Former Cubs open indoor baseball facility

By RICHARD BRAY / Sports Editor Friday, January 28, 2005 1:35 PM CST

In their high school days, former Brenham Cub and Blinn Buccaneer baseball players Dustin Majewski and Clint Kuecker hated rainy days, when practices were often cancelled and opportunities to get their workouts in were limited.

Now, five years after their senior seasons at Brenham High School, they can do something about it.

Majewski and Kuecker, along with co-owner and Brenham Cub head baseball coach Jim Long have opened The Batter's Box at 1801 S. Horton, featuring batting cages as well as an instructional area where players can sign up for lessons in hitting, pitching and defense.

"It was a thing I wanted just for us to have a place to go when it rains because it's big enough that we can do a lot of things..."

"It started in high school where any time we had bad weather we'd miss out on days of practice that a lot of other schools in the Houston area don't miss," Majewski said. "They can get their work in at plenty of training facilities, and we always felt like we missed out on those days. The thing about baseball is it's a repetition sport and it's something you've got to practice every day. If you miss two or three days because it rained, all your skills are gone and it will take you a day or two to knock the rust off."

The Batter's Box has already compiled a roster of instructors that includes Majewski, who spent last season in the Oakland Athletics' organization; Danny Muegge, who was recently traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Shawn Green deal; BHS assistant coaches Lanny Williams, Monte Shields, Brian Harris and Trey Marik; Long; University of Houston pitcher and former Cub Brandon Roznovsky; Blinn College pitching coach Harvey McIntyre and Otto Kemper.

"Our instructors that we have are as good as any I've seen at Baseball USA or anywhere else," Long said. "We're going to look at some instructors also who aren't necessarily coaches, because we have a lot of ex-professionals around here."

The facility provides the only indoor batting cages in the area, and Majewski said The Batter's Box would attempt to draw athletes not only from the Brenham community, but those from Waller, Burton, Navasota, Waller and Bryan/College Station.

While The Batter's Box will prove advantageous to baseball players throughout the area, Majewski admitted his motivation wasn't entirely philanthropic.

"The big thing for me and Danny Muegge and Brandon Roznovsky, the guys who are still playing, we have nowhere to go to do our workouts," he said. "Luckily, coach (Brian) Roper at Blinn lets me go up there and work out with them any time I want to, but it was something I kind of wanted for myself just so I can put my work in."

Long had his own condition before he would invest in the project - that all BHS baseball players be allowed to use the facility for free.

"It was a thing I wanted just for us to have a place to go when it rains because it's big enough that we can do a lot of things - pitching, hitting, even take some ground balls - so it's just one of those things that I felt would be beneficial," Long said. "I told Dustin, 'If I go in on this with you all, it's always a known fact that our team can come over here any time."

Majewski believes The Batter's Box will become a haven for BHS players, and could help the program continue its success. The Cubs have won six state championships, made 13 state tournament appearances and have earned a playoff spot 21 consecutive seasons.

"That's the biggest thing we want to do is keep the winning tradition in Brenham alive," Majewski said. "A lot of Houston schools are getting a lot of advantages because their kids are getting these private instructions, and there's the whole stigma that 4A baseball is not as good as 5A baseball.

"We're a school that's proven that wrong for years and we want to keep that going. Now kids in Brenham and the surrounding areas - Burton, Navasota, Waller - they have all the advantages now too. We believe it doesn't matter where you play, it's how you play, and we're looking to give the kids all they need to compete with the 5A schools, which we've been doing for years anyway. We want to keep that tradition going."

The Batter's Box will also be a boon to pre-high school players. The facility would like to put together at least one tournament this summer at Hohlt Park, and Brenham teams would not have to pay an entry fee, Long said. The facility will also host clinics for Little League coaches to offer instructional tips, Majewski said.

"I wanted to do it to benefit Brenham baseball because it will help the young players coming up," Long said. "Come Little League time we always have rainouts and they're looking for places to practice and they'll want to use the gym. Our gym is really not conducive to a baseball practice, so this is another thing that will be available to all the teams in Brenham."