Your 2012 Helena Brewers -- Corner infielder Mike Nemeth

[Mass Haas]

Always a plus when hometown newspapers give us insights like this -- Mike Nemeth was drafted in the 21st round out of UConn last June.

 

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Catching Up With: Former Warren Hills (PA) High School baseball standout, Mike Nemeth

by Andy Loigu, LehighValleyLive.com

 

Professional baseball players cannot choose where they begin their careers.

 

That choice is made for them, in the annual amateur entry draft.

 

Warren Hills High School graduate Mike Nemeth is more than happy to have been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

As the first player from Warren Hills to ever be drafted, he is delighted to have an opportunity to hit and field his way into the majors, even though the pathway there goes through towns west of the Mississippi that are far way from home.

 

"My parents won't get too many chances to see me play right now," said Nemeth, who is in the Brewers' extended spring training program, preparing for his second season with Helena, Mont., a short-season Single-A team that does not play an official game until June 18.

 

"The Helena team will have a lot of guys in the same boat I was in last year," Nemeth said in a telephone interview from Phoenix. "A lot of players fresh off the college campus are assigned to that league. This year, I'll be one of the older guys there. I'm not discouraged by being returned there, though. They said I'll get regular at bats on a daily basis, that I will develop faster that way. Players need to master one level before they move to the next one. That's the way it works for everybody."

 

Nemeth indicated that Tony Diggs, a Brewers' player development assistant, has been helping him make progress in playing the professional game.

 

"It's all about making adjustments here, all the time, because everybody you compete with has unlimited physical talent and skills," Nemeth remarked.

 

Although Nemeth batted a pedestrian .213 in 47 games and 115 at bats last season at Helena, the Brewers are encouraged that he drew 26 walks and had a .324 on-base percentage.

 

"Knowing the strike zone is critical in pro ball, where so many guys throwing 98 miles per hour are trying to get you with high heat. Others are trying to fool you with breaking balls outside the zone," he explained. "The biggest problem is that different umpires have varying strike zones. You have to keep a mental notebook on what each umpire calls."

 

He also noted that a big difference between high school baseball and the higher levels is the pitchers' ability to throw effective change of pace pitches. "You can time a guy who throws hard, but the challenge is the change up," Nemeth said.

 

Mostly a first baseman at Warren Hills and UConn, Nemeth has played a lot of third base in the Brewers' system, even though he was named to the Rawlings Division I Gold Glove team as the best fielding first baseman in the nation.

 

"Well, everybody here did something special to get here," Nemeth said. "It helps my chances of moving up if I can be trusted playing either corner," Nemeth added. "There are no shortcuts. You've got to put in the time and take a lot of ground balls."

 

What does it take to get drafted by a major league organization?

 

Nemeth finished his UConn career in the Big East Conference as the Huskies' all-time leader in hits (331) and RBIs (211) and is second all-time in doubles with 50. As a senior, he led UConn with a .359 batting average to go with three homers and 51 RBIs. His 93 hits also topped the team.

 

He also helped the team win. The Huskies (45-20-1) reached the NCAA Super Regional before getting eliminated by defending champion South Carolina. It was his desire to reach the College World Series that prompted Nemeth to return to UConn for his senior season.

 

Several teams indicated an interest in drafting him after a junior season at UConn in which Nemeth batted .386 with 15 homers and a team-leading 98 hits, 20 doubles and 84 RBI in just 60 games.

 

"Although you can always go back to college and many players do, I'm glad I finished my college degree requirements," Nemeth said, "although I must admit baseball goals have been driving my decisions."

 

Well, with his baseball resume, why not?

 

After rewriting the Warren Hills record book, Nemeth became a plebe at the Naval Academy in Annapolis in the summer of 2007. The coach at Navy, Paul Kostacopoulos, has a collegial relationship with UConn coach Jim Penders, who learned about Nemeth's baseball skills through conversations with him.

 

"Coach Penders had used up all his scholarships, but he gave me a chance to play my way onto the team," Nemeth recalled. "All a player can ask for is a chance. With the service time you commit yourself to when you graduate from The Academy, that could have put my baseball development on hold and jeopardized my chances of playing pro. I had a decision to make and my heart told me to pursue baseball."

 

"UConn was great for my parents (Bill and Leslie Nemeth) because they didn't mind the three-hour drive to see my home games," Nemeth remembered. "But 2,000 miles is a lot different. My mom did come to Phoenix to visit me right after Easter. I was really happy she did that."

 

As an "older player" at extended spring, Nemeth said simply meeting young men from high schools all over the country and from Asia and Latin America is an education in itself.

 

Nemeth talked about a 17-year old from the Dominican Republic who is in the Brewers' camp.

 

"I don't think he got any sophisticated coaching there, but he has great natural instincts for the game. He's got what it takes to really make it big. I think it comes from simply doing a lot of playing, working on skills on your own, and loving what you're doing," he said. "And, if I think I'm homesick away from my parents, imagine what it's like for him."

 

Nemeth remembered that Hackettstown's Cole Kimball played two rookie league seasons in Vermont and then advanced through Washington's organization to reach the big leagues.

 

"It would be pretty cool if I ever batted against him in a big league game," he said. "Two guys from Warren County. Imagine that."

 

It would be yet another first involving Mike Nemeth.

 

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Name: Mike Nemeth

 

Local connection: Warren Hills Regional High School (2007)

 

Notables:

 

First baseball player from Warren Hills to play Division I college baseball (University of Connecticut)

 

ABCA/NCAA All-American

 

Three-time Big East All-Tournament team

 

First Blue Streak to be drafted by a Major League Baseball organization

 

Three-time Express-Times All-Area first team player with Warren Hills

 

Currently resides: Phoenix, Ariz.

 

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Nemeth talked about a 17-year old from the Dominican Republic who is in the Brewers' camp.

 

"I don't think he got any sophisticated coaching there, but he has great natural instincts for the game. He's got what it takes to really make it big. I think it comes from simply doing a lot of playing, working on skills on your own, and loving what you're doing," he said. "And, if I think I'm homesick away from my parents, imagine what it's like for him."

 

Orlando "Trumpets Blare" Arcia reference, no doubt