IMG Academy

IMG Academy's Carter Bumgardner earns All-Patriot League honors

john.esfeller@imgworld.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:06:32 +0000

Bucknell University 3B Carter Bumgardner had an outstanding sophomore season in 2013, and earned 2nd Team All-Patriot League honors. Bumgardner hit .285 with one home run and a team-best 30 RBIs during the regular season. He is third on the team with 10 multi-hit games and paces the squad with nine multi-RBI outings. Bumgardner arrived at IMG Academy in June 2009 to participate in the Wood Bat League at IMG Academy, and stayed on for a post-graduate semester until January 2010, signing with Bucknell during fall. The Bucknell Bison are preparing for the Patiot League Tournament which begins this week, and the IMG Academy Wood Bat Leagues will get back underway this summer.

Carter Bumgardner earns All-Patriot League honors

IMG Academy alumnus Alfredo Escalera earns President’s Volunteer Service Award

john.esfeller@imgworld.com — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:28:01 +0000

IMG Academy alumnus Alfredo Escalera, a member of the class of 2012, made history shortly after graduation when he became the youngest player ever drafted since the inception of the First-Year Players Draft in 1965. However, Escalera is making an even bigger impact off the field with his humanitarian efforts. During National Volunteers Week in April, it was announced that Escalera was the recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the nation’s most distinguished service award.

"I have the selfish belief that by helping someone in peril to better his life, I am actually helping myself to be more joyful. For me, voluntary work is a shortcut to being blessed with amazing happiness," said Escalera in a United States Fund for UNICEF news release.

For the faculty and staff at IMG Academy, the honor came as no surprise.

“We’re extremely proud, but certainly not surprised,” said Ken Bolek, Director of Baseball, IMG Academy. “We would like to congratulate not only Alfredo, but also his family for doing such a good job to instill strong values in him.”

While a student-athlete at IMG Academy, Escalera was tireless in his community service efforts. He regularly took part in helping with the Miracle League of Manasota; served as a tutor for his peers within IMG Academy; assisted as a coach for the athletes of Special Olympics – Manatee County; and even traveled home to Puerto Rico regularly to help with providing meals to the homeless and pitching in with beach cleanup efforts.

Nowadays as a member of the Kansas City Royals organization, Escalera has only increased the scale of his community service. Last December, Escalera headed an activity to raise funds for UNICEF's United States Fund to promote world access to clean water. His efforts resulted in handing a $25,000 check to Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, in the presence of Secretary of State-designate David Bernier and Puerto Rico Secretary-designate of Sports and Recreation Ramón Orta.

Escalera was a student-athlete at IMG Academy from 2008-‘12. He initially signed with Stetson University before opting to play professionally when he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the eighth round (253rd overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft.

Alumnus Alfredo Escalera earns President's Service Award!

Pastornicky recalled as Braves cover for Heyward

intern — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:20:27 +0000

DENVER -- With Jason Heyward undergoing a smooth appendectomy Monday night, the Braves on Tuesday placed him on the 15-day disabled list and called up shortstop Tyler Pastornicky from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Pastornicky, 23, arrived in Denver on Tuesday morning and was available for the day-night doubleheader as the Braves and Rockies made up Monday's snowout. Pastornicky made his Major League debut in 2012, opening the season as the Braves' starting shortstop before being optioned to Triple-A on May 31. He was recalled on July 14 and played 76 games with the Braves, hitting .243 (41-for-169), with two homers and 13 RBIs, playing all but three of his games at shortstop with the rest at second base.

"Tyler's an interesting guy," manager Fredi Gonzalez said before Tuesday's first game. "He's an offensive guy. Maybe [we'll pinch-hit him to] lead off an inning like we did last year in September with him. He's been playing a lot of second base in Gwinnett. He's played a couple games at short. He played some outfield in Spring Training -- hasn't played that in Triple-A just yet. So we'll use him."

Pastornicky was hitting .351 (26-for-74) at Triple-A, playing 14 games at second, two at short and two as the designated hitter.

Gonzalez plans to use Reed Johnson and Jordan Schafer in right field while the club is without Heyward, keeping Justin Upton in left.

"Reed and Schafer are both above-average defenders," Gonzalez said. "Justin is doing a great job in left field, and we wouldn't want to move him back for 10 or 12 days. He's getting used to that left-field position, so we'll leave him there."

