Hot Dog Baseball Senior Spotlight: I’m sure there would be better uses of a time machine, but if I had access to one I would want to go back 8 years and make sure a young Jayden McBee stuck with baseball the whole time. If you watch pregame batting practice or infield drills, you’ll see flashes of what could have been. He has that big,smooth left-handed swing that makes all of the right-handed hitters that have spent hundreds of hours in the batting cage jealous. Last year heading into winter practices we felt good about our talent coming back, but our numbers were low. I looked across the gym and saw a left-handed giant warming up. You could tell Jayden hadn’t played in a while, but there were some obvious physical gifts. Any other year, it probably wouldn’t have worked out but last year we needed some numbers. Despite the obvious lack of opportunities at the varsity level, Jayden did some nice things at the JV level and worked hard at making up for missed time. At the end of the preseason this winter we met with him to let him know what to expect going into the tryouts/first week of official practice. We were very transparent about the lack of opportunities for playing time and that at the varsity level, there is no “working guys into the lineup” just because they are seniors. Jayden handled the meeting with a refreshing air of maturity. He understood the circumstances and said he was grateful for the opportunity either way. Despite only seeing the field for a couple of at-bats, Jayden has found plenty of ways to contribute. He is focused during infield drills and works on his craft during batting practice. If you watch pregame, Jayden is as dialed in and focused as the 9 or 10 guys in the starting lineup. If you’ve never been in that situation, it’s not easy. I’m proud of how he’s carried himself and glad that he has been part of the team. I just wish we had had him all 4 years!