Player of the Year Tyler Minick leaves behind impressive legacy at Mifflin
Before he stepped into the batter’s box for the first time as a senior Tyler Minick was already regarded as one of the top baseball players to come through Gov. Mifflin.
Then he went out and batted .431, slugged a league-leading .897, had a Berks League-best 1.450 OPS and led the Mustangs to a county championship for the second time in his three seasons.
He made selection of the MikeDragoSport.com Player of the Year award an easy one – for the second straight year. Minick was also selected as a junior.
“He’s a special athlete,” said Mustangs coach Chris Hole. “He does so much for our team.”
Minick had another big season, with a .553 on-base percentage, 31 runs scored in 23 games and 22 stolen bases in 22 attempts.
He cranked it up a notch in the BCIAA Tournament when he homered three times in three games, including an inside-the-park home run in an opening-round win over Brandywine Heights and a pair of solo blasts in a 9-7 semifinal victory over Fleetwood at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Minick completed the power show against Fleetwood by pitching the seventh inning, flashing a 94 mph fastball and striking out a pair to earn a save and send his team to the championship game, where it topped Wilson.
“Big-time players come up in big moments,” Hole said after the semifinal, “and that’s exactly what he did for us today.”
Several other Berks players had big seasons. Finalists for the award, sponsored by Utilities Employees Credit Union, were: Alex Kelsey and Deven Sheerin of Exeter; Bryce Detwiler of Gov. Mifflin; Conner Licklider of Hamburg; and Dalton Furst of Kutztown.
“UECU would like to congratulate Tyler,” said Greg Cosgrove, marketing manager for UECU. “The baseball talent and competition in our region is strong. We admire Tyler’s commitment and the hard work required to stand out within this region and receive this award. The future looks bright for him.”
Minick, who saw his freshman year erased by COVID-19, earned All-Berks honors three straight seasons.
Despite missing a chance to play as a ninth-grader he finished with 14 career homers, 87 runs scored, and 53 steals, all believed to be program records. The Mustangs won 59 times in his three seasons.
He had a career batting average of .427 over 69 games with a .541 on-base percentage and .799 slugging percentage.
“He knows how to square up a baseball, and that’s come from a lot of reps,” Hole said. “There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes. He’s able to generate so much torque, so much bat speed. Tyler has the most violent swing of anybody I’ve ever coached.
“And what makes him so dangerous is that violent swing can be to all fields. He is willing to go ‘oppo,’ where a lot of guys who have power, they’re trying to jack a ball to the pull side. Tyler’s a smart hitter and uses that power so much more effectively.”
Minick was Berks Player of the Year as a junior when he pulled off a rare double, leading the league in both batting (.500) and pitching (an 0.93 ERA). He drew 17 walks, compiled a league-leading .616 on-base percentage, stole a team-leading 11 bases (in 12 attempts) and scored a team-high 28 runs (in just 73 plate appearances). He slugged 1.018 and had a 1.634 OPS. At one point he reached base 11 consecutive times.
He’ll spend the next several weeks playing for the Ocean Ospreys of the Atlantic College Baseball League before heading to the University of Connecticut, where he’ll begin classes in July. He accepted a scholarship to play for the Huskies before the start of his junior season. He remains on the radar of Major League teams and could take taken in the First Year Player Draft next month.
When he looks back at his days at Mifflin Minick said he’ll remember the relationships with teammates and coaches more than the many wins.
“It was a family at Mifflin,” he said, “and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Selected as Utilities Employees Credit Union Player of the Week this season:
- April 3: Bryce Detwiler, Gov. Mifflin
- pril 10: Alex Kelsey, Exeter
- April 17: Bryce Detwiler, Gov. Mifflin
- April 24: Joe Crist, Brandywine Heights
- May 1: Alexander Velez, Gov. Mifflin
- May 8: Cameron Burr, Muhlenberg
- May 15: Tyler Minick, Gov. Mifflin
- May 29: Tommy Hunsicker, Wilson