Heyward's DL trip comes a day after the Braves activated first baseman Freddie Freeman, who missed 15 days with a strained right oblique. Freeman was back in the cleanup spot Tuesday after three rehab games in Gwinnett, where he was 5-for-10 with two doubles and two RBIs. He was hitting .412 (7-for-17) in his first five games before landing on the DL.

Prospect ‘masks’ a question

intern — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:16:46 +0000

TRENTON — The question isn’t really whether J.R. Murphy can hit.

A convincing answer on that subject came Thursday night, when the Yankees catching prospect homered in three consecutive at-bats for Double-A Trenton. Through 11 games, Murphy — the usual cleanup hitter for the Thunder — had a .364 batting average, .442 on-base percentage and .682 slugging with nearly as many walks (six) as strikeouts (seven). He has demonstrated patience and gap power at every minor league level.

The only uncertainty — and coaching focus — follows Murphy’s defense and game-calling. He had just two years of catching experience as an amateur, taking up the position as a high school sophomore in Bradenton, Fla., missing his junior season and resuming as a senior before the Yankees selected him in the second round of the 2009 draft. As Murphy, who turns 22 next month, puts it, “I did the majority of my learning here in pro ball.”

Murphy raved about his experiences working with Joe Girardi and Tony Pena — with 33 years of big-league catching wisdom between them — during Yankees spring training and talked about polishing his receiving skills.

“Learned a lot from being over there with the big guys,” Murphy said. “Chris Stewart and [Francisco] Cervelli, all those guys were really great with me, helping me out. A lot on the mental side: how they’re thinking, what they’re thinking when they’re calling pitches, how to deal with the pitching staff, different personalities and stuff like that. I took a lot from that and I’m applying it now, so I’m starting to see some results.”

Murphy had thrown out 6 of 14 opposing base-stealers for Trenton through Thursday (43 percent, after nabbing 32 percent last year and 23 percent from 2009-2011, when he also spent time at third base). Stolen-base attempts against him cooled to 1.20 per game in 2012 after a rampant 1.69 the two years prior. He also had committed three errors in the opening two weeks of this season.

“We need to work on some things defensively,” Trenton manager Tony Franklin said, before disguising a critique as a compliment. “His hands are so good, he’s bad — sometimes he tries to pick balls in the dirt and not block them.”

Murphy, listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, entered the season as Baseball America’s No. 15 Yankees prospect, vaulting over Austin Romine at No. 17, although ranking behind No. 3 Gary Sanchez, the 20-year-old who is at least a year behind at High-A Tampa. Strides in glovework and game management will determine whether Murphy is the first to earn a real look in The Bronx.

“I’ve come a long way in the past three years, but I have a long way to go,” he said. “There’s so many little things in catching.”

IMG Academy trainee, Welington Castillo, lights up the league with hot bat

john.esfeller@imgworld.com — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:24:02 +0000

In past years, Chicago Cubs’ catcher, Welington Castillo, has battled with nagging injuries that haven’t allowed him to play more than 70 games in a three year span. For the 2013 season, Castillo wanted a change and his agent suggested spending his offseason at IMG Academy. After eleven games into the season, it looks as if that change has paid off.

Currently, Castillo has become one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He has a .425 batting average and a .452 on-base percentage which ranks sixth in MLB. On Thursday, Castillo once again had the hot bat with four hits in a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers.

After the game, manager Dale Sveum told ESPN, “If he could swing the bat like this all year long we could have something special because (his) defense behind the plate is one of the best in baseball.”

Although it’s early in the season, many are speculating that Castillo could be one of the core figures in the Cubs' success.

IMG Academy trainee Welington Castillo has become one of the hottest hitters in baseball

PHOTO GALLERY: IMG Academy Multi-Sport Complex Groundbreaking, April 17, 2013

kim.berard@imgworld.com — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:06:33 +0000

On April 17, 2013, in the company of student-athletes and their families, staff, alumni, professional athletes, sports performance partners, community leaders, and many more, IMG Academy broke ground on a world-class, multi-sport complex. A state-of-the-art stadium, opening in August 2013, marks the first phase of expansion. The stadium will feature: 5,000 seats with the ability to scale to 10,000; a professional-quality Bermuda grass surface with TV-ready lights; an 8-lane, 400m track and additional training areas for jumps and throws; a broadcast-ready press box with coach, press, radio rooms and hospitality suites; and a collegiate-style video board. A new, lighted stadium field for baseball will also open, paving the way for the addition of a baseball quadraplex that will rival any spring training facility.

