Baseball
Favorite athlete: Conor McGregor
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Making my varsity debut by pitching the last inning of a league game as a sophomore.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Getting a technical foul called on me in a township basketball game.
Music on iPod: Country and Rap
Future plans: Attend Saint Joseph’s University and major in food marketing
Words to live by: “Never give up.”
One goal before turning 30: Graduate from college and acquire a good job.
One thing people don’t know about me: I like to travel.
By GORDON GLANTZ
Upper Moreland baseball coach Ken Irwin says he “could go on forever” about senior pitcher Joe Bates, the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week.
Prompted to do so, he readily painted a picture of a student-athlete who is wise beyond his years and sees the big picture, and was quickly able to point to specific examples.
“We went to Florida this year for the first time (in the preseason),” said Irwin. “We had five freshmen go on the trip, with four players to a room. Leaving one freshman without a room, Joe offered to let the freshman stay in his room so we didn't have to change others room assignments.”
Bates pretty much shrugged it off as the right thing to do and does not see it as anything that an upperclassman would not have done for him.
“It was no big deal,” he said. “I get along with everyone, and I remember back to when a senior would help me out, and it was pretty cool.”
It was not the first time that Bates put the needs of the team first. Before the last pitch is thrown, it won’t be the last.
It is just the way he is wired.
“Joe has been the ultimate teammate in his high school career,” said Irwin. “In ninth grade, he was an outfielder as well as a pitcher. For the program, Joe put all his focus into pitching. Joe has worked hard and has improved every year. During the fall and winter, we have optional workouts. Joe only missed when he had a legitimate reason.”
Those legitimate reasons include volunteering in the community. He recently told a reporter, after pitching a gem, that “it needed to be quick” because, like other teammates, he had a little league game to umpire.
“It is a lot of fun, being able to go back to where it all started,” said Bates, adding he usually works the games involving 11- and 12-year-olds.
Although he was slated to pitch Tuesday, on Senior Night, he offered the opportunity to fellow senior Sean O’Connor and instead asked for the ball against first-place Upper Dublin, where he took his 4-0 record and 0.49 earned-run average to the hill in an extra-innings setback.
While he wasn’t credited with the loss, still leaving him undefeated, it was of little solace to Bates. Putting the team first, he recognized Upper Dublin’s stranglehold on the division.
But the larger picture remains in focus.
“It’s all still there for us,” said the 6-0, 170-pound righty. “We can still win districts, and we can still win the state.”
And the ace pitcher will still be the same guy he was when he let a freshman bunk with him during the preseason in the Sunshine State.
“We have to practice off campus a lot, and Joe drives four underclassmen every day,” said Irwin. “He offers to hit ground balls or fly balls to teammates that want extra work.”
Extra work and Joe Bates are not strangers. He held down a part-time job until the start of the season, and will pick it up again after the season.
Once he decided to focus on pitching, Bates made a year-round commitment that included American Legion ball in the summer and fall ball, not to mention participating in offseason workouts.
He went from playing exclusively for the junior varsity as a freshman to earning what he described as “just a few innings” as a sophomore. He was full-time part of the rotation as a junior but still battled some growing pains.
“At first, it was a little rocky for me, but I started to settle down,” said Bates, who found time to unwind in the school’s ski club. “By the end of the year, I made second-team all-league.”
While he was a bit of a late bloomer, Bates received feelers from some Division II and III-level schools about continuing his pitching career, but decided to attend St. Joseph’s University, with the main draw being its food marketing program.
“Some schools showed interest, but I thought it would be best to go to St. Joe’s for my major,” said Bates, adding that he fully intends to try out for the club team there. “Food marketing is a very popular major option. It is one of the very few schools that even has this as a major. I will be taught how to market brands and items in the food industry and will hopefully land a job with a major company.”
It should come as no shock that Bates has his priorities in order. A serious student, he is a member of the National Honors Society at Upper Moreland, tutoring others as part of the program.
The son of Amy and Joe Sr., a typical offseason day for Bates includes going to school and then work until 6:30 (mostly cleaning out vehicles for Buxmont Transportation) – while attending offseason workouts – and fitting in time to study.
“It’s hard,” he admits, “but it will only help me next year when I’m at college.”
Bates wanted to thank “all his teammates and coaches” – past and present – for their support over the years, but gave a special shout out to his catcher, junior Ryan Lowry.
“He works real hard back there,” said Bates. “I hardly ever have to shake him off, and when I throw my curve ball, I know he is always going to block it. Even if I bounce it, I know he will block it.
Bates added that because he “wasn’t a pitcher growing up,” and because Lowry is a year younger, they didn’t become battery mates until his sophomore season.
While Irwin will be sorry to see Bates move on, there is another Bates – younger brother, Colin, a freshman pitcher/first baseman – in the fold.
“Our parents are always at our games,” said Bates. “One will go to mine and the other to my brother’s game, and then they will switch over.
“It’s nice to have their support.”
