By Andy Loigu

Ten years ago, in 2011, Cole Kimball of Hackettstown High and Centenary College made news by showing up at 5:30 in the morning, for the first day of pitchers’ and catchers’ spring training workouts in Florida with the Washington Nationals.

He did not want to be late for the once in a lifetime opportunity he had worked so hard to earn.

Later on, as the major league regular season got underway, he became the first player from HHS, and from the Centenary Cyclones, to play “in the show” in regular season games that count, on a major league 25-man roster.
As a 12th round draft pick in the 2006 amateur draft from a Division III college program (a supremely successful one but it is the guys from schools like USC and LSU that get all the national media buzz) Kimball was a longshot to ever make the majors. He had a 97 mile per hour fastball, but struggled with his control and had no secondary breaking pitches.

As a high school player with the Tigers he was best known for being an outfielder one does not take extra bases on, and was a good power hitter, but his pitching appearances were shaky. He gained more skill and polish while pitching summer baseball for Stanhope-Netcong in American Legion play and with Toms River in summer college play.

He showed flashes of brilliance, but also had his bad days, as a starting pitcher with Vermont in the Class Single-A New York-Penn League. As he moved up to the Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League, he incorporated a change of pace and breaking pitch into his arsenal, in order to get professional hitters out.

An injury while pitching for Potomac in the Carolina League turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A need to reduce his workload of innings forced him to the bullpen. It turned out that short relief suited his personality, that he had what coaches call “the closer mentality.”

In 2010 Kimball registered 20 saves, with Potomac and the Double-A Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League, a big move up for a young pitcher. In 78 2/3 innings that year, he had an 8-1 win/loss record with a 2.17 Earned Run Average. That earned him an invite to the showcase Arizona Fall League. His strong showings there earned him a spot on Washington’s 40-man roster and an invite to spring training with the major league Nationals.

Kimball pitched well in spring Grapefruit League games against established major league hitters. He later said his toughest challenge was overcoming his disappointment in being assigned to Triple-A Syracuse after he thought he had earned a spot on the major league roster.

To his credit, he gave up no runs in 12 relief appearances in the Triple-A International League in April, including saves in back to back games at Lehigh Valley, earning him Pitcher of the Month honors and the call to the show in May.

He had an earned run average under two in his injury shortened career with the Nats. I’ve always thought, if not for the rotator-cuff surgery he had to endure, after which he was no longer the same pitcher, he would have had the honor of closing the final game in Houston when the Nationals won their first World Series championship in 2019.

WARREN HILLS GIRLS

In girls basketball on February 23, the Warren Hills Blue Streaks defeated nearby rival Voorhees 38-37, for their second win of the season over the Vikes. Their overall record stood at 4-5.

Leading the Blue Streaks’ scoring parade were three players with 10 points each; Brynn Smith, Erin Carroll, and Maddie Morgan.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.