The second phase will open in December 2013 and feature a 40,000-square foot fieldhouse with multiple locker rooms, meeting spaces, and offices. Phase Three will include a research and development facility for sports performance companies looking for a permanent research home on the IMG Academy campus, as well as the addition of new multi-sport field venues to bring the total of playing fields to more than 20, servicing soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and football.

PHOTO GALLERY: IMG Academy breaks ground on a state-of-the-art multi-sport complex

Thunder's Murphy homers three times

intern — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:41:54 +0000

JR Murphy hit the weight room this winter back home in Bradenton, Fla., with a goal of adding more power to his game. It took about two weeks into the 2013 season for the hard work to pay off.

Murphy muscled out three home runs to set a single-game franchise record in the Double-A Thunder's 15-14 loss at Erie on Thursday night.

"It was my offseason apporoach in the weight room with my trainer. I wanted to hit for some more power, work on those aspects of the game," said Murphy, who had nine homers at two levels last year. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised. This was my goal ... and tonight was a good step toward that."

The Yankees' second-round pick in 2009 out of high school went deep in the fourth, sixth and seveth innings before adding a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the eighth to plate his fifth run of the game. It was the first time a Thunder player has homered three times in a game since the club moved to Trenton in 1994; the previous record was two homers, set most recently by Luke Murton last Aug. 17.

"It was a good day to hit, I wasn't the only one hitting home runs," said Murphy, who hit three of Trenton's six dingers. "This was my first time here. It's a good park to hit at, we got some good pitches to hit, and I didn't miss them. But tonight was a tough one to lose, it was a long game."

Despite 14 runs on 17 hits, two of which were homers by Rob Segedin, Trenton ended up tying the game late before losing on third baseman Segedin's two-out error in the bottom of the eighth that allowed the go-ahead run to score. The teams combined for 29 runs, 34 hits, five errors, two wild pitches and eight home runs in a three-hour, 35-minute game.

"It got off to rough start. Things got out of hand in the first few innings, and then we were able to battle back, put a few on the board," said Murphy, who watched his starter, Matt Tracy, surrender 10 runs in three innings.

Trenton clawed back to tie the game, 14-14, with a five-run eighth, but watched the game slip away in the bottom of the frame when Jamie Johnson scored on the fielding error.

"Slowly but surely, we got back and tied the game," Murphy said. "We didn't take the lead, but it was a close one down to the end. It's a tough one to lose. You're out there for a long time, it's mentally and physically draining."

Murphy, who had just four homers in 43 games last season at Trenton, hit a two-out solo shot to right in the fourth and led off the sixth with a drive to left, both off SeaWolves right-hander Derek Hankins. Murphy struck again in his fourth at-bat, hitting a two-run drive to left off Robbie Weinhardt after Yankees No. 3 prospect Tyler Austin drew a one-out walk.

"The first one, it was 1-0, I got a good pitch and hit it out, a fastball," Murphy said. "The second one, the first pitch was up and in. I thought they'd come back and challenge me with another fastball, and they did, I guessed right."

Murphy's third homer came off Weinhardt, a righty who has spent two stints in the Majors.

"I saw a few of his heaters earlier in the at-bat, they had some good sink to it," he said. "He threw me a slider that didn't look too good, and then threw a heater in. I just reacted to it, hit it well."

Murphy, who went 4-for-5 on the night, said it's been enjoyable so far batting cleanup behind two of the Yankees' top prospects in leadoff man Slade Heathcott (No. 4) and Tyler Austin (No. 3). Heathcott went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts Thursday, but Austin finished with a pair of singles and two runs scored.

"It's fun to be around guys like that every night. You know you'll see someting fun to watch, and so far its been pretty impressive to watch this lineup hit," he said. "It's gonna be tough on other teams to get outs, and tonight was one of those nights."

Trenton fell one homer shy of tying a franchise record for homers in a game. For Murphy, it was his first three-homer night since he was a little kid.

"I think I hit three home runs in a game in Little League," he laughed.

Murphy drove in nine runs with Class A Charleston on Aug. 13, 2010.

James Robbins homered on a five-RBI night and Tyler Collins went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs for the SeaWolves.

Carrying the burden of expectation, Manny Ramirez Jr. provides insight about his eccentric father

intern — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:35:00 +0000

BRADENTON, Fla. – The bat, long and thin and dipped in black paint, can’t weigh more than 34 ounces, but it is the name on the barrel – the one printed in gold – that makes the lumber so heavy. Manny Ramirez Jr. smiles as he touches the letters. For 17 years he’s lived with this name and the stares and looks and jokes that come with it until he can do nothing but shake his head. Son of Manny. That’s who he is.

