Mariposa Gazette

Popular Categories

The great debate: pitting the 2016 MCHS baseball team against the team of todayFree Access




Could this year’s MCHS Grizzly baseball team take down the 2016 team? The 2016 team featured standouts such as Morgan Hughes (top) while this year’s squad boasts the talents of players such as Josh Mah (bottom), a younger brother of 2016 team member Dillon Mah. Photos by Matt Johnson

Could this year’s MCHS Grizzly baseball team take down the 2016 team? The 2016 team featured standouts such as Morgan Hughes (top) while this year’s squad boasts the talents of players such as Josh Mah (bottom), a younger brother of 2016 team member Dillon Mah. Photos by Matt Johnson

Part of what makes sports so great is the chance to debate how teams and athletes of the past stack up against today’s teams and athletes.

 

 

Anyone who remembers watching the 2016 Mariposa County High School baseball team knows about its dominance. The team won the Sac-Joaquin Section championship, went 18-7 overall and 11-3 in Southern Athletic League games.

MCHS knocked off league foe Ripon Christian in the section championship game, winning 11-7 in a thrilling contest.

It featured some “horses” on the mound, players that coach Justin Kleinsmith could depend on to carry the team. Jake Williams and Morgan Hughes, both senior pitchers on that team, were vital to the success of the season.

Other players included Dillon Mah, Wade Wight, Ryen Ward, Brad Chambers, Joey Freitas, Isaac Tedrow, Collin Billings, Lukas Hart, Noah Rockwood, Blake Atkins, Michael Medinas and Quinn Horvath.

The roster was comprised of seven seniors, so it was a veteran team.

But… could it beat this year’s 2018 Grizzly baseball team in a seven game series?

This year’s roster includes Freitas, Atkins, Medinas, Josh Mah, Seth Kelsey, Charlie Williams, Logan Donati, Robbie Stark, Jesse Williams, Emmet Preston, Martin Texiera, Leo Kari, Ryan Leonard, Dalton Talbot, Walt Palmer, Cole Borihane and Jaq Quinn.

There are also seven seniors on this year’s team.

Both teams have been coached by Kleinsmith.

Three members of the 2016 team are on this year’s team: Freitas, Atkins and Medinas. Freitas and Atkins were sophomores in 2016, and Medinas was a freshman.

“I honestly think this team would have beaten the 2016 team,” said Atkins. “I feel like we have more depth on this team. We have a lot of pitchers. We have Joey and Leo and they can throw high velocity. I know they throw faster than Jake and Morgan.”

Medinas called it a “tough question,” but he sided with the 2016 team.

“The 2016 team had more experience and a lot more maturity,” said Medinas. “Everyone was more crisp in their playing. Everyone on that team basically perfected what they did.”

Medinas said this year’s team has more “energy,” but the 2016 team treated the game like a “job” and “got things done together as a team.”

Medinas ended up selecting the 2016 team as the winners in five games.

“I think the series would go back and forth for four games, and then in the fifth one, 2016 would probably win,” Medinas said. “It’s a good question. It’s a lot to think about. It was two totally different teams.”

Medinas did clarify he believes next season’s team — 2019 — could be the best.

“It’s going to be unstoppable,” Medinas said. “That’s the team everyone is going to be talking about for a while.”

Freitas chose this year’s team.

“With the talent that we have, if we put it together, I’d put the team that we have this year over the 2016 team,” Freitas said. “But that’s only when we’re coming together and we’re at our best.”

“When we get on a roll, I’d put this team over the old team,” Freitas added.

The consensus amongst Atkins, Medinas and Freitas seemed to be that the 2016 team was more consistent and steady, but this year’s team is deeper and has a higher potential.

Freitas said he believes the 2016 team would win the first game of a series, but the 2018 team would then rattle off the next four games.

Dillon Mah, a member of the 2016 team, said he felt his team would win.

“I was on it, for one, so I want to win,” Mah joked. “We had more veterans, I would say. They have seniors this year, but I feel like we had more experience at the varsity level. I grew up playing with that 2016 team and we knew what we were doing. There were a lot of good players.”

Rockwood, another member of the 2016 team, also picked that team to win.

“I mean, of course I think we would win, based on what I think our team was and how we performed,” said Rockwood. “I say we win in six games, maybe five.”

Rockwood said he felt the 2016 team was “super talented and had hitting from top to bottom and speed” from top to bottom.

“The way our team interacted, we just had this energy that we were able to work together really well,” Rockwood said. “Everyone knew their roles. We had everyone playing their perfect roles.”

Jake Williams, the ace pitcher of the 2016 team, said he believed the 2016 team would win in a sweep.

“We had a mix of young and old, and underclassmen with experience,” said Williams.

Coach Kleinsmith — who might be the best person to ask — had a difficult time making his decision.

“I don’t know. That’s a fun thing to contemplate,” said Kleinsmith at first. “All around the lineup, this 2018 team probably might win.”

He said he felt the series would be “high scoring.”

“This year’s team looks like the team to beat,” Kleinsmith said. “It would be pretty close. You could flip a coin to decide it.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.