From majors to youth baseball, Las Vegas making an impact
It was less than an hour before their teams were to meet at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, and sitting in the dugout holding ESPN microphones were Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant.
They were being interviewed on “SportsCenter,” Harper seated to Bryant’s right, talking about growing up together in Las Vegas.
The city is giving the nation plenty to talk about when it comes to baseball talent. That became even more evident Tuesday when Joey Gallo made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers and went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBIs.
Not all the top young sluggers are from Las Vegas. It just feels that way with Gallo, Harper with the Washington Nationals and Bryant with the Chicago Cubs.
“Growing up, all we ever heard about was the California guys,” Gallo told The Dallas Morning News. “We’d go there and beat those guys, and they always got all the attention, so it’s good to see the Vegas guys and Las Vegas getting attention.”
More attention figures to come Las Vegas’ way Monday when the major league draft takes place. College of Southern Nevada pitcher Phil Bickford is projected to go in the first round, continuing the recent run of high draft picks.
Bickford, though, isn’t a homegrown talent. He’s one of those California guys, as Gallo might say, who spent one year at CSN after transferring from Cal State Fullerton.
The impact in the majors from the talent developed in Las Vegas is what’s so impressive. Harper, Gallo and Bryant grew up in the valley and played ball together. All were first-round draft picks, with Harper going with the first overall selection in 2010, Gallo 39th in 2012 and Bryant second in 2013.
Then last year, another homegrown talent went in the first round when pitcher Erick Fedde was selected 18th by the Nationals.
“I’m a big believer that the competition around you makes you a better player,” Fedde said. “The better players you play with forces you to be better yourself if you want to keep up. So it’s cool to have the spotlight on them, and you want to see that for yourself.”
The Houston Astros’ Chris Carter wasn’t a first-round choice — he went in the 15th round in 2005 — but is part of the Las Vegas power-hitting club, having hit 10 home runs this season and 76 since 2013.
Las Vegas doing well in baseball’s highest level isn’t new, of course. Las Vegas has been sending talent to the majors for many years, headlined by Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.
Tim Chambers has seen players developed at all levels, having coached at Bishop Gorman High School, CSN and now UNLV. He knows the value to getting them involved in the game early.
“It’s a baseball town,” Chambers said, “and most baseball players in this town play only baseball.”
CSN coach Nick Garritano knows plenty about local talent, and having access to so many players close by makes it significantly easier to assemble a roster that continually turns over.
“As a junior college, we don’t really have a recruiting budget,” said Garritano, who was at Green Valley High before taking over at CSN. “It’s nice to be able to get in your car and drive down the street to one of the local high schools and see these kids that you’re going to have for the next couple of years. I believe that the top-end kids in Vegas can play with the top-end kids from anywhere in the country.”
The run that Mountain Ridge Little League made last year underscored how strong baseball is in Las Vegas down to the youth level. That has been understood locally, but Mountain Ridge made it known nationally by advancing to the U.S. championship at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Mountain Ridge fell short in the title game to a team out of Chicago, but later was awarded the American championship because the Chicago team used ineligible players.
In the bigger picture, Mountain Ridge brought a community together and showcased the quality of local play.
“Las Vegas markets a different type of lifestyle, a vacation to everybody else,” Mountain Ridge coach Ashton Cave said. “But the people that live here, that grow up here like myself, born and raised here, there’s a whole other side to Las Vegas that people don’t know about.
“We had these 14 young kids here, and they’re good families and good people, and we tried to put that message out to the world when we had that experience last year. There’s something more to Nevada and to Las Vegas than what’s perceived by the nation as a whole.”
In Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon marveled at the talent coming out of Las Vegas, talking about Gallo’s debut and mentioning that he played with Harper and Bryant when they were youngsters.
“What is going on in Las Vegas?” Kornheiser asked.
“That seems to be the baseball breeding ground for the young studs,” Wilbon replied.
It does indeed, and the nation is paying attention.
“I think,” Cave said, “there’s a message being sent.”
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65
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