CLEARWATER, Fla.–Frequent readers of the BA College Blog might know that I have a soft spot for short baseball players. Sub-6-footers David Sappelt (Coastal Carolina), Ollie Linton (UC Irvine), Danny Payne (Georgia Tech), Scott Gorgen (UC Irvine) and Josh Satow (Arizona State) were all members of the inaugural All-Fitt team in 2007, and Harrison Eldridge (East Carolina) would certainly have led the 2008 team if I had put one together.

I think I found the first member of the 2009 All-Fitt team today. Cincinnati junior center fielder Jamel Scott is a 5-foot-4 stick of dynamite. Scott used his lightning-quick speed and slap-hitting ability to go 4-for-5 with a double, a bunt single and a stolen base today against Michigan. He also made the best defensive play of the entire weekend in the fourth inning, when Wolverines catcher Chris Berset crushed a ball to deep center field, a shade toward right field. Scott sprinted straight back and reached up his glove to make an over-the-shoulder catch directly into the sun, then crashed into the wall and held onto the ball. Another member of the media commented that it was a Willie Mays-style catch, but Mays didn’t crash into the wall the way Scott did.

We’ve seen a number of superlatives tonight in addition to Scott’s incredible catch. Some other awards from the weekend that were won tonight: [...] Continue Reading »