While most high schoolers look forward to spending their summers relaxing and vacationing, Righetti High School senior Matt Sauer has a different plan.
Sauer, a star pitcher for the Warriors, decided to load up his summer schedule with baseball showcases in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, San Diego, and possibly even Mexico.
“I love baseball,” Sauer explained. “I told all my friends at the beginning of the summer that I will not be free to hang out. I’m going to strictly be doing baseball.”
Sauer recently spent a week in Cary, N.C., competing for a spot on the USA U18 National Team. If he makes the team, he’ll play in the Pan American Championships in Monterey, Mexico come September. The competition is stiff, though. The tryout attracted 108 of the top youth baseball players in the country, with Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts in attendance observing closely.
“They put you with a host family,” Sauer told the Sun over the phone from North Carolina. “This will be [the host family’s] seventh year doing it. A couple of the players they had hosted are already in the MLB. It’s been pretty fun.”
Sauer is committed to University of Arizona for baseball in 2017, but he hopes that by attending the showcases he can secure a spot in the MLB draft next year.
“I’d love to go to Arizona, but we’ll have to see how the draft goes this year,” he said.
Sauer is coming off a fantastic junior season where he won 10 regular season games, boasted an ERA of 0.83, and pitched Righetti into the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs. He’s already thinking about the Righetti season next year.
“Next year, I really hope we get a league championship. It would be my first league championship,” he said.
Righetti struggled during the regular season as a team, finishing 16-17, but then made an underdog run in the playoffs. How can his team sustain a better overall season next year?
“Just how we ended the year with the whole team coming together, everyone seemed to have confidence, if we can get there earlier in the year—knowing we’re the best team out there—we can definitely be one of the best teams in the area.”
Sauer started playing baseball as early as he can remember, watching his older brother in awe. When asked what gives him an edge on the mound nowadays, Sauer pointed to his competitive nature.
“I go up there on the mound, I just think I’m going to strike the batter out,” he said. “I don’t pitch around batters. Even if they’re the best hitter in the world, I’m going to pound the strike zone.”
Contributor Peter Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2016.
