In the realm of sports, few endeavors can capture fans quite like the game of baseball. From the crack of the bat to the roar of the crowd, there’s a magic that fills the air, weaving history, strategy, and athleticism.
The Diamond Fords just closed their successful season on a high note. At the same time, the team dynamic is shifting as former stars and leaders graduate and aspiring ones take their place.
Fifth Form pitcher Fred Jordan threw 38 innings last season, leading the team in pitching. Still, Jordan went through a phase of “dead arm” and didn’t throw for the whole month of May
“I was just taking a little rest, but I still got the most innings for the team,” Jordan said. “I was a pretty prevalent pitcher, pitching once or twice a week. I went out there just trying to hold base runners on. I didn’t really throw as many pitches as I do now.”
“Last year I had three pitches, just a slider, fastball, and change-up. This year, I have seven, so getting to mix that up got hitters off balance enough that I got more outs.”
Fred Jordan ’24
Jordan’s workload saw a significant increase this season.
“The biggest change from last year is my location early in counts and the amount of pitches I have,” Jordan said. “Last year I had three pitches, just a slider, fastball, and change-up. This year, I have seven, so getting to mix that up got hitters off balance enough that I got more outs. This season, I ended up throwing around 53 innings, and I was the inning leader this year.”
The increase in innings pitched is a quantifiable testament to Jordan’s hard work.
“In the middle of the week, I would do lifts, or I would run to burn off some lactic acid,” Jordan said. “So that was also a really big thing, making sure to keep myself as competitive as I could be every single time.”
Pitching played a large role in the success of the team, especially in building momentum during games.
“As much as the offense is important, which it is, it often comes down to the pitchers because no offense wants to go out there and hit for a pitcher who is getting hit as well, or walking people.”
Fred Jordan ’24
“As much as the offense is important, which it is, it often comes down to the pitchers because no offense wants to go out there and hit for a pitcher who is getting hit as well, or walking people. They want a pitcher who’s going to go out there and get them outs, get a lot of ground balls and pop-ups so they keep the defense in the game, and so the game is close enough so that the offense doesn’t feel like they’re useless,” Jordan said. “So I tried to keep games close and get the hype at the right moments so the team gets some momentum going.”
This strategy yielded considerable success.
“Out of conference this season, I didn’t let up a run. We won 17 games and went 16-1 out of conference,” Jordan said.
Jordan also evolved this season as a leader, taking on a larger role as an upperclassman.
“From a leadership standpoint, I was a sophomore last year with three senior pitchers and a junior pitcher, so I was the little guy on the team. Shifting from the little guy who just went out there and threw to the guy who went out there every Tuesday was a big change,” Jordan said.
Jordan focused on setting an example every day with his attitude and consistency.
“I had to build up some reliability, which was a big thing, and build a rapport of: I don’t mess around. Get right to business, in practice, you do what you can, never really sit around doing nothing. If you’re doing nothing, you have a problem,” Jordan said. “You never see major leaguers sitting around, they’re hitting in the cage, they’re fielding ground balls, they’re doing something. That’s what I try to preach by not really speaking up because I’ve never really been the guy who would go out there and get everyone in the huddle and start talking. I’m more of a guy who would see someone sitting down and say, ‘Hey let’s go field some ground balls.’ I’m more focused on the individual.”
Most recently, the baseball team competed in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) tournament, which they had won the prior year. The team had a bye in the first round before losing 5-2 to Penn Charter.
“I’d say that our placement in the PAISAA tournament was good, but we just needed that offensive jump that we get sometimes,” Jordan said. “In the Penn Charter game, we didn’t really get too many hits, which kind of killed the vibe.”
The PAISAA tournament may have not been the desired end to their season, but it serves to show that even the best of the best have off days and are not perfect. Jordan leaves the season with the common saying, “We’ll get them next time.”
