Sliders' Calhoun wins HR Derby
Matthew Calhoun has kept his head down and his swing steady for the Slippery Rock Sliders this season.
It hasn’t always been easy.
The Sliders fired manager Brad Neffendorf in the middle of the season, replacing him with his brother, Brett.
The club also has been up-and-down on the field, entering the All-Star Break with a 19-25 record.
Calhoun, though, has been able to persevere and is looking for some big things in the final weeks of the season.
“I’m just hoping we finish out with the guys we have here,” Calhoun said. “We’ve lost some guys to discipline and injury and we’ve lost our manager. Everything has been kind of in ruckus. Nothing has been constant, but the guys who are here want to play ball and we kind of came together.”
Nothing has been constant — except for Calhoun, that is.
He entered the break leading the Sliders in just about every offensive category, batting .339 with five home runs and 20 RBI in 115 at-bats. He also has swiped six bases.
His glove at first base has been exceptional. Perhaps more importantly, he has been a leader on a team that has desperately needed one at times this season.
“He’s a great kid,” said Slippery Rock owner Mike Bencic. “Good attitude. Can always count on him. He shows up every day ready to play ball.”
He added Home Run Derby champion to his resume at the Prospect League All-Star Game Wednesday afternoon at Pullman Park.
Calhoun didn’t necessarily wow the crowd like Quincy slugger Thomas Richards did with nine long-balls in the first round, but he was steady in all three stages of the contest.
When he blasted the winning home run with five outs to spare in the final round, he was mobbed by his East Division teammates.
“(Richards) put up some numbers in the first round, he hit a lot of bombs,” Calhoun said. “I didn’t practice much and my hips were a little slow. I didn’t have the drop and drive swing going, but I was able to get the hang of it and stomp out a little ignorance each round.”
Calhoun, a native of Searcy, Ark., said the heat wasn’t an issue. He was accustomed to it growing up in the sauna that is Arkansas.
“This is about what it’s like there,” Calhoun said, laughing. “I think it might have helped. It didn’t hurt, for sure.”
Calhoun also was aided by the fact he is a left-handed hitter. So was Richards. The right-handed batters in the derby did not fare well at Pullman Park, and understandably so with the power ally of 385 feet to left-center and 424 to center.
“I didn’t wake up planning on winning it,” Calhoun said. “But it is pretty neat.”
Calhoun was just pleased to be an All-Star. He also said all of the players who were chosen for the game deserved the recognition.
“It’s a testament to the hard work each guy has put in, not just this summer, but the whole year, the winter, the offseason, their college seasons,” Calhoun said. “It’s quite an honor.”
