MDC Baseball Team To Hold Open Tryouts On August 12

The Miami Dade College baseball team is hosting open tryouts on August 12 at 10 a.m. at the Kendall Campus baseball field, 11011 S.W. 104 St.

Candidates will stretch, run the 60-yard-dash and engage in catching, throwing and batting drills. 

“You just gotta have some tools and some ability,” said Sharks Head Baseball Coach Adrian Morales. “You have to be able to either run fast, throw hard, be a good defender or a good hitter, or have some power.”

To try out, athletes must provide proof of a physical conducted within the last year, insurance and gear they regularly use such as baseball pants, cleats, bats and gloves. Athletes must also sign a safety waiver before participating in the tryout.

Sharks freshman D’Angelo Ortiz was one of the team’s recent tryout success stories. Ortiz, the son of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz, didn’t make the team during an individual tryout but redeemed himself during an open tryout.

The six-foot-one-inch first baseman/third baseman batted .328 with 38 RBI—third on the team—and one home run this past season for MDC.

“His second tryout was really good,” Morales said. “And then he earned a scholarship for the spring and was our (designated hitter) all year long.”