San Luis Obispo County’s Dylan Beavers is back on the Central Coast after making his debut with the Baltimore Orioles this past season.
Few players can replicate Beavers' swing, and with great hands and a short finish, he’s got power.
“I would say controlled violence,” longtime coach and trainer Mike Murphy said of his swing. Murphy has trained Beavers since he was nine years old.
Shortly after being called from Triple-A on August 16, Beavers made his first walk-off base hit against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 10 in the 11th inning.
“It was a 3-2 count with the bases loaded and I knew I needed something to hit. There was a heater down and in and I put a good swing on it,” Beavers recalled.
So far, it has been a dream come true for Beavers.
“It's something I've looked forward to since I was five or six years old.“
Murphy remembers the exact moment he knew Beavers had what it takes to make it big. It was in a training session where a simple fix in his bat grip yielded a shocking result.
“He probably hit 20 balls out of me or something like it was just complete change. From that moment on, I just knew he was different," Murphy recalled.
But after a taste of Major League Baseball, he’s back in the place he calls home for a short time, seeing younger local ballplayers now dreaming of the same thing he’s achieved.
“It's nice giving them some confidence and showing them that there's a, there's a chance if you put your mind to it," Beavers said.
“He told me a few days ago, you know, you got to find a win in an at-bat when you get out," Murphy explained of a conversation he had.
But for Beavers, he’s hardly touched the surface of what could be a fruitful MLB career. The key ingredient? Consistency. It's a trait he tells the budding local talent they’ll need to get to where they want to go in the sport.
“Trying to make sure that you're showing up every day, even when you don't feel like it," Beavers said. "I think consistency is kind of what wins in this sport."
Beavers enters the off-season with a main goal of making the Opening Day roster for Baltimore.