What’s a name anyway?

“I think people might assume unrealistic things for now, but it doesn’t bother me,” he says.

Perhaps no recent baseball name other than Alex Rodriguez brings more baggage than the larger-than-life persona of Manuel Aristides Ramirez Onelcida – better known as Manny Ramirez. For almost 19 years Manny Sr. was one of baseball’s best hitting acts with a vicious swing, long home runs and a running clown show explained away as “Manny being Manny” until it wore old at each stop. Then the home runs disappeared and the suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs thundered down. When he finally walked away from the major leagues last year, Manny Sr.’s once-certain election to the Hall of Fame had become a near impossibility.

The son understands all this, perhaps better than anyone. He has lived it. The good. The bad. The roaring crowds. The darkest days. His parents broke up when he was five, but he spent chunks of summers and school vacations around his father. In 2009, when the Manny show was at its peak in Los Angeles, he traveled for two months with the Dodgers, making friends with players such as Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Orlando Hudson. He was 14 then, and if there were ever a doubt he would become a baseball player, it died that beautiful summer in the stadium on the hill above downtown L.A.

Now on the day of his final high school game, Manny Jr., a first baseman and outfielder, sits near the batting cages at the IMG Academy late last week. He came here three years ago with the blessing of his mother, Celia Fernandez, believing the concentration of school and baseball would better prepare him for a baseball life. He has grown to 6-foot-3, taller and lankier than Manny Sr. but also very much a mirror of his father when he first joined the Cleveland Indians in 1993. He is certain to be selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft in June.

And maybe it is his own baseball life that has given him perspective on his father’s. He talks to Manny Sr. regularly, having just spoken to him via phone from Taiwan, where Manny Sr. is trying to revive his broken baseball career.

“I think with everything that has happened he has matured,” Manny Jr. says about Manny Sr. “It’s the reality that people make mistakes.”

His father has found God in the past couple of years. When they talk, Manny Sr. speaks about faith, the son says.

“He’s gotten really serious about it,” Manny Jr. says. “It started after he got the 50-game [suspension] in Los Angeles. People change as time goes on. He has put his faith into God. I think he was like that before, but he lost his way traveling in baseball.”

Manny Jr. is far more open than his father, who never seemed to care for public interaction. Even as a young star in Cleveland he rarely spoke to the media, something he continued through his years in Boston and Los Angeles. The father has only withdrawn more in recent years as his skills have declined and the suspensions have jackhammered his legacy.

“I think he knows people assume things. Let them say what they want,” Manny Jr. says, explaining Manny Sr.’s public silence.

“I think he may have been a little upset because some of the players he thought were with him at the time – just like friends – he lost many of them,” Manny Jr. continues. “I feel like everybody loved him. I think there were a lot of players that tried to protect their own rather than say they supported him. It’s a shame.”

Perhaps most damning to Manny Sr.’s legacy is the fact he will probably not be seriously considered for the Hall of Fame despite a career in which he hit .312 with 555 home runs and three times led the majors in slugging percentage. But given Manny Sr.’s ambivalence about publicity, it was often hard to tell how much he cared about such honors.

“It’s one of those things where he would have liked it, but it’s not that big a deal anymore,” Manny Jr. says. “I think he’d not like his career to end in Taiwan rather than in the major leagues.”

Still, Manny Jr. says he thinks his father is happy in Taiwan and seems to have rediscovered a love for baseball. He suggests his father might want to come back as a coach but isn’t sure how or when. The thought isn’t as preposterous as it might sound.

Manny Jr. learned a lot about hitting in the time he spent with his father. It would have been hard not to. For all the pranks and the goofiness of Manny Sr., few players prepared as diligently for games. In that magical summer of 2009 as he traveled around the National League with the Dodgers, Manny Jr. was always struck by the number of hours his father put into hitting. They’d arrive at the park sometime around noon – 3 ½ to 4 hours before the time players are supposed to report. Manny Sr. would go to the clubhouse, change and immediately immerse himself into tapes of opposing pitchers. He would next go with then-Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly – now the team's manager – to the indoor batting cages where he would sometimes hit for two hours.

