Reid between 
the lines

Clary boosts his average with a little help from dad

PRINCETON — For Princeton slugger Reid Clary, the key to improving his batting average from .242 to .460 over the course of a year was a simple 20-step process.

Twenty steps, as in the distance Clary says it takes to walk from his house to the side lot where he and his father Rick spent countless hours honing his batting skills between his sophomore and junior baseball seasons.

“Me and my dad really worked. We have a side lot and we really worked hard over the off season on hitting and everything,” Clary said.

Clary says that he and his father would try to make it over to the lot four days a week.

“He’d give me batting practice and sometimes he’d give me advice,” Clary said.

“Whenever I was in a slump, he would always get me out of that by taking me to the side lot. He’d tell me what mechanics I was doing wrong and really helped me out that way.”

All that work and advice paid dividends. Along with posting an area leading batting average, Clary finished the spring on top of all area ballplayers with 37 RBIs and 15 doubles, while chasing single-season school records.

For his contributions to the Tigers’ record setting 21-9 season, Clary is the 2009 BCR Baseball Player of the Year.

Clary says he had no idea he was putting up such impressive offensive numbers until after the season.

“My dad keeps my stats every game. He told me after the last game that I had a great year, because I was still disappointed from the game. He told me I hit .460, and I thought it was unbelievable.”

“I was surprised with my numbers at the end of the year, because I didn’t really keep up with them, because I’m not really a stats man.”

PHS skipper John Cruz summed up Clary’s remarkable season up well.

“Reid had an outstanding year hitting,” Cruz said of his cleanup hitter. To Cruz, Clary’s hitting prowess meant “that if we got guys on base we were going to score.”

Not only did Clary manage to produce big offensive numbers, he managed the Tigers’ pitching staff behind the plate, catching every game for PHS, including two extra special contests, no-hitters from Tiger hurlers Michael Murray and Brik Wedekind.

Clary has been catching ever since T-Ball when he chose to catch for the action the position provides.

“I always wanted to be in the play, so I knew that the catcher would always be in every single play.”

Along with the batting work Clary did with his father, the first team NCIC all-conference selection was also a dedicated worker in the weight room. He said that he greatly increased his strength from his sophomore campaign, taking his bench press max from 155 to 215 between his sophomore and junior season.

He says that the confidence from his increased strength and batting practice gave him a mental advantage this season.

“Last year I was always tight and didn’t want to get out. This year I was a lot more relaxed at the plate.”

“It makes such a big difference when you have confidence up there and you really know that you can hit the ball. It really helps your game out.”

Clary is currently playing summer baseball with the Naperville Chargers, who are touring Illinois colleges in order to showcase their assembled talent to college programs. He says, while with the Chargers, he is hoping to catch the eye of some college scouts.

But before he enters the college ranks, Clary still has unfinished business in high school.

“I’m really hoping we get a regional title, and hopefully, from that, just take it on farther, maybe state.”

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