Kyle Harrington has proven he is more than just a good hitter.
This past spring as a junior catcher for Hamilton West, Harrington led the Hornets offense with a .522 average and at one point during the Mercer County Tournament he collected hits in 10 straight at-bats.
Things were a little different this summer, as he slumped to .254. And yet, he was still a force in helping a young Broad Street Park team gain a berth in the New Jersey State American Legion district tournament. Post 313 notched a spot by finishing 12-11 and in sixth place in the Mercer County league.
“I give him credit,” manager Mike Petrowski said prior to the playoffs. “He’s struggling but he’s not bringing it out to the field. He’s still giving us good at-bats, and he does what we ask. He didn’t hit as well this summer as he did in high school, but he was still a big reason for us making the playoffs.”
That’s what happens when a player is multi-dimensional.
“He’s very versatile,” Petrowski said. “He plays right, plays first. He can catch, he can play anywhere in the outfield. He struggled after hitting the crap out of the ball in high school, that’s gonna happen. He’s still a good hitter.”
Harrington shared his manager’s optimism.
“I just have to focus again,” he said. “Get back into it, do a little tee work and come around. I’ve always hit, I’ll hit again.”
Harrington has hit at every stop he’s been at, starting with the Hamilton Little Lads. That is also where Harrington showed loyalty to his league.
The Lads won the South Jersey State Tournament and went to the Cal Ripken regional tournament during his 8-year-old season, although “we got our butts kicked in regionals.”
They also advanced to states as 9-year-olds (and lost) and hosted the regionals as 10s but lost in two straight again.
“People started leaving, going to Sunnybrae, HTRBA, travel,” Harrington said. “But I stuck with it all the way through.”
He played outfield and second base as a kid, and also started catching to prevent boredom from setting in.
“I actually wanted to catch,” he said. “When I was really little, I used to play in the field and no balls were hit to me. I was like ‘Dad, where can I play?’ So he said, ‘Well, every ball gets thrown to the catcher,’ and I said ‘OK, put me there.’ I’ve loved it ever since.”
Harrington moved on to Hamilton Babe Ruth, where he had some bad luck as a 13-year-old when he broke his elbow throwing to second base during a pre-district tournament. He was unable to play All Stars that season, and when he played the following two years he said “both seasons were busts. We really didn’t get the experience of going far. But I was definitely excited to get to high school.”
Harrington made a talented varsity team as a sophomore and played every game. Most were in right field as Ross Talbot had the catcher’s spot locked up, but he did see three games behind the plate.
“I hit all right, but I definitely had a standout year this year,” said Harrington, who went 35-for-67 during his junior season. “This year, I stayed empty minded at the plate, didn’t try to think to much. I was repetitive, didn’t change my approach.”
What made Harrington’s season so impressive is he only had one practice before the season started, and then got behind the plate in the opener. He missed most of the varsity basketball season due to two stress fractures, which also held him out of all of preseason baseball.
It had little effect, however. Petrowski, who saw Harrington as an underclassman when he was coaching with West, got to see him again from the Nottingham dugout the past two seasons and noticed marked progress.
“A huge improvement,” the manager said. “I was with Kyle when he was a freshman. I saw him as a sophomore, and it was night and day from last year to this year. He got physically stronger, which helps. This summer he hit some balls hard that were right at people.
“We’ve talked to a few colleges for him. He’s got the tools. He’s a little bit raw. If he ever works on his game this off-season—we told him what to work on—he’s gonna be dangerous.”
The manager said the things that need attention are his approach at the plate and some of his mechanics behind the plate, although he feels Harrington will likely be a corner outfielder at the next level.
“He’s got great arms, he’s very strong,” Petrowski said. “He’s so strong. He almost hit one out of (Bordentown’s) Gilder Park with the wind blowing in. You can’t teach that stuff. He’s got God-given gifts but needs to fine-tune things. The scouts drool over his size.”
Harrington would love to continue catching, but at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds he is not exactly a catcher’s size. Hamilton West coaches Mark Pienciak and Mike Moceri agree with Petrowski about Harrington’s future.
“They’re even saying I have the body and the arm and speed for the outfield,” he said. “I could go for catching, but they told me I have a better shot in the outfield. We’ll see. I make up for my size pretty well behind the plate. You don’t see that usually in catching, you usually see a little stocky guy.”
“It all comes down to him in the off-season,” Petrowski said. “You’ve got a lot more things moving around and things to worry about at the next level. But if he gets better with his footwork, he can catch.”
But Harrington can play a lot of positions and contribute at all of them. It’s what good players do.
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