ON ON0
SPORTS
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Expert panel selects the
very best from around
the bases in the GTA
BACK ROW: Left to right, Matthew Pileggi, Troy Black,
Jordan Boston, Jordan Hill, Rob Good and Jalen Harris. FRONT ROW: Connor Panas and Phil Diedrick.
C Brandon Collins
Birchmount Park Panthers (Toronto)
LEAGUE: Toronto District
TEAM RECORD: 17-4
AGE: 16 GRADE: 11 HEIGHT: 6-foot
ACADEMIC AVG: 65
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.350 6 1 7
BEST GAME: Threw out two base
runners and belted a home run in an
opening round 8-3 win over Innisdale
(Barrie) at the Prentice Cup playoffs.
NEXT YEAR: Returns to Birchmount
Park for Grade 12
THE SKINNY: High school baseball
MVP this year; coach Adam Dahlke
called him the best position player at
the school in years.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Derek Jeter (N.Y. Yankees)
OF Matthew Pileggi
St. Edmund Campion Bears (Brampton)
LEAGUE: Peel Region
TEAM RECORD: 6-1
AGE: 17 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 5-foot-11
ACADEMIC AVG: 76
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.444 8 0 9
BEST GAME: Went 3-for-4 with a
pair of doubles and scored twice in a
15-2 league win over Mayfield.
NEXT YEAR: York University
THE SKINNY: Four years on Campi-
on’s baseball team and won team
MVP this year; two-time member of
Peel championship team; former
member of Team Ontario; has a .525
on-base average with the Brampton
midget squad of the Central Ontario
Baseball Association.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Troy Glaus (Atlanta)
LHP Brian Smith
St. Mary Monarchs (Pickering)
LEAGUE: Durham Region
TEAM RECORD: 18-5
AGE: 17 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
ACADEMIC AVG: 70
2010 Stats IP W-L SO ERA
22 4-1 31 0.81
BEST GAME: Struck out nine in six
innings of a 3-1 loss to Vincent Mas-
sey in a Prentice Cup semifinal.
NEXT YEAR: Going to Volunteer
State College in Gallatin, Tenn.
THE SKINNY: Picked by Chicago
Cubs in the 40th round (1,210 overall)
of the recent Major League Baseball
draft; plays for the Toronto Mets;
member of Canadian National Junior
baseball team hoping to secure a
roster spot for the World champi-
onships in Thunder Bay.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Jon Lester (Boston)
AllHStars
Left to right: Scott Wilcox,
1B Rob Good
Meadowvale Falcons (Mississauga)
LEAGUE: Peel Region
TEAM RECORD: 3-3
AGE: 18 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
ACADEMIC AVG: 83
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.357 6 0 2
BEST GAME: Went 2-for-4, scored
twice and had an RBI in an 8-1 league
win over Gonzaga.
NEXT YEAR: Going to the University
of Western Ontario in London.
THE SKINNY: Former MVP in base-
ball and volleyball, as well as athlete
of the year when he attended Port
Credit High; member of the Ontario
Blue Jays; had an error-free season
for the Falcons school team.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Roy Halladay (Philadelphia)
OF Connor Panas
Etobicoke Rams (Toronto)
LEAGUE: Toronto District
TEAM RECORD: 9-8-1
AGE: 17 GRADE: 11 HEIGHT: 6-foot
ACADEMIC AVG: 85
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.580 29 1 20
BEST GAME: Three-for-three with a
home run and five RBI in an 11-5
league win over Weston.
NEXT YEAR: Returning to Etobicoke
for Grade 12
THE SKINNY: School baseball team
MVP this year; plays club baseball for
the Toronto Mets; multi-sport athlete
and was offensive MVP on the Rams
senior football team; three-time
member of the school academic
honor roll.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Joey Votto (Cincinnati)
Trojans’ star outfielder is solid as a rock
DAVID GROSSMAN
SPORTS REPORTER
Philip Diedrick might have a few
words to say if he catches people
throwing rocks.
Five years ago, when he was 12,
Diedrick got a bit antsy waiting for
relatives to come by for his post
birthday get-together. Ignoring his
mother’s plea to stick around, he
left with some buddies for a creek
near his Ajax home.
Some rock-throwing at the creek
escalated and one accidentally hit
Diedrick, fracturing his skull and
leaving him with a scar on the right
side of his forehead.
Diedrick, an outfielder with the
Pickering Trojans who was drafted
by the Blue Jays in the 45th round of
2010
TORONTO STAR High school baseball
2B Scott Wilcox
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Burlington)
LEAGUE: Halton Region
TEAM RECORD: 10-2
AGE: 18 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 5-foot-10
ACADEMIC AVG: 78
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.593 18 3 24
BEST GAME: With two out, belted a
game-winning home run in a 5-4
league win over Loyola of Oakville.
NEXT YEAR: Partial scholarship to
Western Kentucky University.
THE SKINNY: School team MVP;
member of the Ontario Blue Jays;
played on Ontario Youth team that
won a bronze medal at last year’s
Canada Cup; wide receiver on the
Notre Dame football team that won
the Junior Metro Bowl two years ago.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay)
OF Philip Diedrick
Pickering Trojans (Ajax)
LEAGUE: Durham Region
TEAM RECORD: 9-5
AGE: 17 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
ACADEMIC AVG: 63
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.300 6 0 12
BEST GAME: Two doubles in a win
over King City at the Sinclair tourna-
ment.
