| Broken Arrow Tiger Baseball 2006-07 |
The Baseball Facilities are at:
Broken Arrow High School
1901 East Albany
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
74012-9275
Ken Ellett,
Director of Athletics
918-259-4520
Broken Arrow High School
1901 East Albany
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
74012-9275
Ken Ellett,
Director of Athletics
918-259-4520
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Everyday is baseball
By: Doug Quinn, Sports Editor
04/11/2007
After all, the 19-year-old Broken Arrow native is playing
baseball every day in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The desert southwest may not be baseball's oasis but
that doesn't bother Klimas.
A second-year professional, he is in extended spring
training in the San Francisco organization. When the
major leaguers broke camp last week, Klimas kept his
fingers crossed he'd get assigned to a Class A team.
That didn't happen.
"But," Klimas said, via his cell phone, "that's OK. I am
playing every day."
More importantly, the 2005 Oklahoma Coaches All-Stater
from Broken Arrow High School realizes the benefits.
"Coaches said they wanted me to stay here just to work
on my mechanics and get better," Klimas said.
"What's great, is I know I get better every day and that's
a great feeling."
He played the spring of 2006 at Texarkana College when
the Giants made him a surprise eighth-round draft choice
that summer.
"This," Klimas said, referring to signing a professional
contract, "is the best thing I could have ever done."
He's learning "how to call a game. At this level, they leave
it up to the catcher," he said.
"It's more mental. If you make a mistake and the other team
gets a base hit, they talk to you and tell you why it happened."
At the rookie level, the pitching is better than he's ever caught, or faced as a batter.
"Here," Klimas said, "guys throw 90 mph every pitch. In high school or junior college, that happened
only once in a while."
Klimas said his upbringing prepared him for playing with a wooden bat.
"My dad (Phil Klimas) had me swinging a wood bat since I was a freshman in high school," Klimas
said. "There are some adjustments I have to make but they haven't been too bad."
Klimas will remain in Scottsdale through June. After that, he could be assigned to a Class A team in
Salem, Ore.
©Neighbor Newspapers 2007
By: Doug Quinn, Sports Editor
04/11/2007
After all, the 19-year-old Broken Arrow native is playing
baseball every day in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The desert southwest may not be baseball's oasis but
that doesn't bother Klimas.
A second-year professional, he is in extended spring
training in the San Francisco organization. When the
major leaguers broke camp last week, Klimas kept his
fingers crossed he'd get assigned to a Class A team.
That didn't happen.
"But," Klimas said, via his cell phone, "that's OK. I am
playing every day."
More importantly, the 2005 Oklahoma Coaches All-Stater
from Broken Arrow High School realizes the benefits.
"Coaches said they wanted me to stay here just to work
on my mechanics and get better," Klimas said.
"What's great, is I know I get better every day and that's
a great feeling."
He played the spring of 2006 at Texarkana College when
the Giants made him a surprise eighth-round draft choice
that summer.
"This," Klimas said, referring to signing a professional
contract, "is the best thing I could have ever done."
He's learning "how to call a game. At this level, they leave
it up to the catcher," he said.
"It's more mental. If you make a mistake and the other team
gets a base hit, they talk to you and tell you why it happened."
At the rookie level, the pitching is better than he's ever caught, or faced as a batter.
"Here," Klimas said, "guys throw 90 mph every pitch. In high school or junior college, that happened
only once in a while."
Klimas said his upbringing prepared him for playing with a wooden bat.
"My dad (Phil Klimas) had me swinging a wood bat since I was a freshman in high school," Klimas
said. "There are some adjustments I have to make but they haven't been too bad."
Klimas will remain in Scottsdale through June. After that, he could be assigned to a Class A team in
Salem, Ore.
©Neighbor Newspapers 2007
LEARNING PROCESS —
Broken Arrow’s Matt Klimas
is in extended spring training
with the San Francisco
Giants organization in
Scottsdale, Ariz., as a
catcher. The 2005 BAHS
graduate was an eighth-
round draft choice of the
Giants in 2006.
Life couldn't get much better
for Matt Klimas.
Broken Arrow’s Matt Klimas
is in extended spring training
with the San Francisco
Giants organization in
Scottsdale, Ariz., as a
catcher. The 2005 BAHS
graduate was an eighth-
round draft choice of the
Giants in 2006.
Life couldn't get much better
for Matt Klimas.
