Czech big man at back of the row
Stand behind the netting for the best view of Andrew Czech taking batting practice.
The baseballs come in on a mechanical pitching machine and go out nearly as fast, thanks to the powerful swing of this left-handed batter.
Pitch after pitch come in and pitch after pitch head out to the fences holding in Wild Things Park.
Czech is a big, strong first baseman, 6-5 and 260 pounds and he has 15 home runs, a lot for the 96-game season of the Wild Things.
And oh yeah, for some reason, he bats ninth in the order, a spot usually held for light-hitting and low average players.
But Czech doesn’t mind. He sees the batting order stigma for the uninformed and thinks of his spot in the batting order as a second leadoff hitter before making the turn.
“Wherever I’m put at is where I’ll hit,” Czech says simply. “It doesn’t matter where I’m penciled in, five through nine or one through four, that’s where I’ll hit. I just want to help this team win.”
Czech could be a royal pain for Equipe Quebec, if he is taken for granted to be a light hitter because of his spot in the batting order. Quebec will be arriving today for the start of its series with Washington in the Frontier League best-of-five playoffs.
Quebec will play two games in Washington, today and on Wednesday, before entertaining the Wild Things for a possible three-game remainder of the season.
Usually, the team with the best record gets home-field advantage but Wild Things Park will be unavailable this weekend because two concerts were scheduled.
The winner of this series plays either the Schaumburg Boomers or Florence Yalls next week.
These playoff games go above and beyond the 96-game regular-season schedule but Czech doesn’t mind. He has been playing ball since early spring and his total of games is close to 140.
“I was at Walsh University for six years then I came here to play,” said the 24-year-old Czech. “We played 46 or 47 games, ending in the conference tournament. Then I gathered my things and went home to Cleveland. I got a call from Tom Vaeth and he said he wanted me to come play for him.”
Czech is hitting .271 and has 41 RBI to accompany his 15 home runs. Czech batted .341 at Walsh University with 17 home runs and 47 RBI. He struck out just 17 times in 131 at-bats there. Quebec can ignore those numbers at its own peril.
“They’re a well-rounded team,” said Czech. “They come out to play.”
Rob Whalen will get the start tonight for Washington. Whalen has a 2-0 record with a 1.74 ERA. Ryan Hennen will pitch Game 2. Hennen is tied for second in the league with 11 wins. He carries a 2.12 ERA over 106 1/3 innings. Game 3 on Friday, the first in Quebec, will find Daren Osby on the mound for Washington.
“I won’t be nervous. I enjoy this time of year because you are just one of four teams left doing this,” said Vaeth. “The air feels like playoff baseball.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Quebec spent most of this season as a perpetual road team. The border opened Aug. 9 and players may pass through if they show proof of vaccination, have a passport and test negative.