Simeon looking to win baseball title

The Simeon sports program has been busy this school year hanging banners for all types of athletic accomplishments.

The boys basketball team won the Class 4A state basketball title and the football team won the Chicago Public League championship, while the girls track and field team won the city’s indoor championship.

Next up for a title could be the baseball team.

The Wolverines are currently in second place in the Jackie Robinson South conference with a 17-6 record, and they have an abundance of young, talented players who along with experienced, confident coaches think they can compete for a city title this spring.

They began the season steamrolling their non-conference competition, winning a string of lopsided victories. Then came a sterner test against Mt. Carmel, which they lost 13-3. They didn’t let that loss get into their heads and they bounced back a few games later with a strong showing against Lane Tech where they rallied in the late innings to win 7-6.

“I know this team has heart,” said catcher Blake Hickman. “We never give up and we play hard the whole game. Even when we’re down we just play hard and stay focused.”

Hickman, who is the second-ranked sophomore in the entire state, is a unique baseball specimen. He stands 6-foot-4 and plays catcher, a position often reserved for much shorter players. And the fact that he chose to play baseball at a school so renowned for basketball might be considered unusual – but not to him.

“People sleep on baseball,” said Hickman. “I don’t know why but football and basketball are more fun to some people, but not to us.”

The other Wolverine baseball players share Hickman’s passion for baseball, and most have been playing since they were five and six years old. Learning to play the game early in life is a key to success on the baseball field said the lone Simeon senior on the team, Charles Aldridge.

“Baseball is not an easy game to play and you can’t just start in high school,” said Aldridge, who leads the team in runs and RBI’s and has a baseball scholarship to Grambling University. “You need to get a lot of experience and it’s hard work – you’ve got to work hard at it and also be able to take criticism.”

“Hard work and discipline is what it takes to become a better baseball player,” said head coach Leroy Franklin.

And Franklin knows a little bit about developing young baseball players. He’s coached at Simeon for almost 30 years, compiling an impressive 681-222 record, while winning six city championships. Despite these accomplishments it’s still a challenge to get kids in the African American community to gravitate toward baseball he said.

“The last few years have been tough to get kids to play,” Franklin said as he scans the diamond looking at his freshman- and sophomore-dominated varsity team. “My first 27 years it was simple, but now you’ve got basketball and more basketball – but we’re trying.”

However, the youth of the Simeon team can be misleading. Most of the players have been playing since they were very young and several have also competed on very successful traveling teams. “They’re polished and used to winning,” said assistant head coach Robert Fletcher. “They have a lot to learn because they are young, but they don’t know any other way than to win.”

Shane Brown, an all-purpose player and highly regarded sophomore, played on Fletcher’s traveling team along with several of his Wolverine teammates and never doubted that they would succeed on the high school level.

“I’ve played with most of the freshman on Simeon so I was confident in them and I knew that they can play,” Brown said. “Starting playing baseball early helps you get baseball smart. It helps you get to know all aspects of the game and its purpose.”

And the purpose this season, as always at Simeon, is to win games. Being young in age is not an obstacle to them and they plan on finishing the season strong and competing for a city championship in late May.

“We’re bumpy here and there, but all we’ve got to do is practice, practice, practice, and we’ll get to where we need to go,” said Brown.

“Nothing is guaranteed,” said Fletcher. “But we’ll keep putting in the work and we’ll see how they progress.”