November twelfth, 2023
VERO BEACH, Fla. — Coming off its second-ever World Sequence look, the D-backs group remains to be making contributions on the diamond nearly two weeks after Main League Baseball’s season concluded.
Hillsboro Hops supervisor Ronnie Gajownik — a history-making skipper with the D-backs’ affiliate within the Excessive-A Northwest League — is one in all plenty of coaches, a lot of them feminine, who had been at Jackie Robinson Coaching Complicated this weekend as a part of the Breakthrough Series Ladies Baseball educational camp.
The nation’s prime 30 feminine highschool baseball gamers had been on the former Spring Coaching house of the Dodgers, studying from a few of the sport’s best coaches — from a various array of backgrounds — as a part of a two-day occasion. Friday was for regimented instruction and follow, whereas Saturday’s spotlight was a day sport to wrap up the actions.
The primary feminine supervisor to succeed in the Excessive-A stage, Gajownik mentioned the camp’s depth can be useful in educating the ladies concerning the inflexible, regimented strategy taken by gamers who succeed within the sport.
“They’re busting their butts and asking questions and never scared to speak. Only for girls in baseball and only for baseball on the whole, the truth that we’re out right here [is amazing],” she mentioned. “At their age, the data that I’m giving them, [former MLB pitcher] LaTroy [Hawkins] is giving them and Veronica Alvarez [of the A’s organization] is giving them … we didn’t have that info once we had been their ages.
“I’m not solely studying for myself, I’m studying for them, too, and for the way forward for girls in baseball and baseball on the whole.”
Gajownik managed the Hillsboro Hops to a 56-76 mark, which gridded them final within the six-team league. She is going to return there subsequent season.
“There was a number of stuff that occurred within the season,” mentioned the previous College of South Florida softball participant, who additionally competed 15 miles south of JRTC on the Juco stage. “I cherished each little bit of it. Everybody had good days and everybody had unhealthy days, however it’s about studying and relying in your workers members. I’m extra of a servant chief — like, ‘Hey, what do you want? You’re succesful, what do you want from me?’ Ensuring everybody had their stuff collectively.
“Nice environment, nice entrance workplace, nice GM — I imply, nice every little thing. They do all of it very well up there.”
Gajownik mentioned the spirit of the D-backs’ run via the Nationwide League to the Fall Traditional electrified the group.
Arizona toppled the Brewers within the NL Wild Card Sequence, swept the NL West rival Dodgers within the Division Sequence and surprised the closely favored Phillies in seven video games within the NL Championship Sequence earlier than in the end falling to the Rangers within the World Sequence.
“Our GM Mike Hazen despatched out an electronic mail saying that the World Sequence was a end result of so many alternative components and so many alternative folks,” mentioned Gajownik of the group, which flew its coaches to the World Sequence video games. “[Manager] Torey Lovullo all the time reiterates {that a} linked staff is a harmful staff. They had been like 65-1 [odds] to win the NL, and you’ve got all of those analytics and numbers.
“However on the finish of the day, none of these can account for the human issue.”
Alvarez has develop into a fixture at JRTC, in addition to a heavy hitter in girls’s baseball and MLB, as supervisor of the ladies’s nationwide staff for USA Baseball and coordinator of participant growth for Latin America for the A’s.
Eight members of the nationwide staff are collaborating — half as gamers, the opposite half coaches.
“To form of have that full-circle [moment] simply exhibits the event that it’s creating, not solely on the enjoying facet however on the teaching facet as effectively, and simply creating alternatives to proceed to develop inside the sport. This occasion is the very best of the very best for that motive,” Alvarez mentioned.
At the moment the hitting coach for the Guardians’ Arizona advanced academy, Amanda Kamekona mentioned it is crucial for the coaches to come back to JRTC and make themselves seen to the upstart baseball gamers.
“It’s essential to see girls in these roles, however there’s not anybody path or something particular that they’re doing,” mentioned Kamekona. “We’re all doing various things within the sport. I feel it’s actually highly effective to be seen doing that.”
She was employed in February by the group, changing into the primary lady to hitch the Guardians in an on-field position.
Camp invitee Demi Chaney, a standout center infielder and pitcher from Homewood, Unwell., mentioned it’s straightforward to be impressed by the teaching workers.
“It’s actually an honor to be coached by this teaching workers,” Chaney mentioned. “Folks don’t get the chance to be coached by such massive folks on this sport. It’s actually a blessing to be coached by them.
“They can assist me as an athlete as a result of they know what they’re doing. … They’ve been on the skilled stage earlier than and performed the sport all their life. They only make me a greater participant.’