All of this Manny Jr. brought with him to IMG where he too became known as the player who spent longer than his teammates getting ready for games. For instance, he uses the wooden bat – an award from a tournament in Arizona – to take batting practice. Because the wood bat has a smaller “sweet spot” where the ball jumps off the bat, it gives him a better feel for the best place to make contact with the more forgiving aluminum bats he uses in games.

“He definitely mirrors his father’s approach when it comes to hitting,” says Ken Bolek, IMG’s baseball program director.

In a way, Bolek should know. Years ago, he was an outfield coach for the Cleveland Indians when a young slugger from Washington Heights in New York City named Manny Ramirez was promoted to the big leagues. Bolek only worked with Manny Sr. for about a month before the season ended and he left to take a job with the Cubs. But even then he got a sense of the intensity that belies the player’s outside reputation as a bit of a goofball.

Both he and IMG’s baseball coach, Jason Elias, sat down with Manny Jr. for long talks about the burden that comes with his father’s name. “Whether you like it or not, that is who you are,” Elias told him.

“You’re going to have to earn your own reputation and your chances in life,” Bolek said in a meeting with Manny Jr. a couple of years ago. “There is going to be a time when people come to see Manny Ramirez Jr. and not his father.”

Manny Jr. is easy-going. He has a quick smile, greets strangers with a handshake and makes eye contact with his interviewers. He has his father’s short, level swing, his father’s batting stance (only slightly more open) and is starting to develop some of his father’s power. What he doesn’t have is any of Manny Sr.'s eccentricities.

“There have been zero problems with Manny,” Elias says.

Manny Jr. describes himself as a “late bloomer” as a player. His coaches have always felt he had great potential but had to find the approach that worked best. He came to the academy about three inches shorter and was a little stockier than he is now. After last season, he lost around 25 pounds, and, combined with the growth spurt, his skills have improved.

Even though he is certain to be drafted, there is some uncertainty as to the round. He has committed to Central Arizona Community College, a top-ranked baseball school, and Bolek has urged him to go there for at least a year to grow stronger and further develop his power. This last year Manny Jr. hit .366 with two home runs and 27 RBI. Bolek thinks the home run and RBI numbers can increase significantly with a year of playing with bigger and older men.

The irony in all of this is that little of the push for baseball comes from Manny Sr. In fact, Manny Jr. says it’s his mother – probably the biggest influence on his life – who has encouraged him to play. She’s the one who sent him to IMG, he says. She’s the one the coaches have met, who checks on his progress, who gives him the most support.

“My father wants me to go to college and get a degree,” Manny Jr. says. “If baseball happens, it happens.”

Told that seems strange coming from a player who never went to college or gave a public indication that school was important, Manny Jr. smiles.

“He knows times have changed,” he says.

Soon it was time to hit and then get on a bus for a ride to the last game, which was being played at the Yankees' spring training stadium, Steinbrenner Field, in Tampa. It probably won’t be the last professional stadium in which he plays. A baseball future looms for the boy with a baseball name loaded with expectation and burden.

He picks up the wooden bat and heads toward the batting cage where he'll stand just like Manny Sr. and smack line drives for as long as anyone will let him. The son, in this case, just like the father.

IMG Academy breaks ground on world-class, multi-sport complex

david.portnowitz@imgworld.com — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:04:17 +0000

Today, in the company of student-athletes and their families, staff, alumni, professional athletes, sports performance partners, community leaders, and many more, IMG Academy broke ground on a world-class, multi-sport complex. A state-of-the-art stadium, opening in August 2013, marks the first phase of expansion. The stadium will feature: 5,000 seats with the ability to scale to 10,000; a professional-quality Bermuda grass surface with TV-ready lights; an 8-lane, 400m track and additional training areas for jumps and throws; a broadcast-ready press box with coach, press, radio rooms and hospitality suites; and a collegiate-style video board. A new, lighted stadium field for baseball will also open, paving the way for the addition of a baseball quadraplex that will rival any spring training facility.

“Over the last few years, we have made great strides in not only our integrated delivery of academics and athletics, but also our commitment to a rich campus life experience at IMG Academy,” said Greg Phillips, Vice President and Athletics Director. “Just a month before opening our new university-style residence hall, we are excited to break ground on our new multi-sport complex and stadium, which will soon serve as the competition home for five of our sports. Our student-athletes will have a new venue in which we can all proudly come together and share our love for competition.”

