-SMC Skipper nearing milestone-

Spartanburg Methodist Skipper Tim Wallace sits one win away from 1000 after taking two from #4 Walters State this afternoon (Right, sitting atop his beloved Connie). DP decided to take a breather from high school action tonight and post up at SMC for their DH to refresh the eyes.

Coach Tim Wallace has spent 23 years at SMC and has taken them to 11 region championships and 6 trips to the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. His winning percentage sits at the top of all active coaches in NJCAA. Coach Wallace has been named NJCAA Eastern District coach of the year 6 times. Among his other personal achievements: regional coach of year (seven times), league coach of the year (five times) and Louisville Slugger coach of year (four times). Just recently Wallace was selected to NJCAA’s Hall of Fame.

The Pioneers host region rival USC-Lancaster this weekend at home with a DH on Saturday and Sunday – games starting at 1:00 and 3:00 each day. If you have any interest in baseball, I highly recommend catching the 4-game series this weekend. Both program’s coaches have a long history together, hence both clubs are very well-coached. USC-L top man Steve Williams was once a mentor for Tim Wallace, Coach Williams once named his son after Timothy Matthew Wallace. That child grew up to play for and later coach under Tim Wallace. That child is now a grown man, it is Matt Williams – now the pitching coach for UNC-Wilmington.

A lot of former players, coaches, and scouts will be in attendance to see if Wallace can grab win 1000. We should all be grateful that we live in a state where we have tremendous teachers of the not only the game, but life as well.

-Food for Thought-

The missed perception of JUCO happens more often than not. In South Carolina we have phenomenal JUCO programs that compete in a tough Region X conference. Sitting in my position I hear all the time from HS players and parents that “if my son doesn’t go D1, he is just going to be a student and not play baseball anymore”. Usually when they say this they have an agenda and are saying it with sort of an attitude. Maybe they weren’t invited to the Palmetto Games or Border Battle. Maybe they aren’t ranked where they think they need to be ranked. Who cares!! Real baseball players don’t care about that stuff; they are cognitive of things like that but at the end of the day, they just want to play baseball somewhere at the next level. Some HS kids are late bloomers. I can’t tell you the amount of kids I (personally) have missed on in HS and two years later after attending a JUCO, are starting on some D1-D2 team. That is a beautiful thing. If you really love the game of baseball and enjoy playing it, but might not quit be there just yet, look into JUCO’s. This is a way you can get an education while plying the game you love. Who knows what happens two years down the road after hard work, dedication, and playing at a competitive level of college baseball?

If you love the game, I want you to ask yourself this question when you lay your head down at night… “Did I do everything possible to get better today”? I can remember those days when I played and asking that question to myself. More times than not the answer was “NO”. I don’t regret it because now I am in a position to make sure your answer is “YES”  Continue to work hard and enjoy every minute of it. Before you know it you are 32 years old wishing you could turn back time and throw that pre-game bullpen on the road where opposing fans are heckling you which is doing nothing less than fueling your fire to dominate their beloved team.  

-Related Quotes to Article-

“There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens” – Tommy Lasorda

“Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it’s business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don’t love what you’re doing and you can’t give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short. You’ll be an old man before you know it.” – Al Lopez

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“Over the past five years I have been trying to figure out a way to see every high school team in my area during the spring season. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful. Every year I seem to leave out a handful of schools which in essence, I am missing out on a large amount of players. I feel my job is to identify next level talent and relay it over to college/professional scouts so they can do their jobs. A collection of us have brainstormed and have come up with a way for me to try and lay eyes on as many players as possible, hence the introduction of “Barry’s Bytes”. This will be a blog that I will update daily/bi-daily for our subscribers. I will be bouncing around various high schools and instead of covering games; I will be on a talent search. The goal is to hit multiple spots on a given night. In this blog you will find everything from prospect info to my personal thoughts on an array of topics ranging from standout concession stands and peak performers to the most polite gate attendants and umpire gaffes, also any random thought that crosses through my brain will be fair game! Have an open mind and hope you guys enjoy my two cents. See you at the park!”