3B/RHP - Peninsula Oilers
Bats: R - Throws: R
Height: 6'1" - Weight: 195 lb
College: Florida International
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Bay Harbor Island, Florida
Garret Wittles is a two-way player, manning the third bag as well as the mound for Florida International. He hasn't seen a lot of inning son the mound for FIU this year, though, because he's had something else going on: one of the longest hitting streaks in NCAA Division 1 history. That, along with his great stats -- team-best .408 average, a OPS of .982, and a handful of steals to boot -- caught ESPN's attention on their First Take program. At the time of writting, Wittels is in third place all-time in DI ball with 45 consecutive games.
This is obviously a monumental feat, but Wittels' 45 game streak is of interest to Alaska League fans for another reason: he's just two shy of taking sole control of second place away from another ABL alumni. Phil Stephenson (Panners, 1980-81) set what was, at the time, the longest hitting streak in DI history in 1981 with 47 games. His record stood until 1987 when Robin Ventura hit 58.
But enough about those guys...what's the skinny on Wittels? Obviously he's a very talented hitter, and he's got the skill to do it with a real bat. The secret to his success is his tremendous patience at the plate and eye for the strike zone. That's something that you can't keep bottled up in an aluminum bat. His coaches also say that he's the kind of guy who prepares a plan and sets his eye on the goal, for every at-bat as well as in his overall play and life in general.Wittels will definitely be a welcome addition to the Oilers' lineup. Last season the team's pitching was rock-solid, but all that was for naught as they posted a league-worst .213 average. This helped them eek out a last-place finish in 2009 with an 18-17 (21-30 overall, 10 GB) tally. Without knowing what the full roster looks like it's hard to say how big of an impact Wittels might make, but Oilers fans who suffered through last season's light-hitting performance should take hope in knowing that the team will have a very exciting bat in 2010.
With what they have posted thus far it looks like it should be a more talented team don't you think?
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to say with the fraction of recruits we've seen, but so far it looks really good. Obviously I really like Wittels and bringing back Barraclough is a great move too; you can't beat the pitching they had last year and he was a big part of that.
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