Juggling act has helped Mifflin’s Tyler Minick excel in all fields
(First of a series of Berks baseball previews coming this week.)
It might make sense for Tyler Minick to give up playing basketball and football, especially now that he has committed to play baseball at the University of Connecticut.
He’s thought about it but just can’t pry himself away from any of his sports. The relationships he’s built in each are important to him. He loves the feeling of running out under the Friday night lights, and the excitement of taking the court before a packed house.
He believes the wide range of sports he plays has helped shape him into the baseball player he is.
“I don’t think I’d have my speed if I didn’t play football or basketball,” said the Gov. Mifflin junior. “I don’t think I’d have my endurance if I didn’t play basketball.”
Wrestling, which he excelled at in elementary school, helped his mental toughness and showed him what it’s like out on an island with no one to lean on, same as when he’s in the batter’s box.
“They all help me in different ways,” said Minick.
They helped Minick become an All-Berks player as a sophomore and one of the top players in the county heading into Opening Day on Friday. He’ll help the Mustangs challenge Wilson in Division I of the Berks League and for the league championship, just as he did a year ago.
Minick has considered concentrating solely on baseball but has received nothing but encouragement from all of his coaches — including Huskies head coach Jim Penders — to keep playing them all.
“Our best players (over the years) are the ones who played multiple sports,” said Mifflin coach Chris Hole. “You learn how to have success and failure in other sports.”
Minick did his best to squeeze in a few rounds at the batting cage during the fall, when he was playing defensive back for the Mustangs; he made the occasional Saturday baseball workout during basketball season to keep his arm in shape.
He’s not just taking up a roster spot on those other teams, either. He started at cornerback for a team that was ranked No. 1 in the state much of the season and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a regular season win over Exeter. In basketball he was the first guard off the bench and hit a key 3-pointer in a big comeback win over Wilson.
“It’s not easy,” Minick said of staying committed to three sports. “I just put dedication into everything I do.”
He’s not concerned that he’ll behind when he reports to Connecticut in 2023; the guys he’ll be competing against there are year-round baseball players.
“If I keep my head focused on what I want to do and put my all to baseball when I get there I think I’ll be just fine,” he said.
It helps that his dad Tom, a former baseball player and coach at Alvernia University, can throw BP to him in the offseason and has access to batting cages at the college. And that Tyler has the drive and dedication to find time to swing the bat while playing other sports.
That paid off last season when he batted .376 and scored a team-leading 28 runs in 28 games as the Mustangs went 21-7, won the league championship, reached the District 3 Class 6A final and made the PIAA Tournament. He drove in 21 runs and stole 20 bases.
“Tyler works hard at all facets of his game,” said Hole. “He’s probably best known for what he does with the bat, but he runs so well, he has a great arm, great instincts, fielding ability. Tyler has the total package.”
Minick did most of his damage last season with a bum shoulder, injured on a slide against Muhlenberg April 26. He had to stop pitching — he had been 2-1 with an 0.98 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 21 innings before that — and had to stop playing the field. That bothered him, but it didn’t affect his stroke.
“It was definitely tough,” he said. “I did what I could. I definitely missed pitching. Being on the mound and being a competitor like that is definitely a different feeling than playing shortstop or second base.”
The shoulder and arm are sound now and he’ll be back on the mound, along with Xander Velez and Matt Novotny. They’ll have to carry a heavy load to make up for the loss of Berks Player of the Year Connor Maryniak, who had a season for the ages in 2021, going 13-0 on the mound.
“We don’t have that guy like Connor, (so) I need to step up,” Minick said, “(center fielder and team captain) Mason (Woolwine) needs to step up, and we’re gonna lead this team as far as we can.”
As anxious as he is to get back to the mound Minick knows that it’s the bat that makes him most valuable; it’s what first attracted college coaches.
“Hitting’s my favorite thing in the game,” he said.
“He’s good at putting the ball in play and making things happen pretty easily,” said Woolwine. “He gets on base pretty much every time. Him getting on base, then me, Darien (Troche), Xander, trying to move him over to score, it’s gonna be nice.”
Despite graduating Maryniak and a dozen other seniors Minick and the Mustangs have not set the bar lower for this season.
“Our expectations are to win as much as we can,” he said. “Mifflin’s never won a district championship, so that’s definitely what we’re (shooting for). Everyone calls us a county championship-winning team; we don’t want (to be known only for that), we want to go further.”