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Highlands Today

A Galaxy Of Baseball Stars

FACA CLASSIC HAS FOSTERED AN IMPRESSIVE LINEUP

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: May 23, 2008

Prospects and scouts have descended on Firemen's Field, and that means the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Baseball Classic is in full swing.
Getting ready for this year's event, we went back to look at all the players that have graced the fields of Highlands County. Avon Park's Head Field hosted its first event in 1980 — the first of seven Classics in the 1980's — and Sebring has been the ambassador since 1993.
We pondered what a real all-star team would look like if you picked the best of the best that played here in Highlands County and put them on paper.
The criteria was simple: They had to play in Highlands County, which unfortunately left some big names like Chipper Jones and Sebring's own Gabe White — who played at Baseball City in 1990 — out. Selections had to go on to either a stellar major league career or are one of the tops in minors today.
Here is the team that we came up with and what they're doing today:

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, SS, MIAMI-WESTMINSTER, 1993 Not much has to be said about Rodriguez, who's put together one of the most impressive careers in baseball history.
He's batted .306 with a .577 slugging percentage, 522 home runs and 1514 RBI in his 15th professional season with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees.
In his senior year at Westminster in 1993, Rodriguez was regarded as the top prospects in the country when he hit .505 with nine home runs, 36 RBI and stole 35 bases in just 33 games.
He was a first team prep All-American, and was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the year and the Gatorade National Baseball Student Athlete of the Year. Rodriguez was selected by Seattle Mariners in first round (first overall) of 1993 amateur entry draft.
It is of note that Rodriguez hit his first major league home run off Avon Park alum and current Philadelphia Phillies reliever Tom Gordon in 1995.

GARY SHEFFIELD, SS/P, HILLSBOROUGH, 1986 This Hillsborough High School product has made a name for himself with his bat and his temper.
Sheffield, currently the Detroit Tigers' designated hitter, has batted a cool .294 with 482 home runs and 1584 RBI in his 22-year professional career.
During his senior year at Hillsborough, Sheffield batted .500 and hit 15 home runs in only 62 official at-bats, while his fastball was reaching the upper 80's and he was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year.
Selected by Milwaukee Brewers in first round (sixth overall) of 1986 amateur entry draft.

TOM "FLASH" GORDON, P, AVON PARK, 1986 There hasn't been a pitcher like Gordon before or since in Highlands County.
The 5-foot-9 kid that many said was too small for the major leagues once struck out the maximum 21 batters in a game, 28 in a row and 46 of 48 in a three-game stretch his senior year.
Gordon was selected by Kansas City Royals in sixth Round (157th overall) of 1986 amateur entry draft and was named Baseball America's minor-league player of the year in 1988 after posting a 16-5 record with a 1.55 ERA and 281 strikeouts in 185 IP, the second-highest total among all professional pitchers.
In 1989, Avon Park native broke into the big leagues, posting a 17-9 record with a 3.64 ERA and was named The Sporting News' American League rookie pitcher of the year and has never looked back.
Gordon was moved from starter to reliever and in 1998 with Boston and recorded a major-league record 43 consecutive saves.

PRINCE FIELDER, 1B, EAU GALLIE MELBOURNE, 2002 At 6-feet and 255 pounds, the left-handed Fielder was a hulk even as an 18-year old senior.
The son of former big leaguer Cecil Fielder was enough to cause a flock of scouts and fans to watch his every swing.
Legend has it that when he was 17, the younger Fielder stopped by the Tigers' spring training facility in nearby Lakeland and hit eight balls over the wall in a round of batting practice, including two that cleared the 410-foot sign in center.
As a senior at Eau Gallie, Fielder hit .524 with 10 homers and 41 RBI. He had 13 doubles, one triple and scored 47 runs. Fielder's power was what made him attractive to the Milwaukee Brewers, who selected him in the first round (seventh overall) in the 2002 amateur entry draft.

JAMES HOUSER, P, SARASOTA, 2003 The 6-foot-5 lefty turned plenty of heads, as his mid-90s fast ball but it was his mind-boggling breaking ball that had scouts in the stands smiling from ear to ear.
Former Sebring player Trey Cleveland said that Houser's curve was the best he'd ever seen during his only at-bat against the Sarasota hurler.
Houser was named to the 6A state baseball first team and selected by Tampa Bay Devil Rays in second round (38th overall) of 2003 amateur entry draft. He's currently with the Montgomery Biscuits minor league team and one of the Rays' top pitching prospects.

