Jeff Hunter
@ MSU
I was born and raised in Mississippi. I have played baseball all over the country, and met a lot of very good players through these years.
I played at New Hope High School in 1995-1997. The 1996 season we finished the year with 43 wins and 0 losses. We were ranked as high as 9th in the country. After I graduated from New Hope I signed a scolarship at Meridian Community College where my baseball knowledge grew tremendously.
My pitching coach changed my baseball life when I was at MCC. Both mentally and physically. His name is Kelly Osburne. He is no longer coaching baseball and lives somewhere in Oklahoma. One day I have to find him and thank him for teaching me how to get better at playing the pitchers position.
I graduated High School with a 33-4 record and I never threw a ball over 85 mph. I wasn't blessed with a great arm, meaning I didn't throw hard but I was always able to throw strikes and I had a knowledge of how to pitch. I knew how to set up hitters to get them out. This is why I got the chance to pitch in college. I credit myself learning to pitch from watching Greg Maddux on T.V. work hitters inside and outside. I would sit and try to guess what pitch he would throw next. I wish I could thank him in person, but I might not get that chance. So- Thanks Greg.
My first Fall at MCC is where I was tested the most, both on and off the field. Just adjusting to college baseball was hard enough. But, just as most players going to play college baseball; I wasn't the top dog anymore. Most players who get recruited to play college baseball are better than their teamates in high school. When you go to college you have to prove yourself again to the coaches, to your teamates, and more important to yourself.
After pitching well in the pre-season games, we had individual player meetings. My coach said I did a great job and that I was going to pitch this year as a middle releiver or a spot starter. But, the last thing that my pitching coach told me is that I wasn't allowed to throw from different arm angles anymore. This was the start of my mental and physical training. At the time, It was hard because I got people out by having arm angles that were different. Coach Osburn did this for two reasons; I would find this out later. One-Mentaly he was challenging me by telling me that he was going to change my motion from what I was doing in high school. Two-By keeping one arm angle I would be able to throw harder by getting those exact muscles used in one arm angle stronger by throwing. Like I said he was a great coach for me.
By the end of the year, I was the one scheduled to start the chamionship game of the Juco world series. I was throwing anywhere from 86-91 mph and I was selected in the draft by the New York Yankees. Another credit to coach Osburn, is that 6 pitchers were drafted off of that years pitching staff. All of which went on to play Division One college baseball. One pitcher off that staff made it to the MLB. Cliff Lee- he plays for the Clevland Indians and was 3rd on the Cy Young votes in the American Leauge with an 18-5 record in 2005. I went to visit Cliff in Clevland OH., and I asked him how much more has he learned about pitching since he left MCC. He said that Coach Osburn knew his pitching, and that besides experience, he hasn't been told anything that went against what we learned from Coach Osburn. That made me feel good about starting to give pitching lessons, and my knowledge of pitching.
I went on to play at Mississippi State where I dreamed of playing my entire life. Not very many people are able to fulfill one of their dreams, I was fortunate. Previous to enrolling at MSU I had an arm injury(elbow) that sidelined me through the Fall or Pre-season practices. I was unable to prove to my teamates or myself that I was good enough to be playing in the SEC. This was challenging for me, I mean this was not in my dreams. Everything was supposed to be perfect.
I did all I could to get To MSU and I show up not really knowing anyone and unable to pitch. It was really hard to keep my focus on rehab, when I felt I could throw. For all the pitchers who throw a breaking ball to young, your story could be the same. Learn from my mistake.
I did get to pitch at MSU during the 2000-2001 seasons, but my arm was not the same as it was in junior college. I had partially torn the "Tommy John" ligament in my elbow. Not only was my dream not turning out quite right, I had to pitch at MSU for 2yrs. with a hurt elbow. It was difficult, but the opportunity to pitch came.
Even though my mechanics had to change, and did, because of pain in my arm I was able to pull off two pretty good seasons. The joy of playing baseball at MSU was an unforgettable feeling. I will never forget it, but baseball at MSU came and went to fast.
My dream was complete, a little different than I was expecting but I loved every second I was on that beautiful field. My only hope is that maybe I can save a few arms by showing kids how to play the game with out trying to throw a breaking ball.