In addition to the impact on the student-athlete experience, the facility will have a significant impact on the newly-formed IMG Performance division of sports and entertainment giant, IMG Worldwide, which operates its headquarters on IMG Academy’s campus. Established in 2012, IMG Performance, among other initiatives, owns and manages more than 100 sporting events, many of which take place at IMG Academy and will now be staged in the new complex. They include: the IMG 7v7 National Championships; United Soccer League’s Super-Y and Super-20 North American Finals; the IMG National Baseball Classic; and the IMG Lacrosse Nationals. The new complex will also enable IMG Performance to attract a new level of national and international competition.

Additionally, prospective and existing sports performance partners will now have the opportunity to conduct their research and development efforts out of the new facility. Industry-leading companies like Gatorade, Under Armour, Motus Global, Prince and others, who already have a presence on the IMG Academy campus, will be able to expand their campus footprint, if they choose.

“We couldn’t be more excited for what our campus expansion signifies for our student-athletes and their families, our alumni, and our staff, as well as our extended family and the local community,” remarked Sam Zussman, Senior Vice President, IMG Worldwide and Managing Director, IMG Performance. “The new facility will also help enrich the offerings of our IMG Performance division, as it relates to the delivery of athletic and personal development services, the hosting of events, the advancement of performance research and development, and the design of new training products and services.”

For more information about the new multi-sport complex, click here.

State-of-the-art complex opens September 2013!

Wood Bats vs. Composite Bats: The Great Debate

david.portnowitz@imgworld.com — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:50:30 +0000

The game of baseball is evolving. From helmets to replay, each facet of the game continues to be updated by technology. However, throughout this modernization, the traditional use of wood bats has remained the constant of each era’s norm. Although wood bats may be more expensive, the risks of using metal bats could outweigh the costs. Even with increased metal bat standards, the injury count from metal bat accidents continues to rise for both players and spectators. With metal bats already banned from high school athletics in New York City and North Dakota, the use of wood bats continues to rise.

While wood bats are less forgiving and demand greater hand-eye coordination, the transition between playing with a wood bat to playing with an aluminum or composite bat is relatively easy for all levels of play. Many hitting experts believe wood bat training tends to translate into hitting success. As the level of competition continues to grow, hitters strive to improve their hand-eye coordination while refi ning bat and ball contact. The more a player trains with a wood bat, the more they will be able to experiment with the length, weight, and style of the bat, helping to personalize it for the player, just like a glove.

“Wood bat training is less forgiving and necessitates greater precision to consistently produce hard-hit baseballs. It also creates a higher feel and greater sensitivity to the batter, helping to emphasize the importance of hands throughout each swing,” says Ken Bolek, director of the IMG Academy baseball program and a former major league coach.

The Bradenton, Florida-based IMG Academy baseball program, which has produced such notable MLB alumni as Chris Perez and Tyler Pastornicky and countless D-I signees, uses wood bats during the fall and transitions to aluminum/composite during the spring season. With 12 players selected in the MLB Draft since 2006 and 16 student-athletes named to All-America teams since 2009, the training methodology used at IMG Academy speaks for itself.

Alfredo Escalera, an IMG Academy alum drafted last year by the Kansas City Royals, actually prefers using a wood bat now.

“IMG Academy taught me how to square the ball and stay back with a wood bat, allowing me to hit the ball with better contact,” Escalera said. “A wood bat allows you to perfect your swing so that when you go back to a metal bat, you hit the ball more accurately and with maximum power.”

Bolek says that as the game continues to evolve, the most serious players should adopt some portion of wood bat training for their development and acclimation to higher levels of the game. To help with that transition, IMG Academy launched its Summer Wood Bat Leagues nearly fi ve years ago and has now grown to offer High School, 14U and 12U leagues. In addition to training multiple days per week, the league splits its participants into teams that compete throughout the summer while also implementing elements like strength training, speed training, vision training and more.

Mitchell Gallagher first participated in the Wood Bat League and then enrolled at IMG Academy. He says that besides taking a few then enrolled at IMG Academy. He says that besides taking a few more reps to get back into the swing of things, the transition from wood to metal bats prepares you better for the next season.

“Training with a wood bat builds up bat speed,” he says. “Usually right after the transition, I get the bat to the zone quicker and the ball tends to come off the bat a lot faster.”

As the baseball world continues to evolve, some things may always stay the same. Just as the originators and legends of the game used wood bats, the current generation and beyond may all benefit by the one and only wood bat.

For more information on IMG Academy, including the summer email baseball@imgacademy.com or call Wood Bat Leagues, 800-872-6425.

IMG Academy Wood Bat Leagues are a great way to prepare for an upcoming season