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All American Game  | Story  | 8/29/2024

All in the Family at PGAAC

Jim Salisbury     
Photo: Ethan Holliday (Perfect Game)
PHOENIX, Arizona – Standing just a few feet away from the batter’s box in which he stroked the championship-clinching hit in the 2001 World Series, Luis Gonzalez shook his head in amazement as he watched pre-game workouts at the 22nd annual Dick’s Perfect Game All-American Classic.
 
“The talent here is astonishing,” Gonzalez said.
 
He looked over at third baseman Ethan Holliday, brother of 2022 No. 1 overall MLB draft pick and current Baltimore Orioles rookie second baseman Jackson Holliday.
 
“You thought the last one was good,” Gonzalez said with a laugh. “This one might be better.”
 
Gonzalez was honorary chairman for the PGAAC, played at Chase Field, where his retired Arizona Diamondbacks No. 20 hangs in the rafters. He was one of many former big-leaguers who roamed the ballpark, some, like Tom “Flash” Gordon and Clint Hurdle, in official roles, some just as dads for the contest that featured the top 62 rising seniors in the country.
 
“The bloodlines,” Gonzalez said. “It’s fun to watch."
 
“There are some guys that you don’t recognize at first, then you start putting the names together, then you start seeing their dads walking around here and you realize that’s their son. It’s pretty cool. A lot of former big leaguers have come out here to support because their kids have come through here. It’s just fun to see these guys because they’re the future of major league baseball. They’re rising so fast. Some of them sign right out of high school and get to the big leagues a couple years later.”
 
Matt Holliday, seven-time major-league All-Star, 2007 National League batting champ and 2011 World Series winner, was at the event, supporting son Ethan, who could follow in his brother’s footsteps as a high first-rounder in the summer of 2025.
 
Benny Agbayani, whose distinguished big-league career included stops in New York (Mets), Boston, Colorado and Japan, was in town supporting his son, Bruin, a shortstop and South Carolina commit.
 
The list of prospects with big-league ties didn’t stop there. It included shortstop Eli Willits, son of former Los Angeles Angel Reggie Willits; shortstop Brady Ebel, son of Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel; third baseman Quentin Young, nephew of former big-leaguers Dmitri and Delmon Young; and shortstop Jayden Stroman, brother of New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
 
“The best of the best, they send their kids to Perfect Game for a reason,” Hurdle said. “There’s a lot of noise on the street which one is best, but the best of the best send them here.”
 
Hurdle managed the East team, which beat Gordon’s West team, 8-7, in the PGAAC. The former Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates manager became involved with PG in 2020. He now serves as a senior adviser.
 
“Until 2020, I had always been in the pro space,” Hurdle said. “The youngest kid I saw was 20, maybe 19, in the instructional league with the Pirates and the Rockies years ago. Before that, I hadn’t seen much amateur baseball.
 
“Quickly, my attention was taken. I’m watching 13-year-olds do some specific things. I’m watching 14-year-old kids doing it. Over the years, I’ve seen it continue to grow and evolve, and the strength and the speed, the structured skill sets, they’re probably at an all-time high. I love the energy.” 
 
Both Hurdle and Gonzalez were impressed with the size of the players at the PGAAC. 
 
“The physicality gets your attention,” Hurdle said. 
 
“These guys are just bigger and stronger,” said Gonzalez, whose son Jacob played in the PGAAC in 2017. “For 19 years, my maximum weight I played at was 205. These guys are coming at 215, 225. They’re just bigger.”
 
Gonzalez, winner of the 2001 Major League Home Run Derby, was impressed with the left-side power display put on by Texas A&M commit Josiah Hartshorn, winner of Perfect Game's annual AAC Home Run Challenge. The 6-2, 210-pound Hartshorn is a natural right-handed hitter. He did some switch-hitting until he was 13 then got away from it. He only went back to it this summer because of a back injury.
 
Hurdle was also impressed with the power at the event, but he was not shy about reminding hitters that line drives to the gaps matter, too. During the East team’s batting practice session, he coached hitters to use the middle of the field.
 
“They are very receptive,” he said. “We have an opportunity to share with them some insight on community and different parts of the game.”
 
During batting practice, Hurdle observed Stroman’s smooth swing – from both sides of the plate. Stroman is ticketed for Duke, his brother’s alma mater. The younger Stroman also does some pitching and said he may get on the mound in October at PG’s event in Jupiter, Florida. 
 
“It’s nice to see,” Hurdle said of Stroman’s offensive work on both sides of the plate. “Switch-hitting used to be a thing. We’ve lost a lot of that. People say it’s too hard to swing both ways. I say, let ‘em swing. They will find their way or they won’t.”
 
After his East team took batting practice, Hurdle watched the Holliday family’s latest talent take BP for the West team. Hurdle managed the Rockies when Ethan Holliday’s dad was bashing balls around Coors Field.
 
“This is déjà vu because Jackson just went through here, too,” Hurdle said. “I had them both in the clubhouse in Colorado when they were little, had them both on the field for family day. It’s really special seeing them come through here and put together their talents.”
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