The Times' All-Star baseball crew: Gavin Grahovac is player of the yr

A person responsible way to task a long term important leaguer is by the way they cope with adversity in large school. Everyone knows how superior junior Gavin Grahovac of Villa Park is at the plate. Then there’s the maturity he has shown when the recreation is about.

Villa Park was a single swing absent from advancing to the Southern Section Division 1 championship match. San Juan Capistrano JSerra decided not to allow Grahovac get a probability. He was intentionally walked to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Then arrived a strikeout of the upcoming batter, finishing 4-1 defeat.

Afterward, alternatively of throwing a bat, making excuses or hiding in the dugout, Grahovac calmly and confidently stood there answering inquiries and planning for his following recreation each time it would occur. His resiliency and maturity, combined with his excellent competencies, will make him Southern California’s top rated baseball prospect for 2023.

“Things didn’t go our way, but we experienced a excellent period and I’m proud of all our gamers,” he reported.

JSerra coach Brett Kay termed him “the greatest player on the world.” He may not be that, but he experienced really a season and is The Times’ baseball player of the calendar year.

At 6 ft 3 and 205 lbs ., Grahovac is a powerful, athletic shortstop, and a person of the toughest outs all year. “He’s acquired all the applications and performs the match challenging and is pretty competitive,” coach Burt Contact stated.

Grahovac batted .376 with 47 hits, 24 RBIs, 17 doubles, a few triples and 5 dwelling operates. He has fully commited to Texas A&M.

Grahovac’s father, Mike, is an assistant coach with the Spartans and a former head coach at Orange Lutheran. Grahovac grew up swinging the bat in his spouse and children property until his mom advised him to go outside for fear matters could end up damaged, like vases, furniture and TVs.

“From an offensive standpoint, he can hit for energy and strike for average,” Contact reported. “He’s a special participant.”