VAN BUREN — Brandon Moore’s high school debut wasn’t memorable, at least not in a good way, nor was his last high school outing much better.
But, in between, few have matched Moore on the mound and at the plate for Van Buren. Moore, who will pitch next year at Arkansas, is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Baseball Player of the Year after leading the Pointers to the Class 7A state championship game.
Moore, a 6-2 right-hander, was 6-5 with a 1.60 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 61 innings and hit .460 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI as a senior. His senior year capped a career that started when Van Buren Coach David Loyd called Moore up as a ninth-grader to pitch in a 7AWest Conference game against Fort Smith Southside.
The Rebels battered the 15-year-old - “Southside lit me up,” Moore said - but it was a momentary setback. He won two games as a freshman for the Pointers in conference play.
“We knew we had a guy who would be pretty special for us,” Loyd said.
“He wasn’t afraid to compete. He was nervous but certainly not intimidated.
He was always eager to compete.”
Moore said he was glad Loyd exposed him to high school baseball at such a young age because it helped him develop as a pitcher. Moore, who threw in the low- to mid-80s at 14, said he realized he couldn’t rely just on his athletic talent to continue to be successful.
“It was definitely a different animal pitching in the 7A-West when I was [15],” Moore said. “It gave me experience to be who I am my junior and senior year. I learned basically you can’t throw it by them.”
Moore said he also realized he needed to learn to throw a breaking pitch. Moore had not thrown a curve or slider, not even when playing around, growing up because he was under strict orders not to do so from hisunofficial pitching coach, Brian Fry.
Fry is Moore’s uncle and also the baseball coach at Fort Smith Northside and for the American Legion team Fort Smith Coke. Fry began working with Moore when he was a youngster, stressing the importance of mechanics, a fastball and a change-up.
“He was just a sponge, man,” Fry said. “It took him awhile before he was throwing strikes day in and day out.
By the time he was 10, he was figuring things out.”
Moore figured out early that he wanted to advance as far as he could in baseball. The family story is that, when he was 10 months old, Moore parked himself in front of a television and watched Ken Griffey Jr. play for theSeattle Mariners.
Danny Moore, Brandon’s father, later recorded a three-game series between the Mariners and New York Yankees and, one summer, Brandon Moore watched the entire VCR tape every day. Fry said he remembers hearing tales of Moore hammering whiffle balls off a plastic tee into a wooden fence as a 5-year-old.
“I never wanted to do anything else,” Moore said. “I really don’t know how I got so involved in baseball. It just kind of happened. The Lord gave me some talent and let me follow it.”
Loyd said that Moore obviously has natural ability but it was old-fashioned hard work that made him into the player he is. Loyd said he regularly saw Moore working out on the Pointers’ off days.
“He loves the game,” Loyd said.
“He’s passionate about it. He wants to be good. He had a super year, and he had a super career. He has done everything you can do in high school.”Moore at a glance WHO Brandon Moore WHAT Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Baseball Player of the Year SCHOOL Van Buren YEAR Senior POSITION Pitcher HEIGHT 6-2 NOTEWORTHY Will pitch next year at Arkansas. ... Was 6-5 with a 1.60 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 61 innings, and hit .460 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI.
... Made his high school debut as a 15-year-old freshman. ... Led the Pointers to the Class 7A title game where they lost to Bryant. ... Didn’t throw a breaking pitch until he was 15 to preserve his arm. ... Gatorade state Player of the Year.
Sports, Pages 32 on 06/20/2010