By RUSSELL BENNETT
LACHIE Beasley hated baseball. It seemed like every day, every weekend was spent down at the Berwick Cougars with his dad Grant and big brother Sam – whether he liked it or not.
But after some gentle encouragement, the then 10-year-old did like it.
“He got on the mound and he said if they make me pitch, I’m not going to play,” Grant said with a laugh.
“We dropped him off, came back and saw him on the hill.
“We thought it was going to be terrible but he pitched brilliantly, loved it and never looked back.”
Now, six-years-later, the Berwick teenager has stepped off the mound but is preparing to head off to the Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program on the Gold Coast for three weeks next month. It’s a major stepping stone in the career of every Australian aspiring major leaguer – a must, really.
Lachie followed his big brother into the sport, but now he’s forging his own path and it seems his every waking moment is taken up by America’s, and the Beasley family’s favourite past time.
Lachie doesn’t have a position on the diamond – he plays everywhere and is constantly working on his hitting.
“If you want to get yourself known you have to be hitting the ball hard and have a high average,” he said.
“That’s a must.”
There will be at least 30 players from the nationals at the academy by Lachie’s estimation. Many of the participants are 18 – almost two years older than him.
Lachie has worked closely with Cougars’ coach Ronnie Carothers in both his time at Berwick, and with the Victorian state program. He credits him with improving his swing, and the mental side of his game.
Held at the Palm Meadows Baseball Complex on the Gold Coast since 2001, the MLB Australian Academy is sponsored by Major League Baseball and the Australian Baseball Federation.
It’s essentially a program that resembles what the pro baseball life would be like for Australian youngsters.
“You’re playing and training every day,” Lachie said.
“You wake up, go straight to training, do a gym program and then you’ll play your game.
“At night you’ll come home – back to the apartment with all the boys and have some dinner and do some schooling for a couple of hours before going to bed and doing it all again the next day.”
Sounds exhausting, but Lachie can’t wait. He will be the third Berwick Cougar to attend the academy, following in the footsteps of family friend Adam Silva (who has since signed with the New York Yankees); and Scott Simpson, who took part last year.
The Academy enables MLB clubs to sign and develop young players from Australia and Oceania on their own home soil. Lachie would be overjoyed should it happen, but if it doesn’t he’ll keep doing whatever it takes to make it in the sport he loves.
“If you want to get signed, you have to get your foot in the door up there at the Gold Coast,” Lachie’s father Grant said.
“This is an important step in the pathway for him and it’s looking promising but the kids have to keep developing.
“They can’t just be a great junior and then plateau – they have to keep developing.”
Keep swinging, Lachie.
