Former Broward County Players Enjoying Major-League Success

Coconut Creek coach Roger Davidson enjoys fishing trips to Virginia with his buddies several times a year. Being that everyone in the group is a baseball enthusiast, Davidson enjoys the fact that he captures all their awe because of the wealth of success players from his neck of the woods are having in the major leagues.

“They see the kids we’ve got, and they have no rebuttal,” said Davidson, who coached one current MLB player in San Diego Padres pitcher Mat Latos. “They are playing at a high level and being successful. That’s what it’s about — helping kids get to where they want to get.”

The success of Broward County’s big-leaguers this year speaks volumes of its baseball.

“Broward County has more kids in the big leagues right now than any other county in the country,” Nova coach Pat McQuaid said. “What’s special is seeing them playing and living their dreams.”

McQuaid estimates there are somewhere between 15 and 17 players from this area who have logged MLB time this season, including two of his former players, Michael Morse with the Washington Nationals and Anthony Swarzak with the Minnesota Twins. McQuaid follows their games religiously but also enjoys keeping up with the other players whom he has had the pleasure of seeing as teenagers.

It’s been difficult not to notice these players.

Perhaps the most high profile of the bunch is Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli, a Flanagan product playing for a team in the thick of the playoff race. Napoli is batting well over .300 and setting career highs in virtually every offensive category while playing for a team that is setting its goals on winning the World Series after falling in the championship last year.

Napoli is also the longest-tenured Broward player in the MLB now that former Fort Lauderdale pitcher Scot Shields retired before this season following an impressive career with the Los Angeles Angels. Napoli played in his first career game during the 2006 season.

Another local making noise this season is former Archbishop McCarthy Maverick Alex Avila, who has earned the starting catcher job for the Detroit Tigers in this his third season. Avila was the starting catcher in this season’s All Star game, and he was behind the plate this season when Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter.

“It’s not all just from talent though, and that is important to remember,” Flanagan coach Ray Evans said. “It’s a product of a lot of hard work. These players made the decision to work for it and didn’t let anyone tell them otherwise.”

In the big leagues, the rules allow that beginning on Sept. 1, teams can expand their 25-man roster to a 40-man roster. This is commonly called the “September Call-ups.” This year, a few of Broward’s local players have benefited from this end-of season-option that allows teams to take a look at their future. On Sept. 13, Flanagan’s Danny Farquhar made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays. The following day, Deerfield Beach’s Michael Fiers made his first career appearance in the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Former Douglas star Anthony Rizzo also benefited from the September Call-Ups with the San Diego Padres, after a stint earlier this season following his MLB debut on June 9.

One of the most high-profile teams this season has been the Philadelphia Phillies, and their mid-season acquisition of slugger Hunter Pence has made them the Las Vegas favorites to win the World Series. But benefiting even more than the Phillies from that trade has been former Flanagan star J.D. Martinez, who was called up to make his MLB debut following the Pence trade. Martinez has remained in the big leagues since then.

But of all the Broward players to debut this season, none has had a larger impact than former American Heritage star Eric Hosmer, who made his MLB debut on May 6 after being the highest-drafted player ever in Broward County when he was selected third overall in the June 2008 MLB Amateur Draft. Hosmer has been every bit as good as advertised, and his most recent jaw-dropping accomplishment happened when he went 5 for 5 with a home run in a 10-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 20.

“He’s going to be up there for a long time,” McQuaid said. “Usually as a rookie, you have to battle for your spot. But he is the real deal.”

Another former first-round draft pick in the major leagues is St. Thomas Aquinas’ Tyler Greene, who is putting up career numbers in his third season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“It’s fun watching them grow and succeed,” said Joel Bradley, who coached the Padres’ Rizzo and also Mickey Storey, who is in the Houston Astros organization. “It’s why coaches do this, you remember people.”

To have so many local players representing the area is a great reward for all the hard-working Broward baseball players who devote their lives to playing this game of baseball, and also to the coaches, officials and parents who support the belief that dreams can be achieved.

These players haven’t forgotten where they are from either. Latos, for example, returns to his Coconut Creek alma mater and works with the kids, and he also matched the team’s funds for a trip to a spring tournament in Fernandina Beach.

“He didn’t have to do that. I didn’t ask him. He volunteered,” Davidson said. “He has a lot of character, and I am proud of the man he has become. Every time Mat pitches, I am sitting in front of the TV watching.”

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