PRINCETON —
It’s a long way from Australia to American professional baseball, but Darryl George is traveling that road.
George took up the game in his homeland as a youngster and his accomplishments landed him a free agent contract.
“It all started when I was a kid. I might have been four, five years old, and I was just going for a drive with my parents and we saw a pick-up game, a little local club team playing T-ball, and they were short of players, so we joined in and ever since then I’ve been hooked,” George said.
“I played every summer, every winter, all year around in Australia for rec teams and things like that. I was lucky enough to be scouted by the Rays and then a couple of other organizations, and I signed in ‘09 and came over here in 2010.
George is currently the only Australian-born player in the Rays’ organization. In 2011, his first season of professional ball, he batted .243 in 24 games for the Gulf Coast League Rays.
“Last year was tough,” George said. “With conditions and stuff like that, no fans, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. But it made me look forward to this (playing in Princeton) much more.”
George said he was definitely in the minority in Australia when it came to his choice of sports.
“It’s (baseball) definitely not the primary sport, it’s not mainstream. But there are a small few people that do play it and we enjoy it. We make the most of it.”
As a youngster, on occasion he would catch an American game on television, but that was more the exception than the norm.
“With the time difference, about 14 hours, we didn’t actually get to watch that much (baseball),” George said. “Every now and then I would get up at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, before school and watch some baseball, or I’d take the day off school just to watch the World Series. I got into a bit of trouble, but I loved it.”
George’s first visit to the United States came as a member of a team and at that time he did have some Major League players he admired.
“I came over here for the Cal Ripken World Series in 2005. I was really fond of Cal Ripken. I’m a huge fan of Grant Balfour, just because he was an Australian player with the Rays a few years ago. Who else? (Evan) Longoria, he’s great. But my most favorite player though is probably (Curtis) Granderson, back when he played for Detroit.”
When asked how good an Australian player has to be, to make it in American baseball, Princeton Manager Michael Johns said, “You’ve got to be good.”
Johns related his own Darryl George story that occurred before the rosters for this year’s Princeton team was set.
“I was in the Australian Baseball League this year, I was over there and saw him play in Melbourne and he actually got the game-winning hit.
“It came down to us, Canberra, versus Melbourne for second place to go to the playoffs and he had the game-winning hit with the bases loaded to beat us. It was kind of bittersweet. I wanted to win, but also it was good for a Ray, if we were going to get beat.”
Johns said George’s game has constantly gotten better than after his initial year in the GCL.
“He made a lot of improvements in the winter, playing all year long in the GCL and then going over there (Australia) and playing,” Johns said. “He made some nice adjustments. He keeps his swing short and simple. He’s really good on defense and has really worked hard to make himself a good player.”
George’s first appearance of the year was as a designated hitter. His first game in the field came at third base in the Rays’ third game of the season. In one recent game his base-running abilities helped earn Princeton the win. On first base the ball was hit to the outfield and the bases were loaded. Going from first to third George stopped in his tracks midway between second and third. At first instance one would wonder why, but the defense forgot about the runner racing home and went after George. Had he continued to third base at full speed, he would have been tagged out before the second runner touched home plate, thus nullifying the run. That move helped the Rays win last Sunday’s game against Pulaski.
Headed into Thursday night’s action, George had a .346 batting average, good for second on the team. He has six RBIs which is tied for second, as several Rays have seven ribbies. His five walks are the most on the team. And according to his manager his play in the field is getting stronger each game.
“His defense has come a long way,” Johns said. “When he first got here he was a little weak. We knew with time he’d get a little stronger and he has. He’s done a really nice job at third. This guy is very versatile for our team and he always gets a quality at-bat. He is doing a really nice job.”
George, as does every ball player, has goals he has set for himself.
“I want to have a good season, play well, and for the team to be successful. Hopefully we win this championship this year,” George said. “You always got to have a goal of moving up somewhere in the organization, so my main goal is just having a good year and hopefully next year moving up.”
— Contact Bob Redd at bredd@bdtonline.com
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