Travel Baseball Teams in Arkansas

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MLB Players from Arkansas

Plenty of kids grow up playing baseball in Arkansas, and a few make it as far as the MLB. There are eleven players currently active in the pros. Among them are rising talents Drew Smyly and Blake Parker as well as veteran players Cliff Lee, A.J. Burnett, and Torii Hunter.

Drew Smyly

Left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly was born in Maumelle, Arkansas in 1989. He pitched for Little Rock Central High School; he made All-State a couple times and set a strikeout record (http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1388249).

Smyly played at the University of Arkansas and was also involved with a summer collegiate team, the Duluth Huskies. As a sophomore at the UA, he was selected Second-Team All-Southeastern Conference.

Smyly was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft and played for the Lakeland Tigers and Erie Seawolves before breaking into the majors. His debut came in 2012 at age 22. Smyly is with the Detroit Tigers. He says he got meaningful experience as a reliever and is looking forward to being a starter.

Torii Hunter

At the other end of the experience continuum is veteran Torii Hunter, also from Arkansas and also wearing the uniform of the Detroit Tigers. Born in 1975, he's been in the pros a while. 2014 finds him doing well in Fantasy and hoping to help his team to a championship.

Hunter began his baseball career playing tee ball. From there, he progressed to Little League and Babe Ruth League. At Pine Bluff High School, he played both football and baseball; in baseball, he was an outfielder. He was on the Junior Olympic team. As he was not from a family of means, it was difficult for him to pull together the necessary money. He solved the problem by writing Bill Clinton who was at that time still governor of Arkansas (http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Hunter/Hunter_bio.html).

Fresh out of high school, Hunter was a first round draft pick, selected by the Minnesota Twins. The Fort Wayne Wizards, Fort Myers Miracle, and New Britain Rock Cats were stops along the way to the majors. Hunter made his MLB debut in 1997 at age 22.

The sports legacy continues. Hunter's son Torii Hunter Jr. has followed in his father's footsteps by playing center field. He has arguably had some advantages his dad didn't have, like the opportunity to play a little travel ball. His USSSA career began with the 11U Frozen Ropes Titans (http://usssaframe.com/sports/FindPlayerHistory.asp?PlaID=1397100). He later played at Prosper High. Fresh out of high school in 2013, he turned down a 36th round draft pick by his dad's team, the Tigers, to play football on scholarship at Notre Dame.

The elder Hunter has also been active in charities that help less advantaged youth get the opportunity to play. He’s helped fund a softball field and improve baseball diamonds. He's also supported education through a scholarship fund. His efforts in supporting youth earned him the Branch Rickie award (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4462272). He has so much on the plate that he has his own website (http://www.toriihunter.com/).

Tomorrow's Ball Players

As Hunter knows well, playing on teams can be beneficial to youth, even if they never get that draft call. Sports can be that much needed positive influence.

Those that (potentially) have big league talent have to put in a lot of work at many stages along the way: beginning in youth and continuing even after they make the big league. Smyly told On Campus Sports that being a pro ball player was a dream come true, but also noted, "Everyone thinks it’s a very luxurious life – which don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else, and it has plenty of perks – but it’s hard work and very demanding (http://oncampussports.com/2013/06/qa-with-detroit-tigers-hurler-drew-smyly/)."

Travel Baseball Teams in Arkansas

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