Some people expect tall pitchers to throw harder than their shorter counterparts. When a 6-foot-5-inch hurler steps onto the mound, people expect his long limbs and the weight of his stature to send blistering fastballs across the plate. However, that’s not really the case for tall pitchers — not all of them, anyway.
Tyler Allen stands at that height, but he emphasizes finesse with off-speed pitches such as his signature cutter, a pitch he learned around age 12. The Sheridan standout graduated this year and will attend Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia in the fall. He hopes to develop into a quality prospect at SAU, but his top priority is his education. He spoke glowingly about the chemical engineering department at SAU and the new engineering facilities they will have built by his sophomore year.
“They’ve got a really good engineering program at SAU,” Allen said. “SAU’s known for really developing guys and getting them looked at, and if I get the chance, maybe I will [try to play professionally]. Education comes first. I love baseball. I’ve always kind of seen it as a means to an end, to help me get through college. Education is real important.”
While it is obvious that Allen holds education as a priority, the graduated Yellowjacket’s most recent achievement comes with the title of Tri-Lakes Edition Baseball Player of the Year.
Allen grew up in Russellville and moved to Sheridan when he was a junior in high school. His best friend as long as he can remember has been Andy Campbell, the all-area team’s Baseball Player of the Year for the River Valley & Ozark Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Campbell is a first baseman with a big bat who pitched some in his youth. He said he hates batting against Allen.
“I worked in Russellville with guys that are really well-known around here, the McCrottys: Denny McCrotty, who used to coach at Russellville, and his two sons, Will and Wes,” Allen said. “They kind of mentored me, shaped me and pretty much molded me into the pitcher I am today. They’re the ones who taught me my best pitch I have, a cutter.”
The Yellowjacket pitcher played basketball as well until his junior year. That year, he quit basketball to focus on baseball.
Allen’s parents taught him to stay focused on school, even though he’s always excelled in sports. His focus on chemical engineering reflects Allen’s level of intelligence. His style of pitching also exhibits his cerebral nature. For Allen, pitching is a mental battle, and each batter is broken down on the mound.
“I throw a lot of off-speed stuff,” Allen said. “I try to keep guys off balance, work corners and hit my spots. I’m not overpowering in any way whatsoever.”
The Sheridan Yellowjackets won the Class 6A state championship this year, and Allen’s 11-3 record on 79 innings pitched helped get them there. Tri-Lakes Edition Diamond Sports Coach of the Year Mike Moore won his 500th game during his 30th season as Sheridan’s head coach, and his philosophy of playing to his team’s strengths has paid dividends. To cap it all off, Moore won his first state championship after reaching the finals twice before.
“Our team was filled with guys who had played their whole lives — summer ball, travel ball,” Allen said. “[Coach Moore] gave us a little bit of free range because we’re pretty
experienced ballplayers. He kinda nudged us in the direction we needed to go and made sure we stayed on it every day. But at the same time, he let us do our own little thing with our day-to-day workouts. That’s another thing for me: High school coaches want pitchers to do it the coach’s way, but you know, I’ve been taught by a bunch of great guys, and he saw that. He’d be there with me during bullpens, making suggestions here and there. I could talk back and forth with him. There’s a mutual respect between us players and the coach. Our team melded so beautifully. Everybody is more family than a team.”
Allen never completely lets go of baseball throughout the year. In the offseason, he works hard to get stronger all-around. He also throws, to work on technique, although he’s careful to keep his arm healthy and does lots of stretching.
Allen noted that his all-time favorite Major League Baseball player is Mariano Rivera. The pitcher is now retired, but his go-to pitch was — you guessed it — the cutter, the same signature toss Allen will now take to SAU.