in a different direction, they might have wound up with quarterback Dan Marino or cornerback Darrell Green — Hall of Famers selected immediately after Mosebar, who did go on to have a solid career.It can turn out worse. Two Canadian Football League teams in the mid-1990s drafted players who were dead.The point is, as a general rule NFL teams want to hear the player’s voice on the other line and make sure everything’s good before finalizing a pick.Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Column: Excitement, surprise, hope. The NFL draft delivered it all for the Bears. ]With Poles still on the line, Slavin quickly called Ebner’s sister Tiana Boone and she answered. He asked her to put Ebner on.“I’m sitting outside and my sister ran up to me and that’s how I knew her phone worked and mine didn’t,” Ebner said Friday morning before the first rookie minicamp practice.Ebner took the phone and Slavin and Poles were on the line. The Bears went ahead and made it official with the 203rd pick.“Thank god, right?” Ebner said. “(Boone) told my agent: ‘They might as well have picked me. At least my phone worked.’”Bears running back Trestan Ebner (31) at rookie minicamp on Friday, May 6, 2022, in Lake Forest. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)Maybe Slavin can negotiate a phone endorsement deal for Ebner, who hopes to connect quickly in the Bears backfield. He was up late Thursday trying to digest the first parts of the playbook and looked fluid Friday in the Walter Payton Center.“The coaching staff and everybody around has been so welcoming,” Ebner said, “making me feel comfortable and at home because it’s a new environment and I’ve never been this far away from home, to tell you the truth. It’s just nice to get to see some friendly faces. Everybody is smiling, laughing, having a good time, so I’m comfortable here now.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Bears draft class is older with more college experience — a byproduct of COVID-19. Could it be deeper too? ]Ebner, who was timed in the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, believes his experience in the Baylor offense will help him fit in quickly in the outside zone running scheme. The Bears believe he has good hands out of the backfield and he was the Big 12 special teams player of the year, so he has value in those areas as well.“It’s been great, you know, your dream has come true,” Ebner said of his first 24 hours or so at Halas Hall. “You know, it kind of hit me (Thursday). I’m sitting here, I had some Bears gear on, I’m like, ‘I’m in the NFL now,’ and it’s even more of a job now. You kind of see it.”