By Gabby Lucivero/Broadcaster
Kevin Newman would pick a California beach over a Cape Cod beach any day. The water’s warmer, the waves are bigger, and the rock to sand ratio is significantly lower. But when it comes to where the shortstop would rather play his summer ball, there’s no place he’d rather be than the Cape.
The Poway, Calif., native plays his college ball at the University of Arizona where he just wrapped up his freshman season. This may be Newman’s first trip to Cape Cod and his first crack at the Cape Cod Baseball League, but with more than half the season under his belt, he’s looking like a seasoned CCBL pro.
“I’ve gotten better at the plate discipline-wise,” Newman said of his improvements so far this summer. “I think my defense has also improved a little bit, so any way you can get better its always a good thing.”
Newman is looking to improve all aspects of his game this summer, but he is mainly focused on building his discipline.
“You have a game every single day,” said Newman. “You’ve got to watch what you do off the field. I’d like to just take that mentality back to Arizona, just having really good discipline, really good work ethic. Not to say I didn’t have it before, but it’s one thing I’m building.”
On top of discipline, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound righty is also hoping to add some power to his game by building strength off the field.
“This summer, on the field my goal is to just get better overall. Everywhere I can in my game,” said Newman. “But off the field I’m trying to gain some weight and go back to Arizona a little bigger.”
For Newman, playing with the talent on the Commodores is the best way for him to improve his skill set.
“[Playing in this league] is really cool because these guys, they’re some of the best in the nation,” Newman said. “So, to play with some of these guys – some future first rounders, future big leaguers – is a huge honor.”
Newman, who wears the number two for the Commodores and the Wildcats in honor of his favorite player, Derek Jeter, had the opportunity to visit the home turf of the New York Yankees shortstop earlier this summer.
“New York City was the greatest city I’ve ever seen,” Newman said. “I’d never been there before and I’ve always wanted to go so it was great.”
But back on the Cape, Newman is taking strides to achieve his dream of filling Jeter’s shoes as the Yankees shortstop. With his impressive performance so far this season, he is one of seven Commodores named to the Western division All Star team.
“It was humbling, it was nice,” Newman said of being named to the All Star team. “It’s good to be recognized.”
Whether he finds himself on the sandy beaches of California, the paved jungle of NYC, or anywhere in between, Newman’s time on the rocky coast of Cape Cod will stick with him though his playing career.
“I love playing for Coach Trundy and the Falmouth organization,” Newman said, “All these guys understand what they’re here to do – to get better… It’s just all great, we have a great time here.”
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