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 started in high school where any time we had bad weather
we'd miss
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"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..." |
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."
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