An American Legion baseball team usually has no shortage of talent, as it often comprises the top high-school players in a given area.
Recent graduates Michael Brumfield, the Bay Rivers District and Region I Player of the Year, of Warhill and Matt Metheny of New Kent were voted the two best pitchers in the Bay Rivers District this season.
Brumfield’s Lions, who became the first boys sports team in school history to reach the Group AA state tournament this spring, owe as much of their historic run to Brumfield as the clutch pitching performances of Blake Wills and Blake Otey, who delivered several memorable postseason efforts on the mound.
Post 39 coach Tom Richardson could not help but crack a wry smile when he found himself mentioning those guys in the middle of, rather than anchoring, his pitching rotation.
“It’s crazy,” said Richardson, the 10-year Post 39 head coach. “This is hands down the deepest team we’ve ever had. Last year’s team and the year before could match this team one through nine, but over the course of a 30-game season, this team is so much better because of the depth, especially pitching-wise.”
On a staff that has one pitcher with collegiate experience and four others who are headed to throw at that level in the fall, Richardson’s only issue is “figuring out who the heck to hand the ball to each game.”
“But it’s a good problem to have, I guess,” Richardson added.
Post 39 offered a glimpse at its wealth of pitching talent last Wednesday in an 11-1 win over Poquoson Post 273 in its season-opener.
Former Warhill ace, Bay Rivers Pitcher of the Year and current Hampden-Sydney College sophomore Teddy West cruised the first six innings to allow one run and three hits while striking out 10 batters before handing things over to College of William and Mary commit Matt Smith, who yielded one hit with five strikeouts over the final two frames.
As for “who the heck to hand the ball to” when Post 39 returns to the field Monday against Greenbrier Post 280, Richardson would probably make out just fine drawing names out of a hat.
Richardson says the team will go as far as West and Trevor Otey, the only four-year players on Post 39’s roster, will take them, but is delighted to know that five guys behind them would top options on most every other team in District 3.
“This is Teddy and Trevor’s team,” Richardson said. “They’re great pitchers, sure, but they’ve also been here longer than anyone else and are both leaders.”
Trevor Otey, who will join West on Hampden-Sydney’s pitching staff in the fall, spent the past two seasons at Christchurch where he posted a 15-1 record with an earned-run average barely above 1.00 and was a two-time first-team all-conference member.
Brumfield, the Bay Rivers District and Region I Pitcher of the Year who is heading to Marymount University, and Metheny, a Hampden Sydney-bound right-hander from New Kent, are perhaps the most glaring example of Post 39’s depth. You’d be hard pressed to find a better No. 3 starter than either of those two or Smith.
Then there’s Wills (6-1, 0.45 ERA) and Blake Otey (4-1, 3.12 ERA), who combined for a 10-2 record while offering several memorable starting and relief efforts down the final stretch of the season.
“We’ll face teams, especially at the state level, where their No. 1 may be better than ours, but I can promise you that no team’s No. 4 or No. 5 is as good as our No. 4 or 5,” Richardson said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. Having guys like Blake Wills and Blake Otey, who were both terrific this season (for Warhill), down there at No. 6 and No. 7 is just unheard of.”
While Post 39’s pitching depth is most evident, Richardson will also have a tough time sorting through an 18-man roster where there is little if any drop off from first to second stringers.
Take the catcher position, for example, where two all-region backstops, Wills and Griffin Colorado, will split most of the time, although Richardson says he must also find swings for Matt Perry, who went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs in Post 39’s season-opener last week.
Colorado, Perry and Smith, all 2013 Jamestown High graduates, are each welcome additions to Post 39 after playing last summer with Colonial Post 1776, Williamsburg’s other Legion Post which did not field a team this summer because of funding issues.
Post 39 also welcomes the top four players from New Kent’s co-Bay Rivers District champion squad in Jake Countiss, Mason Downer, Dakota Oxendine – who batted 1,2,3 atop Post 39’s lineup last week – and Metheny.
Of the 18 total players, four played for Post 39 last year. But nearly all – 13 to be exact – have garnered some sort of postseason honor in their perspective district or region.
“We have an all-region shortstop who was player of the year in his conference (West Point’s Mikey Anerton) playing second base, and an all-district second baseman (Countiss) in the outfield,” Richardson said. “The pieces are all great, we just have to put them in the right places. But I wouldn’t trade the pieces for anyone else.”
After a loss in last year’s District 3 championship to Greenbrier Post 280 denied Williamsburg Post 39 a second consecutive district tile and state-tournament appearance, the club enters this summer with expectations at an all-time high.
Richardson emphasized this year’s group, on paper, gives Post 39 its best shot at capturing its first state championship. The key, he says, will be developing chemistry with so many new faces from so many different places making up this year’s roster.
However, should the gelling process take longer than expected, Richardson can take comfort with knowing his team is guaranteed a spot in the state tournament. Post 39 was selected to host this year’s tournament, which will be held July 26 through Aug. 8 at the Warhill Sports Complex, which grants an automatic bid to the eight-team state playoff.
“It’s nice to know that no matter what I do or how bad things go, we’re at least going to be eighth in the state,” Richardson joked. “We want that district title too, but a state championship is the ultimate goal, so we can’t afford to take a whole regular season finding ourselves. You want to be playing your best ball in late July, not just figuring things out.”
