For Immediate Release
July 18, 2012
Courtesy of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Written by John McGuirk
Worcester, Mass. — Putting the
finishing touches on a brilliant career at the University of New
Haven, Ryan Brockett was realizing life in competitive baseball
might be over.
A transition to the real world was looming, but one of Brockett's
coaches at New Haven was Alex Trezza, the Tornadoes veteran
catcher, who was pushing hard for the Tornadoes to give Brockett a
shot should a roster spot open.
On June 16, middle infielder J.B. Brown requested his release,
creating a vacancy. Brockett was brought in and has been valuable
since.
Shortly after reporting to Worcester, however, Brockett discovered
baseball has a cruel side. Last week, Trezza was one of four
Tornado players released. Brockett no longer had his close friend
and mentor in the clubhouse to talk over hitting and fielding
strategies.
“That was real tough,” Brockett said. “I learned
quickly that this is a business. It is a very unfortunate
situation. We all miss him here. He's a great player and a great
guy.”
Brockett, who is batting .229, went 1 for 5 last night in the
Tornadoes' 12-1 loss to the New Jersey Jackals at Hanover Insurance
Park.
At New Haven, which plays in the all-wooden-bat Northeast-10
Conference, Brockett led the team in hitting his junior and senior
seasons. Brockett, whose career average was .315, batted .344 with
22 RBIs this past season and earned All-NE-10 honors.
“At New Haven, I was able to see a lot of pitches, which
helped me get into a lot of good hitter's counts,” Brockett
said. “Coming here, I've kind of changed that up some by
being a little more aggressive at the plate because the pitching is
so much better at this level.”
Primarily a shortstop in high school and college, Brockett has seen
regular duty in the outfield. Much of that is due to an abundance
of middle infielders as well as an injury to starting outfielder
Brendon Kelliher.
Nonetheless, Brockett has been tracking down fly balls with
relative ease. Playing the outfield is not foreign to Brockett. He
played the position as a freshman at New Haven.
“The kid is getting as much as he can out of himself,”
Worcester manager Chip Plante said. “He's a pretty damn good
baseball player. He can hit, bunt, run and plays good defense.
“I'm very comfortable putting him in the outfield as I am
putting him in the middle infield. Versatility is huge for us here,
and Ryan gives us that."
Brockett, who credits much of his success to the support he has
received from his father, Dave, played summer ball in the renowned
Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League for the North Fork Ospreys on
Long Island. In 2011, his final season with the Ospreys, Brockett
batted .356 while helping the team win the Hampton Division
title.
“It was a great league to play in,” Brockett said.
“I was very fortunate to have made the all-star team there
twice and won the batting title last year. It was an opportunity
for me to gain some great experience, and I was able to grow a
little bit playing there, too.”
While gaining a feel for professional baseball, Brockett said he
has no designs on leaving it anytime soon. At 22, he hopes to
remain with the Tornadoes for as long as they want him here.
“I'm having a lot of fun here,” he said. “It's
been a blast. My goal very early in life was to play professional
baseball. I'll stay here until they rip the shirt off my
back.”
