CORNER BROOK Myles Vincent is really mulling over his future in baseball right now, but no matter what happens along the journey he likes how he’s matured as a person.
“I think I grew up a lot. I was a big baby two years ago I think and I know I’m not like that anymore,” Vincent said earlier this week.
Vincent, a 19-year-old Corner Brook native, is a southpaw pitcher in his second season with with the Lethbridge Bulls of the 11-team Western Major Baseball League. The son of Brian and Dianne Vincent pulled up stakes two years ago to chase the dream of playing pro baseball when he was recruited for the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge.
Vincent, who is expected to catch a flight back to Alberta today, was happy to get a break from the daily grind of baseball and visits to the weight room as a member of the Bulls, especially since it meant getting to spend quality time with family and friends in Corner Brook.
He admits he needed a break, but knows full well the season is only getting started in early February with a road trip to Vegas kicking off the season so there’s lots of work ahead.
Immersed in a daily diet of baseball, Vincent sees how he has developed into a stronger and smarter pitcher since moving west. He has no regrets about his decision to take the academy route in an effort to get noticed by the movers and shakers in the baseball world.
“I feel really good where I’m at,” he said. “I’m going to give it my best the rest of the year and see what comes out of it.”
For the past year or so there have been a number of pro teams and college teams expressing interest in his skillset as a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher with a nasty curveball as his out pitch.
It appears the interest is still high so Vincent is just remaining patient and continuing to do what it takes to make him a better prospect.
“I’m still talking to some scouts and a lot of schools so I’m going to make a decision soon,” he said.
Resting and relaxing over the holidays was something he really enjoyed, even though he managed to get a scattered trip to the weight room to keep the rust off. But, he knows he will now his work cut out for him he goes back because he will need to build up his arm strength.
“I’ve got to go back and work hard to get my arm strength back up because I didn’t throw near as much as I would have if I was up there,” he said.
“So, over the next month I got to work hard to get back to where I was and then go from there.”
While he sees progress in his skillset, Vincent has been known to lose his focus so he hopes to work on the mental side of the game to make him a bigger attraction.
“Just staying calm,” he said.
