Published: June 09, 2006 10:22 am      

Play ball: The 10th annual Junior Sunbelt Classic gets underway

The 10th Annual Junior Sunbelt Classic kicked off Thursday night at the Expo Center with former major leaguer Jeff Frye as the guest speaker.

Mayor Don Lewis joined the roster of speakers as well as all the state coaches who gave a brief thank you to families and the community for hosting one of the best tournaments around.

“This is the best tournament we play in. To all the host families from all the states, thank you,” said California coach Rob Bruno.

Tennessee coach Marc MacMillan thanked the host families and had 14 out of 18 players from last year sign Division I scholarships this spring.

Guest speaker Jeff Frye then took the stage. Frye was a 30th round draft pick for the Texas Rangers in 1988 and played nine years in the major league.

Frye began his career at Panama High School and moved on to Carl Albert Junior College, then on to Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Throughout his career it seemed that it could all end at anytime. After getting a friends’ invitation to tryout for the Texas Rangers, he was asked to come back for another tryout.

A week before the tryout he cut his hand in a skiing accident. Frye made a good choice by not taking his doctor’s advice, because after showing up with stitches in his hand, the recruiters said he must really want to play. So they signed him and gave him a $2,000 signing bonus.

He spoke on steroid use, saying he was offered to use while still in the minors. He was told that it would be his only way to make it because of his size. Being 5’9” and weighing 165 pounds, he said if he was supposed to make it to the majors, then he would do it on his own and explained his feelings on the heated debate.

“The guys that are taking steroids are getting caught and it’s about time,” says Frye. “It’s not worth risking your health.”

After ups and downs Frye changed his swing up by mimicking Ruben Sierra’s famous high-leg kick. Being in a slump, he decided he had nothing to lose and his batting average jumped from .220 to .302. and he was invited to the AA All-Star game.

Later he received a call from his manager telling him he was going to play for the Texas Rangers. In his first major league game he was lead-off hitter, playing second base — with Nolan Ryan on the mound

The Sunbelt Classic began this morning. The six-day tournament will continue through Wednesday.