By JOHN ANDERSON
The crazy ending to the Hornell and Pal-Mac Section V championship game that was documented by the Hornell Sun and Wellsville Sun went viral over the weekend.
The videos have close to 10 million views and the story reached the New York Yankees clubhouse, as the Major League team watched Hornell lose the game on a bizarre play in the bottom of the last inning.
The play centered around the Hornell catcher looking toward the first base umpire and back to the plate umpire and thinking the game was over. As Hornell celebrated the title, two Pal-Mac runners raced around the diamond in Batavia and scored the tying and winning run. Suddenly, both teams were celebrating.
Hornell coach Joe Flint told Jackson Roberts of WHEC-TV News 10 in Rochester that New York Yankees coach Jose Trevino, a major league all-star, reached out to the Hornell team.
Trevino gave the Hornell catcher his cell phone number and talked to the seniors for about 35 minutes. The Hornell seniors have been invited to come to a future game complete with VIP treatment and a chance to meet the team.
Why Trevino?
He was a third baseman in the minor leagues in 2014. He showed up to his locker one day and it was blocked by a large bag. He moved it and a coach said it was his. It was catching gear..
Trevino said he had no idea how to block or the rules. His receiving and framing pitches are below average as well. He was traded to the New York Yankees, kept working year-round and not only made the Major Leagues, he became an all-star.
Of his work ethic, Trevino told MLB.com, “I just wanted to be a better player. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m always trying to find something to get better at. And I felt like this was something big I could do to improve. Basically, trying to get better in the movement aspect of things; being able to move freely, being able to move strong. Speed. Being able to move high weight at high speed, that’s what you want, and I just wasn’t getting enough of that in my offseasons.”
Here are links to our reporter, an interview with Coach Flint and a column by Bob Lonsberry: