On Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, North Penn seniors Hunter Hamlin and Danny Kirwin were recognized for signing letters of intent to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Coach Kevin Manero says: “Danny Kirwin throws a baseball hard, and Hunter Hamlin hits a baseball hard, and that’s why they’re playing in college,. It’s that simple in baseball. Hunter batted .385 last year and Danny won eight games. If you’re hitting over .300 and you’re winning six, seven, eight games at the high school level, those are very big numbers for baseball.
“What makes them kind of unique in today’s day and age of high school athletes is that both of those guys have played in their community from the time they were very, very small. If you look up old pictures of Nor-Gwyn baseball and come across things on Google, you’ll see a picture of chubby little Hunter Hamlin in his little Nor-Gwyn vested uniform with a whole bunch of other little kids that are all seniors at North Penn High School right now too. His parents and his coaches and his community sacrificed a lot to give him the opportunity to play baseball at a high level from the time he was a very little kid in our community, and Danny is the same way. Last year at baseball camp, I took a picture of Danny standing in the bullpen, and I tweeted it out next to a picture of him standing in the exact same position when he was a little kid at the same camp many years ago.
“That’s something we lose a little bit today. We have a lot of athletes’ parents who are spending a lot of money to go all over the place and do all these fancy things, but these guys were built from their community. They played hard and worked hard for their community teams and all the way up to where they’re sitting at this table right now. Because we’re a spring sport, the road is not over yet. We still have a big season coming up. Danny and Hunter were both part of a 20-win season last year. Twenty wins for a high school baseball season is a lot. Most times if you’re winning 20 games you’re either winning a state championship or getting really close to it. They both took us into states last year with their contributions.
“Danny was our number one pitcher, and Hunter is a our catcher/DH and Hunter is also the guy that’s catching all the bullpens for these guys all winter long and taking balls off the mask and off the arms and picking his mask up and throwing it on the ground and complaining because they are throwing the ball all the time in the dirt. You can’t win without having both of those people work together, and I think that’s what they really represent is how, from a team standpoint, everybody contributes in their own way. Whether it be as an everyday starter, whether it be as a reserve, whether it be as a backup, whether it be as a pinch hitter, whatever it is, they all know that role, and they all make us win together. That’s why we went 20-5 last year and managed to get to the district title game and back to states. They’re both very hungry. They started their day this morning at 5:15 a.m. in the weight room, which they’re doing three days a week right now and smiling through every second of it. I have no doubt when they get to the next level they will be prepared to play, compete and ultimately win there as well because of what they’ve done from the time they were in little league all the way to where they are at the table right now.”
Hunter Hamlin – Chestnut Hill College (Baseball)
Major: Sports Management
Final list of colleges: Chestnut Hill, Widener, Shenandoah, MidAmerican Nazarene
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “It was probably in my sophomore year I realized I’d be able to turn my dream (of playing college baseball) into a reality.”
About Hunter:
Favorite food: Chipotle
Favorite movie: American Sniper
Favorite music: PnB Rock
Danny Kirwin – Rider University (Baseball)
Major: Sports Management
Final list of colleges: Rider, Millersville, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, Shippensburg
Reasons for choosing Rider: “I chose the school because I like the campus, and I really enjoyed the baseball team.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I knew I wanted to play baseball in college ever since I was young because I always loved the game, and I never wanted to stop.”
About Danny:
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite movie: Sandlot
Favorite music: Rap
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