You can have success if you beleive you can. Just want it and be willing to do what ever it takes, with in reason, to reach your goals on and off the field.
Robert Corban
Current (2008) junior at Tupelo High School. Current baseball player for Tupelo High School.
Jeff Hunter
English 3 Language and Composition
Dr. Shelton
Profile Essay
Lessons are constantly instilled in us as we progress through the many various stages in life. Many of these lessons are essential to the advancement of us as people. These lessons can be taught in many ways, shapes, forms, and fashions. They can be taught in such a simple form as the game of baseball, a game involving not much more than an open field, a round bat, and a five ounce sphere we like to refer to as a baseball.
One of the most important lessons I have learned through baseball is that “You can have success if you believe you can. Just want it and be willing to do whatever it takes, within reason, to reach your goals on and off the field.” This was first told to me by a man by the name of Jeff Hunter, a great mentor of mine whom I have encountered through the game of baseball over the past several years of my life.
I first met Jeff on a baseball field during the early part of my freshman year of high school. As I’ve grown older and been around Jeff more and more, I have learned a lot about not only playing baseball, but learning and growing as a young adult. Jeff is not much older than I am, but he seems like it because everything that comes out of his mouth seems like it’s coming from a taller, skinnier, tobacco-spitting Buddha. In this way, I consider him wiser than many of my elder life companions. Growing up, Jeff was a lot like I am, thus we hold many of the same values and principles. We both hold God, family, and baseball very closely. Jeff’s life has always revolved around is baseball, a game of passion and tradition that few have the privilege to play.
Growing up in New Hope, Mississippi, Jeff was a high school standout for the prestigious high school baseball program of the New Hope Trojans. Jeff still holds several records as one of the best pitchers to pass through this program. Growing up battling Attention Deficit Disorder, Jeff had to struggle with many of the mental aspects that come with the game of baseball, but he has always come out on top, and that is one thing he prides himself in.
“It was always a problem growing up but I am proud to have worked through it and made it into a good situation,” he explained.
Another thing I cannot help but to look up to Jeff for is his ability to work towards and live out one of his only life dreams besides “driving a really nice sports car cross-country really fast and not worrying about the cops.” This dream is that of playing for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, one of the top college baseball programs in the nation. Jeff worked hard in high school and played two years for Meridian Community College before achieving this goal. With all the five-hour-a-day practices Jeff had to juggle while gaining a major in Educational Psychology, he never regretted a minute of it.
“I was always a Bulldog growing up and I am so glad I got to live out that dream. There’s nothing like it,” Jeff said.
Now that Jeff has completed his playing stage of baseball, he has continued to instill values into the malleable minds of youngsters like myself. As a managing partner and instructor at AdvantEdge Sports, a baseball training and instructional facility, Jeff has been able to pass down the knowledge he learned from being around and being taught over the years. By teaching young players, Jeff feels as though he is giving back to the game that he loved and that taught him so much, another thing he is glad to be doing.
“I really don’t know what I would be doing if I still didn’t have baseball in my life.” Jeff explained.
Through my personal interaction with Jeff I have discovered a lot of things about him as a person. One can’t help but notice that he is one the most laid back, easy going people alive. My visual image of Jeff is consists of him lankily walking towards the desk in AdvantEdge, holding a video camera, donning his day-old stubble and a nasty Chillicothe Paints baseball cap that is way past its prime. Priceless. It’s also very clear that he has very strong Christian values and that he has very strong faith. These values are reflected through his patience with younger kids and his ability to empathize well. The frustration of trying to get through past the callous layer that encloses an 11-year-olds brain doesn’t even seem to phase Jeff. It is very obvious that Jeff is doing something he enjoys when he is giving guidance, teaching, and molding a younger mind. Almost every time I see him, he is in some way constructively showing not only how, but also why, to do or to not do certain things pertaining to baseball or to life in general. He even has his priorities in perfect order;
“God. Family. Baseball,” he said with a chuckle.
You really can’t help but to admire him, his always-welcoming grin, or his positive attitude. You can’t help but admire that way he has lived life and the way he has impacted so many other lives already. In this way, we should all aspire to be someone like Jeff Hunter, a teacher of much more than just baseball.