EXCITEMENT BUILDING FOR OPENING NIGHT AT JOANNES
When you look back at the Blue Ribbons 2021 season, you might not find their 18-27 record all that impressive, but when you look at the progress the team made during the second half of the year, and combine that with an influx of new talent, there are plenty of reasons to get excited for the 2022 squad.
After starting 4-0 in 2021, the team endured a brutal stretch in June, but the Ribbons corrected course and proved to be a better than .500 baseball team in the second half of the year, with players like Trent Van Ess, Liam Jones and Ethan Habetler all showing significant improvements in all areas of their game as the season went along.
Those three players will all be back for the 2022 campaign, along with core veterans like Griffin Summers, Noah Robinson and Tyler Blum. Key second-year players returning include Tucker Kohl, Blake Wallenfang, Bennett Frazer and Bret Whiffen, and the team has added some talented young prospects as well, leaving Manager Anthony Sottile enthusiastic about his ballclub.
“[I’m] really excited to see some of these guys show out and show what they can do”, Sottile told a group of reporters prior to the team’s Fan Fest scrimmage on Friday night. “It’s a lot of fun to get these guys out here. We’ve got a lot of new guys that are joining the team this year. Really giving it their all, making the most out of their opportunities.”
With a younger ballclub once again, Sottile will look to rely on some of his veterans to provide leadership and show the rookies the ropes. “They play a big role in ensuring that these guys understand the culture we’ve built here for the last year, and also, they’ve been around. They’ve seen a lot of different things that younger guys haven’t experienced yet. So for them to be a part of it and be able to lead those guys down that right path is really helpful to us, and we really appreciate everything that they do for us.”
Shortstop Griffin Summers is one of those returning veterans, back for his fifth season with the Blue Ribbons. The team’s Most Valuable Player in 2020, Summers hit .283 last year, with an on base percentage of .469, and led the team with 14 stolen bases. He’ll look to serve as a mentor to some of the younger guys, while still being a key contributor both offensively and defensively. “I try to now that I’m the older guy” Summers told reporters when asked if he had taken on a mentorship role. “I never really was in high school or college that guy, but now I just kinda have to be I guess. It’s going pretty well honestly. I thought I would struggle with it, but overall it’s pretty good.”
Outfielder and Pitcher Noah Robinson finds himself in a similar role, as the elder statesman of the team, returning for season number six. The franchise leader in games played (174) and stolen bases (62), Robinson is a team-first veteran who enjoys working with younger players. “I just want to show them the ropes a little bit” he said. “Show them how we do it. There’s a lot of things that are different from here than in college and I want to be able to kind of guide them down that path so that they’re successful here as well.”
They’ll have plenty of young prospects to help mold, as the Ribbons’ roster currently features 19 players set to make their debuts with the team this year.
Sottile showed last season that one of his strengths was in player development and sending players back to their respective schools as better players, and the mix of veterans and rookies should give him and assistant coach Haydon Price plenty to work with, as they continue to re-build a once legendary powerhouse in the Greater Green Bay area.