See the ball, hit the ball.
It is as simple as that for Tyler O鈥橬eill when it comes to his propensity for hitting a baseball.
鈥淢y secret to hitting is keep it real simple,鈥� he explained.
鈥淵ou want to have your energy focused on the pitching and your opponent.
鈥淚f you make it too complicated, you are going to have problems.鈥�
And if anyone is having problems these days, it is opposing pitchers as there is no arguing that what O鈥橬eill is doing is working.
Prior to leaving for the Dominican Republic with Canada鈥檚 junior national baseball team, O鈥橬eill was putting up video game numbers for the 91原创 Blaze.
Through the season鈥檚 first half, O鈥橬eill leads the B.C. Premier Baseball League with a 1.136 slugging percentage, a .576 batting average, six home runs, 17 extra-base hits and 47 RBIs. And he has only struck out nine times in 59 at-bats.
Looking back in the league鈥檚 record books over the past 10 years, O鈥橬eill鈥檚 gaudy stats rank already rank amongst the all-time best 鈥� the only records he does not currently hold are for home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage 鈥� and there are still 20 games to go in the regular season.
Nic Lendvoy belted 11 home runs in 2004 for Fraser Valley while that same year saw 91原创鈥檚 Jon Hesketh finish with an .840 slugging percentage.
And Fraser Valley鈥檚 Mark Ellis finished with 58 RBIs in the 2005 season.
鈥淭yler is the best (high school) hitter in Canada,鈥� said Blaze coach Jamie Bodaly.
鈥淗e is a really strong kid and he can recognize pitches.
鈥淚t is just tough to get him out.鈥�
O鈥橬eill, who turns 18 on June 22, has built on an impressive rookie season, a season in which he was named the league鈥檚 top offensive player and top rookie, as well as a first-team all-star shortstop.
The Maple Ridge native wound up hitting .398 with six home runs and 39 RBIs in 42 games, leading the league in the latter two categories and finishing third in batting average in 2012.
What makes the numbers even more impressive is the fact that during winter training prior to the season, he suffered a hernia injury which required surgery. Midway through the 2012 season, O鈥橬eill鈥檚 batting average had slumped to the low .200s.
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鈥淚t is a lot easier to hit (in this league) when you are a year older, but he has definitely put the work in,鈥� Bodaly said.
鈥淗e is a natural, that鈥檚 for sure.鈥�
For O鈥橬eill, it is all about putting in the work.
鈥淚 am trying to do everything physically possible to make myself successful,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 am not going to take any days off because it is just going to take me that much longer to get better if I do that.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 not playing ball or studying, I鈥檓 lifting weights.鈥�
The weightlifting should come as little surprise, as his .
O鈥橬eill, who is five-foot-11 and 190 pounds, has played in 18 of 91原创鈥檚 28 games so far this season, having missed time to attend a Major League Baseball pre-draft workout in California earlier this month and then joining Canada鈥檚 junior national team for their annual trip to the Dominican Republic.
鈥淗e has strength and bat speed,鈥� said Canadian junior national team coach Greg Hamilton, who has coached some big names in Canadian baseball over the years, such as Brett Lawrie, Mike Saunders and Adam Loewen.
鈥淗e certainly would be comparable to some of the better players that have come through.
鈥淭hat is going to be his calling card: his ability to swing the bat,鈥� Hamilton said.
鈥淎s a high school hitter, he is a very advanced hitter.鈥�
And O鈥橬eill takes pride in his ability to bash the ball.
鈥淭his is how I should be hitting; it is expected of me and I am going to live up to expectations,鈥� he said, adding hitting is also his favourite part of the game.
Bodaly described O鈥橬eill as quiet, but with a confidence, and very respectful.
Team Canada is scheduled to finish their Dominican tour May 29 and then O鈥橬eill is expected to head to Arizona for a pre-draft workout before he returns to the Lower Mainland this weekend.
All of this is in advance of next week鈥檚 MLB amateur draft, which runs June 6 to 8.
O鈥橬eill says he isn鈥檛 nervous about where or when he is taken.
鈥淚 think what I am doing now and what I have done in the past is going to give me the (draft) spot I deserve to go,鈥� he said.
鈥淣othing to be nervous about.
鈥淚 am just excited to see what I have earned myself.鈥�
Should he get drafted and fail to come to terms with the club which selects him, O鈥橬eill does have options: either at or Central Arizona College, a junior college.
鈥淚f things don鈥檛 work out in the draft, I have two great options I can go to,鈥� he said.
High school players who are drafted can鈥檛 sign to play professionally until after they graduate in June.
Hamilton predicts O鈥橬eill will thrive.
鈥淗e works hard at the game, he is dedicated and committed and works at his game,鈥� Hamilton said.
鈥淗e has a chance to have a real solid future in the game.鈥�
鈥� with files from Black Press
