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At 14, Dave Weissinger isn’t quite old enough to be drafted by a Major League team.
Judging by his recent performance at the Youth Friendship Games in Holland, though, scouts may want to keep their eye on this catcher-first baseman formerly from Third and Winton streets.
Last week, the athlete visited South Philadelphia with a fourth-place medal hanging around his neck. The Delaware County resident was a big contributor to the Pythons success, going 13 for 22 at the plate, which includes two walks and 11 hits. The highlight came in his last at-bat when he smacked a three-run homer. The big hit came against the Hoofddorp Pioniers of the Netherlands.
“It felt pretty good because I hit it against the best team there,” Weissinger said.
The Friendship Games baseball tournament for boys ages 12 to 15 and 16 to 19 took place July 27 to 30. Teams came from the United States, Holland and France, as well as other countries. When he first arrived, Weissinger said he was a little worried about playing with a group of strangers.
“During practices, I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know what the competition was going to be like,” he said.
Staying in Pennsylvania, dad Dave, who kept abreast of tournament news via daily phone calls and the Internet, shared some concerns, too.
“I was a little nervous about him competing on the international level,” the player’s dad said. “After the first day, he seemed to do just fine.”
Once the games were under way, the proud father anxiously awaited the daily updates from his son. “I was on pins and needles all day waiting for the phone call,” he said.
WEISSINGER, WHO PREVIOUSLY attended George Sharswood Elementary, Second and Wolf streets, said he doesn’t know how he was selected to represent the United States, but the news caught him by surprise. Had somebody told him a couple years ago he would represent the U.S. in international play, “I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.
Now that he has the event under his belt, Weissinger said he enjoyed the experience.
“Playing against other countries, you get to see how competitive they are,” he said.
The athletes were tested on an individual skill level, with Weissinger winning the competition for catchers. Each player also was sent home with a performance review completed by their respective coach that rated focus, skills and pitching. Based on a scale of 1 to 4, with four being the highest, Weissinger received top marks across the board in the skills category, which included hitting contact, hitting power, throwing accuracy and catching fly balls.
In the report, the Pythons coach wrote, “Has tremendous pop in his bat. Delivered several big hits throughout the tournament. Needs to work on his delivery to second base.”
The athlete will get plenty of practice with his Pennsylvania-based teams. Earlier this summer, he played for coach Sam Shipley in the Southeast Youth Athletic Association and is winding down the season with the Delco Bulldogs, who are competing in the Sixth Annual ECTB National Championship in Allentown. This time around, his family will provide support from the stands.
Unlike his recent European vacation, however, the athlete isn’t expecting to come home with a medal.
“I don’t think we are going to do that good,” Weissinger said. “We are just starting to get to know each other.”
Now that he has enjoyed some international success, Weissinger can pass on valuable pointers to his teammates about what it takes to win.
First, he needs to get over his recent jet lag. Weissinger landed in Philadelphia 2:15 p.m. July 31 and went to Outback Steakhouse with his family at 7:30. The only problem was he was too tired to blow out the candle on his celebratory cake and ended up falling asleep at the table.
But it was a good kind of tired.
“I am happy I went there and was able to play at that level,” he said of the games.
