Jared Grindlinger is a Los Angeles Angels baseball fan with a goal of someday playing in Major League Baseball himself.
Who knows? The Angels may need a new outfielder when Mike Trout retires.
Grindlinger said he realizes there is a lot of hard work ahead, but he’s definitely on the right track.
The Huntington Beach resident, 12, was recently a member of the United States 12 and under national baseball team.
Grindlinger, a seventh-grade student at Mesa View High School, is one of four California players on the 18 kids list. He had the opportunity to celebrate with his fourth term science class and teacher Sarah Barry last Friday.
“I was so happy,” he said upon discovering he was part of the team. “Not many people get the chance to do that, and it was so much fun, [being with] my teammates. It was probably the most fun I have had.
The 12U National Team, led by RJ Farrell, just played three games in Texas this past weekend.
Grindlinger is a left-handed pitcher and hitter, although he said he mainly made the team as an outfielder. It’s his shot that he’s most proud of at this point.
Beau Amaral, a Huntington Beach High and UCLA baseball graduate who recently finished a season with the Guadalajara Mariachis in the Mexican Baseball League, is Grindlinger’s hitting coach. Amaral said Grindlinger is a little different from most players his age.
“Most of the kids are up there looking for a fastball and are hoping to get it,” Amaral said. “Jared is in the dugout looking at the pitcher, seeing what he’s got, seeing his tendencies. Once up there, I know he has a plan. He is looking for out of speed locations in some counts. It’s really cool; nobody does that at this age. Even at the high school level, coaches are just starting to talk about these things. “
Grindlinger thanks his parents Adam and Karen for helping with his development, as well as his older brothers Brad and Trent. Brad is a junior pitcher for Huntington Beach High, while Trent is a freshman catcher who recently signed up for Long Beach State.
Team USA 12 and under Jared Grindlinger, 12, with Huntington Beach High School brothers Brad, 16, left, and Trent, 15.
(Spencer Grant)
Jared said his athleticism came from his mother, who played softball as a child in New Jersey. Now, she takes her sons across the country to play the national hobby, while Jared’s brothers play a role in its development as well.
“Brad helps me pitch a lot,” said Jared Grindlinger. “If I do something wrong, he will tell me. Trent, he helps me hit a lot. They help me a lot with the mentality part.
Jared’s competitive nature certainly helps him. He strives to be the best and takes the time, said his field coach Andrew Bynum, a former baseball star from Ocean View High who played at Orange Coast College and Valparaiso.
“He would compete against me in anything and everything, be it ping pong, basketball, baseball, whatever,” Bynum said. “It’s something that’s hard to teach, that competitive nature and that drive to uplift the people around him as well.”
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