MARIETTA, Ga. – The East Cobb Yankees, defending champions of the 18u WWBA National Championship, squared off against the East Coast Sox in their opening game of the tournament. The Yankees lost only one game last year and ran through the playoffs, including a 12-3 throttling of the Triton Rays in the championship game.
The Yankees have six players on this year’s team who played in last year’s tournament: Brian DeCarlo, Nicholas Dye, Brady Eeles, Kyle Jacobsen, Tucker Maxwell, and Kyle McCann. First-round draft pick Carter Kieboom was also part of last year’s talented squad. 13 players were selected to the All-Tournament Team, including McCann, the No. 6 catcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2016 and a Georgia Tech commit, who was awarded the MVP of the tournament.
The talent of this team and the program’s history is exemplified by recent draft picks and the amount of Division I commitments on their roster. Three former Yankees were selected in the first round of the MLB Draft: Joshua Lowe, Will Craig and Carter Kieboom. 16 players on their current roster have Division I commitments, including 10 players committed to Georgia Tech.
Winning is a culture deeply embedded into the East Cobb Program. With the success of their teams in recent years, along with the development that ensues from the East Cobb program and Georgia’s competitive high school baseball atmosphere, the Yankees are used to playing against elite level baseball teams. For example, McCann and Maxwell, the No. 7 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2016 who is committed to play at Georgia, play for Lambert High School, which is the same school that has been the home of recent elite talent like Seth Beer, Clemson’s phenomenal freshman outfielder.
Manager James Beavers preaches a day-to-day approach. He knows that his team is very talented and that if they stick to playing the game their way that the Yankees will be just fine and have success.
“We try every year to go out each game and see what we can do,” said Beavers. “It’s a long grind, seven games in five days and then bracket play. We talked yesterday about the importance of each play, ground ball, or at-bat. Errors can hurt you if you give up a couple runs. I like it, because it puts pressure on us as a team to do the right things and play the right way. We kind of look at it as the start of the tournament season and we enjoy it, it tells us a lot about ourselves.”
Expectations are high for the Yankees, defending champions and winners of two of the last four WWBA National Championships (2012), but they won’t let the pressure get to them. The importance of winning is key to the success of the Yankees, but Beavers focuses more turning the pressure into motivation.
“It puts more pressure on you,” said Beavers. “We’ve won it two out of the past four years. We lost 16 guys off of last year’s team, but I think the guys realize the importance of winning this tournament. It definitely bleeds over to the younger guys and the new guys.”
Veteran leadership can go a long way in establishing a team’s focus and mindset heading into a tournament. Guys like McCann, Maxwell and Jacobsen not only exhibit vocal leadership, but lead by example as well. Jacobsen, the No. 3 outfielder nationally for the class of 2017 and a South Carolina commit, along with Mawell and McCann, make up three of their top five batters in the lineup. Dye, the No. 14 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2016, is one of the Yankees’ top pitchers and got the ball in game one of the tournament.
“You have to have enough pitching to get through it,” said Beavers of his strategy for this tournament. “The new pitching rules certainly add a strategic element. That’s going to play its part because of so many games in a short period of time. There’s a little bit of strategy that’s going to have to be played. I’ve tried to avoid thinking about it but my coaches are harping on me to consider it. Defensively, I stress to the guys that every play is important. Offensively, we want to get guys on base and score them.”
The Yankees differ from other teams and programs as they are more focused on team development. A lot of programs offer exposure and showcasing of talent through numerous Perfect Game events, but Beavers knows at the end of the day the Yankees are a team and their goal as a team is to build each other up and win tournaments. The Yankees play almost a full four months together during the summer and form a cohesive unit.
“We’re kind of different than a lot of teams because we are team-based,” said Beavers. “We start our season in May and play all the way through August as a team. We don’t mix-and-match and for us it’s just another team tournament. We don’t really have to showcase our guys, I mean, we had two first-round draft picks this year. I always tell our guys not to worry about that, scouts will be out here to see them. Dansby Swanson played for us, so they know scouts are going to be out there. I tell them to play hard every day and see what happens. Play the game inside the field and don’t worry about what’s outside the field.”
After six games of pool play, the Yankees have a 5-0-1 record. In their opening game they played to a 1-1 tie with the East Coast Sox and that seemed to be an impetus for the Yankees recent play. They have won five in a row and haven’t won a game by fewer than three runs. The Yankees are tied for first in their pool, with the Sox, and seem to be destined to advance to bracket play. The veteran leadership, talent level, and amount of new blood on the team is a successful mix as the Yankees look to add another championship to the storied East Cobb Program.
However, they still have one more game to play, on Wednesday afternoon, and currently hold the tie-breaker with the East Coast Sox based on runs allowed (4 to 8). That said they are still quick to recognize that plenty of hard work will need to be put in to advance into the playoffs with a chance to defend their title in bracket play.
“Our goal is always to be one of the last two teams,” said Garrett Gooden, the No. 5 right-handed pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2016 and one of the team’s 10 Georgia Tech commits. “Hopefully, we can sweep through the first round and get to bracket play.”