June 12, 2023 at 9:27 a.m.
Schneider, Ratty voted Hodag baseball MVPs
Schneider, Ratty voted Hodag baseball MVPs
Junior pitcher/infielder Max Ratty and senior catcher Sam Schneider shared the award, which was one of four presented by the team during its season-ending banquet Thursday at Stafford Field.
Schneider also took home the team's Hodag Award as well as its quality at-bat award while sophomore Barak Rappley received most improved honors.
The awards, except for the statistics-based quality at-bat award, were voted on by team members.
Not only did Ratty and Schneider serve as battery mates throughout the season, they finished 1-2 on the team in batting average.
Ratty hit .290, beating out Schneider by two points for the team's batting crown. He also collected 14 RBIs at the plate and hit .412 on the year with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Ratty threw a staff-high 49 1/3 innings going 4-5 with a 5.11 ERA and 48 strikeouts on the year.
"Max stepped up this year as our No. 1 pitcher, the guy you'd give the ball to in tough situations and big games and big moments," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said at the banquet. "He came through for the most part. Think about his last start in Medford. We had a couple plays we wish we made and I think we could have gotten out with fewer runs but Max shows poise, shows calm and is able to continue throwing. That's truly the mark of someone that's your ace pitcher."
Schneider finished the season hit .288 with 10 RBIs. He also walked a team-high 18 times while his six strikeouts were the fewest among players who recorded at least 20 at bats. Because of that, Schneider led the team with a .468 on-base percentage.
Meanwhile, behind the plate, Schneider threw out nearly 33% of would-be base stealers on the spring, cutting down 17 in 52 stolen base attempts.
"Sam was one of our top hitters," Waksmonski said. "He was our No. 3 hitter the whole year and a rock behind the plate. He was the best defensive catcher in our conference, and there was no argument. Bar none he was the best defensive catcher - receiving, framing, blocking, throwing, not afraid to go after runners. He was a rock for our defense when we needed it and got us out of many jams being able to throw and pick off runners and keep runners from stealing."
Waksmonski also noted that Schneider edged out Ratty by a couple of percentage points for the quality at-bat award. That award factors a number of metrics, including hits, walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifices, line drive outs and six-plus pitch at-bats that don't result in a strikeout.
On top of that, Schneider took home the Hodag Award, which Waksmonski said embodies different qualities in different years - qualities that Schneider possessed in spades.
"It seemed like whenever there was a job or responsibility that was missed, Sam was there cleaning up both dugouts, making sure all the spot in the infield were raked ... any equipment that was left out or missed and wasn't brought down, Sam was always the first to go get it," Waksmonski said. "That's just the type of person Sam is. He's always thinking about the team first before his own (interests)."
Rappley developed into the Hodags' starting first baseman for the majority of games over the final half of the season. He wound up hitting .172 on the spring with four RBIs. Waksmonski said Rappley grew tremendously as a player over the course of the season, especially considering his relative lack of experience prior to the season.
"He's learning the game. He's improving and by the end of the season here when we were having batting practice, Barak was one of the top two, three guys as far as hitting the ball off the machine, hitting the ball hard, being consistent and I think you could see that at the end of the year," Waksmonski said.
"His first at-bat at Medford, he hit a shot to left fielder where, early on in the season, he's probably not going to hit the ball like that. There was a lot of work, a lot of taking coaching, working with coach Laggis down in the cage. He made vast improvements at the plate and on the field."
Waksmonski also noted during the banquet that, based on their achievements in the classroom, Schneider was slated to receive academic all-district honors, and Ratty academic all-state honors, from the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.
Waksmonski took time to thank the seniors -Schneider, Cody Everson, Tyler Morrison and AJ Turek - that helped lead the team to a 10-14 record this spring.
"They were a group that endured a lot," Waksmonski said, noting how the group's freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "As a group, they relied on the class ahead of them and the class behind them to help them through. This last year, just the leadership all four of them have showed what it should be, what it should look like. I really cannot think of a team where we had less drama. I think that's a credit to these four being able to rein everything in, let these guys know what the expectations are when you show up to practice, get your work on. You can have fun upstairs and you can go about it the right way."
Waksmonski wished the players luck during their upcoming American Legion baseball season and encouraged all the players to keep improving in the offseason - a necessity in a GNC that is slated to bring back a wealth of underclassman pitchers.
"It's all in our hands if we want to take it," he said. "It's up to you guys if you want to put the time and the effort in to go ahead and do it. There's examples out there of guys that, if you can put in the time, you can reap plenty of rewards and benefits from it."
Freelancer Bob Mainhardt contributed to this report. Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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