A Belated Thank You to Pete Wilk

Georgetown Baseball came up on my RSS Feed this week. Truthfully, I can't remember why, but it made me reminisce.

 

I try not to hold grudges, but I smile a little bit inside when people that dismiss me fail. 

 

Back in 2000 when I was deciding where to go to college (being able to play baseball competitively was a major criterion), I went to a showcase at Georgetown University where I played really well. I distinctly remember raking in batting practice, hitting two homers in game situations (off pitchers that ended up at GU), and playing solid defense all over the diamond. Admittedly, I am being a little boastful when I say I performed better than anyone else at the event, but I am also a realist and firmly believe that was the case.

 

I loved the campus, the academics, the city. At that moment, I basically considered myself a Hoya.

 

Georgetown head coach Pete Wilk had other ideas.

 

He told me he liked what he saw out of me but could envision no way I would be able to compete at the Big East level because I was "too small" (at the time, I was a wiry 5'9" 150-pounder with plenty of room to grow). They would not recruit me any further.

 

In retrospect, this was one of the best things to ever happen to me.

 

Since then, Wilk has led the Hoyas to the following records:

 

2002: 9-47 (overall); 2-24 (Big East)

2003: 13-33; 3-22

2004: 25-30; 8-17

2005: 25-31; 7-18 

2006: 24-32; 10-17

2007: 21-34; 8-19

2008: 18-32; 8-20

2009: 17-34; 8-18

2010: 24-31; 5-22

 

For those keeping score at home, that's a record of 167-257 (.393 winning percentage) overall and 57-153 (.271) in the Big East. Amazing that he still has a job there.

 

I went on to attend Johns Hopkins, played on four highly-ranked teams that went a combined 141-29 (.829), and met some incredible people, including my wife.

 

For rejecting me Pete, I thank you.