Travel Baseball Teams in Texas

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MLB Players from Texas

Texas has more than 150 major leaguers – not in the pages of history books, but out there on the fields. Clayton Kershaw, Hunter Pence, Chris Davis, Adam Dunn, Joe Nathan, Homer Bailey, Scott Kazmir... the list of Texas-born pro ball players goes on and on.

Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw was born in 1988 in Dallas. He played several youth sports – and with good company. He first played alongside future football great Matthew Stafford in second grade. Sports Illustrated has a photo of them posing together as youth baseball players (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1207/pro-athletes-in-little-league/content.15.html). The Dodgers have provided a picture of them at an even younger age (http://instagram.com/p/RWXe_5rEHj).

Formal sports weren't always enough for the two. On rainy days, they'd play 'Hallway Hockey', a game of their own devising.

As a junior high schooler, Kershaw played on travel teams (http://www.baseballamerica.com/high-school/kershaw-could-cash-in-on-rapid-rise-1426/). He later pitched for Highland Park High School and was named High School Player of the Year by USA Today.

As a teen, Kershaw also played for the D-Bat Mustangs. It was a high-caliber team. One of Kershaw’s teammates, Jordan Walden, would also go on to be an All-Star in the major leagues (http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/red-fever/North-Texans-on-Opposite-All-Star-Teams-125391833.html).

Kershaw was a 1st round draft pick in 2006 at age 18. He played for the Gulf Coast Dodgers, Great Lakes Loons, and Jacksonville Suns during his short trek through the minors. His MLB debut came in May 2008; he was only 20.

As a major leaguer, Kershaw has continued to win awards for his work on the field – and for his contributions off the field as well. When he strikes out batters, charities tend to win. Kershaw won the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award and the 2013 Branch Rickey Award.

Kershaw conducts short baseball camps as a way of giving back to the community (https://mercystreetdallas.org/kershaw).

Hunter Pence

Hunter Pence was born in 1983 in Fort Worth. He was playing ball informally from the time he was a toddler; he was in a coach-pitch league at preschool age. He reportedly expressed his intent to be a major leaguer as a boy (http://articles.philly.com/2011-08-21/sports/29912032_1_new-glove-indoor-baseball-facility-leagues).

Unlike Kershaw, Pence was not from a family of means. Once his dad requested a new mitt in exchange for cleaning services or odd jobs. The proprietor gave it to him -- and ultimately did more for the young Pence, allowing him to use his batting cages and even practicing with him.

Pence played for Texarkana Junior College and later the University of Texas-Arlington. He was a 2nd round draft pick in 2004. He played for the Low A Tri City ValleyCats in 2004. From there, it was on to the Lexington Legends, Salem Avalanche, Corpus Christi Hooks, and Round Rock Express.

He had his major league debut in 2007 when he was 24.

Along with his brother and a friend from youth, he founded the Hunter Pence Baseball Academy (http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/cy-fair/hunter-pence-baseball). For those who, like Hunter himself, catch the baseball bug at an early age, their ‘Tot Ball’ program takes children as young as three.

Tomorrow’s Ball Players

Kershaw and Stafford took different paths to the majors, but they both played plenty of ball as kids. And they’ve both done their part to help today’s aspiring ball players. Not every starry-eyed youth will make it as far as these guys, but they can still benefit from the opportunity to grow their skills and confidence. They can still benefit from having role models.

Stars like Kershaw make it look easy, but they, too, have struggled along the way. “When I was a freshman I was short and fat and just sort of thumbing up breaking pitches every time I threw,” Kershaw says. “And I just grew and started working out (http://www.baseballamerica.com/high-school/kershaw-could-cash-in-on-rapid-rise-1426).

Pence said, "I made this decision that I was going to give everything I had to have this opportunity (http://articles.philly.com/2011-08-21/sports/29912032_1_new-glove-indoor-baseball-facility-leagues)."

Travel Baseball Teams in Texas

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