CLYDE "PORK CHOP" POUGH, INF, AVON PARK, 1988 Cousin of Tom Gordon, Pough looked to be on his way to a fruitful major league career.
Selected by Cleveland Indians in third Round (59th overall) of 1988 amateur entry draft, Pough went on to be on the top prospects for the both the Indians and the Boston Red Sox. He was named Most Valuable Player for the 1995 Eastern League All-Star game, which featured future big leaguers Todd Walker and Nomar Garciaparra.
Pough's best season was in 1995 with Trenton/Pawtucket where he compiled a .268 BA, .340 OBP, .530 SLG percentage to go along with 26 HRs, 31 doubles, 6 triples, 57 BB, and 11 SBs.
An unfortunate injury in 1996 derailed his major league aspirations and left many wondering what could've been.

TINO MARTINEZ, 1B, TAMPA-JEFFERSON, 1985 One of the cornerstones of the New York Yankees four World Series titles (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000), Martinez was one of the few players that used college to improve their draft status.
Selected by Boston Red Sox in third Round (75th overall) of 1985 amateur entry draft, the former Jefferson stand-out went to the University of Tampa and played for Team USA in 1987, where he batted .369 with nine homers and 38 RBIs to lead the team in all categories.
Martinez was selected by the Seattle Mariners in first round (14th overall) of 1988 amateur entry draft.
During his career, he has scored 1008 runs, driven in 1271 runs, and hit 339 home runs. He has hit 100 RBI in six seasons and has been selected to the All-Star team twice.

TRAVIS FRYMAN, INF, TATE-CANTONMENT, 1987 Fryman's consistency at the plate and accuracy in the field made him a sure-fire first-round selection (30th overall) of the Detroit Tigers in the 1987 amateur entry draft.
Fryman played seven seasons with the Tigers, where he was ranked as one of the top third baseman in the game. He was awarded only one Gold Glove Award in 2000 after making just eight errors all season with a 60-game errorless streak.
Fryman, who was a five-time All-Star with a .274 BA and drove in 1022 runs in his career, would have been a mainstay for the Gold Glove year after year if he hadn't been playing in the same league as Wade Boggs and Robin Ventura.

JEFF D'AMICO, P, ST. PETE NORTHEAST, 1993 At 6-foot-7 and with a blazing fast ball in the mid-90s, D'Amico was compared to Randy Johnson after he was selected by Milwaukee Brewers in first round (23rd overall) of 1993 amateur entry draft.
D'Amico fought through a series of injuries to the major league level in 1996. The Northeast hurler had his best season in 2000 when he went 12-7 with a 2.66 ERA and struck out 101.
But the hardship of injury after injury settled in for D'Amico, whose career was over in 2004.

CASEY KOTCHMAN, 1B, SEMINOLE, 2001 After a breakout season in 2007, Kotchman is showing the prowess that made him the Anaheim Angels first round selection (13th overall) in the 2001 amateur entry draft.
Kotchman batted .296 with 11 homers and 68 RBI — all career highs — and cemented himself as the Angels' first baseman.
As a high school senior, Kotchman was a key member of the Seminole team that went 31-0 — the first Florida team to go through a season unbeaten in 46 years. Seminole went on to beat St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, 5-4, in the state championship game.

JESSE LITSCH, PITCHER, ST. PETE-DIXIE HOLLINS, 2003 James Houser may have had the buzz around him at the 2003 FACA Classic, but it was Litsch who would go on to be the star of the class so far.
Litsch was a two-way star for Dixie Hollins, as a pitcher and third baseman. He batted .521 and was 5-2 with a 2.23 ERA his senior season.
Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 37th round, Litsch put his major league career on hold and chose to play ball for the South Florida Community College Panthers. The 6-foot-1 hurler went 9-1 with a 2.11 ERA and led the Panthers to a 35-16-1 record and a spot in the state playoffs and was named the FCCAA pitcher of the year.
The Toronto Blue Jays chose Litsch in the 24th Round (717th overall) of 2004 amateur entry draft and signed him before 2005 season.
Litsch made his Major League debut with the Blue Jays, filling in for the injured Roy Halladay. Over 8.2 innings, a Blue Jays record for major league debuts, Litsch allowed 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 run to become the first Jays pitcher to win his debut since Gustavo Chacin.

ANDREW MCCUTCHEN, OUTFIELD, FORT MEADE, 2004 Another area prospect, McCutchen showed that he had what it takes to make it to the next level.
During McCutchen's senior year at Fort Meade High School in 2004, he batted .474 with eight home runs, 40 RBI, 45 stolen bases, and only 5 strikeouts.
Selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in first round (11th overall) of 2005 amateur entry draft, McCutchen is considered one of the top outfield prospects and according to Baseball America he is the Pirates' No. 1 prospect.

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