NEXT YEAR: Going to Bossier Parish
College in Bossier City, Louisiana
THE SKINNY: Chosen by the Toronto
Blue Jays in the 45th round (1,356
overall) of the 2010 Major League
Baseball draft; plays for junior nation-
al squad; member of the 18-and-
under Ontario Blue Jays club team;
played on the Ontario Youth team
that won a silver medal at the Canada
Cup last summer.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Albert Pujols (St. Louis)
the major league draft, is one of 11
players chosen to the Star’s annual
high school all-star baseball team.
That group will be honoured at the
Rogers Centre on Wednesday prior
to the Jays game with the St. Louis
Cardinals.
More than 100 players from teams
in seven leagues were considered,
with criteria ranging from contri-
bution to the team, academics and
sportsmanship.
Diedrick remembers getting
smacked in the head and waking up
in the Hospital for Sick Children,
his parents at his bedside.
“It could have been a lot worse, a
serious brain injury and I’m lucky
to be alive,” said Diedrick, who
graduates from Pickering High
TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010
KEITH BEATY/TORONTO STAR
3B Jalen Harris
Northern Red Knights (Toronto)
LEAGUE: Toronto District
TEAM RECORD: 20-4-2
AGE: 17 GRADE: 11 HEIGHT: 6-foot-2
ACADEMIC AVG: 83
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.515 33 2 27
BEST GAME: Went 3-for-3 with two
home runs and five RBIs in an 8-2
league win over Forest Hill.
NEXT YEAR: Grade 12 in Victoria,
B.C. and playing baseball in the B.C.
Premier League.
THE SKINNY: Trying out for national
junior baseball team; could have
been drafted in the Ontario Hockey
League, but chose to focus on base-
ball; born deaf, he has an implant that
allows him to hear.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Derek Jeter (N.Y. Yankees)
DH Jordan Boston
Heart Lake Hurricanes (Brampton)
LEAGUE: Peel Region
TEAM RECORD: 0-5
AGE: 17 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
ACADEMIC AVG: 80
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.350 8 0 8
BEST GAME: Double that scored two
runs and a strong defensive game in
an 8-5 league loss to Brampton Cen-
tennial.
NEXT YEAR: Accepted a partial
scholarship to Alcorn State Universi-
ty in Lorman, Miss.
THE SKINNY: Played third base on
the Canadian junior national baseball
team in trips to the Dominican Re-
public and Cuba; chosen baseball
MVP at Heart Lake; member of Team
Ontario and an all-star in the Premier
Baseball League of Ontario.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Robinson Cano (N.Y. Yankees)
School later this month.
“Doctors told me the rock came
close to hitting my temple. I re-
member being bed-ridden in the
hospital and it was horrible. Never
again, hospitals and I don’t get
along. I disobeyed my mother and
should have listened to her. Mom
knows best and I got lucky.”
Diedrick, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound
multi-sport athlete, was stretched
to his limit this past year, playing for
Team Canada and the Ontario Blue
Jays as well as the Trojans.
Diedrick has a full scholarship to
Bossier Parish Community College
in Louisiana. If he doesn’t sign with
the Blue Jays, he could opt for an
NCAA Division 1school after Bossi-
er Parish.
H TORONTO STAR H S7
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR
Pitcher Brian Smith, top, and
catcher Brandon Collins.
SS Troy Black
Philip Pocock Pirates (Mississauga)
LEAGUE: Peel Region
TEAM RECORD: 6-1-1
AGE: 17 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-2
ACADEMIC AVG: 70
2010 Stats Avg. Hits HR RBI
.545 12 0 6
BEST GAME: Solid defensive game in
a 16-2 drubbing of St. Marcellinus for
the Peel Tier Two championship.
NEXT YEAR: Accepted a partial
scholarship to the University of
Maine (Orono).
THE SKINNY: Former high school
athlete of the year; played on the
Ontario Youth team; wide receiver on
the school senior football team; plays
drums in the school band.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Derek Jeter (N.Y. Yankees)
RHP Jordan Hill
Sinclair Celtics (Whitby)
LEAGUE: Durham Region
TEAM RECORD: 18-1-1
AGE: 18 GRADE: 12 HEIGHT: 6-foot-2
ACADEMIC AVG: 70
2010 Stats IP W-L SO ERA
40 6-1 34 1.20
BEST GAME: Struck out 10 batters in
a 13-0 thumping of Northern (Toron-
to) at the Sinclair Tournament.
NEXT YEAR: Scholarship to Barton
Community College in Great Bend,
Kansas.
THE SKINNY: High school baseball
team MVP; only loss was to St. Anne,
11-1, in the Prentice Cup semifinal;
member of Team Ontario; pitches for
the defending Intercounty Baseball
League champion Barrie Baycats.
Pitched one-hitter in an 11-1 win over
St. Mary for provincial bronze.
MAJOR LEAGUE ROLE MODEL:
Ryan Howard (Philadelphia)
‘ ’
I’m lucky
to be alive
Philip Diedrick (below)