Sal Stewart was in the middle of a training session when he got the call that he had been selected as one of the 60 prospects to play in this month’s Perfect Game All-American Classic.
When Perfect Game called this week to interview him about the upcoming event, he stepped away from a hitting session to take the call.
It seems like all Stewart does is hit. In that phone conversation, he recalled his first thought when he got the news that he had been selected.
“Man, this is a great reason to keep on training,” Stewart remembered thinking, and said he jumped right back into the cage afterward.
He was, of course, extremely excited to get that call. It wasn’t exactly business as usual for the rest of that training session. There was some reflection there, mostly gratitude toward his family, who Stewart said he plays for. He is really looking forward to sharing the experience with them.
“When I found out that I had made the team, a rush of excitement came through my body,” he said. “I know how hard I work and I know the time and sacrifices I make for myself and the sacrifices my family makes for me. That’s what really made me proud. I was able to show my parents and say thank you to them.”
Stewart’s Perfect Game profile pretty much confirms the notion that he lives in the cage. He has hit at least .333 in his last eight PG events, all high profile, and was named to the all-tournament team at all but one of them.
He hit .412 with seven runs and nine RBI at the 17u National Elite Championship in Hoover, Ala this summer. At the Ultimate Baseball Championship a week before, he hit .417 with a .611 OBP. He hit .364 with a .533 on-base last fall at the WWBA World Championship, and hit .500 the week before that at the Underclass World Championship.
He’s basically been doing this forever, too. Stewart was selected for the 2018 14u Perfect Game Select Festival, which will see 11 of its alumni featured in the All-American Classic, and was named the 14u Player of the Year at that event.
It was at that event when Stewart first heard about the All-American Classic, too.
“After the 14u PG Select Festival, I knew about San Diego,” he said. “After I did that, I was like, ‘This is what I want.’ I want to be among the best, I want to showcase myself. I want to prove I can play with the best players. I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of.”
Stewart said that after he was named Player of the Year in 2018, he could feel a change when he would show up to play in tournaments. People knew who he was, what he was all about.
Those tournaments are full of ultra-competitive players. They all want a piece of the best players in the country, and Stewart was getting everyone’s best shot. That just gave him all the more reason to put in more time in the cage, though. He feeds off of that competition.
“It puts a target on your back, but I love playing like that,” Stewart said. “I love making sure everyone is there to watch me, that’s what I work so hard for. I embrace that moment. I love when competitors are coming after me. That’s what brings my best talent out. That’s who I am. That’s what I ask for, and that’s what I train for. Bottom of the seventh, two outs, bases loaded, that’s what I live for.”
Going out to San Diego will allow Stewart, a Miami native, to surround himself with the best players in the country. In his own words, that’s when he thrives. He loves being around other elite players and learning from them.
That’s one of the biggest reasons he’s committed to Vanderbilt, and why he has turned himself into a recruiter of sorts for the Commodores.
Stewart was the first player to commit to Vanderbilt in the 2022 class, which now holds 10 total top-100 commits in the class and ranks No. 1 in terms of recruiting class rankings by Perfect Game. There are eight top-50 players committed: Dylan Lesko (No. 3 overall), Andruw Jones (No. 4), Brandon Barriera (No. 9), Noah Schultz (No. 10), Andrew Dutkanych IV (No. 20), Stewart (No. 29), Ryan Clifford (No. 36), and RJ Austin (No. 41).
All eight of them are now Perfect Game All-Americans, as well as No. 67 overall prospect David Horn, bringing the total number of Vandy commits to nine at the Classic.
“It’s the talk around town,” Stewart said of the Vanderbilt class. “We talk about it all the time. This class could be special. It might be one of the best classes to ever be assembled. We have a bunch of great players, and a bunch of just great people that all want to win…Right when I committed, I tried to get everyone. I tried getting Dru [Jones] and Brandon [Barriera], those are my good friends. I was like, ‘Hey, let’s go team up.’ And they all did it. I tried grabbing everyone I could.”
The All-American Classic will be another opportunity for all of those guys to get together and dream on the future, while playing baseball in one of the most beautiful ballparks MLB has to offer.
It’s also another opportunity for Stewart to give a hat tip toward his family, something he brought up time and again during the course of his talk with Perfect Game.
“I’m looking forward to being around great people, learning from people, and being able to showcase what I’ve worked hard for,” Stewart said. “Being able to show my family that I’m giving them my all and hopefully make them proud…It’s going to be an awesome experience. It’s some kid from Miami, the 305, going over to San Diego to play against the best baseball players in the country, that’s pretty awesome. Words can’t really describe that.”