How’s this for an eye opener?
Imagine you’re a newly hired pitching coach getting handed the stat sheet for your new pitching staff and seeing the best returning earned-run average is 4.58, then noticing after that there’s nothing lower than 6.55.
While others may be quick to reach for the whiteout on that signed contract, 2007 Perkins graduate Kyle Hallock sees an opportunity when he looks at his Bowling Green hurlers.
The Falcons struggled to an 11-39 record in 2018. However, with nine freshmen on the fall roster, the former Kent State All-American will have plenty of fresh yearlings to work with.
“All these new guys don’t know any different. What they’re learning is what we’re trying to teach them together,” said Hallock, who came to the BG after four years in the same role at Malone College. “There’s plenty of talent here to compete, and to compete towards the top of this league (Mid-American Conference).
“Right now, we’re just in the process of stringing together good practices. Once we get this to be a week-long thing and beyond, that’s when you become a really good baseball team.”
Good baseball was Hallock’s specialty. As a senior at Perkins, he helped his team to Sandusky Bay Conference, district and regional championships, en route to earning first-team All-Ohio recognition.
As a college pitcher at Kent State, his team won four consecutive MAC titles (2008-11) and averaged 40 wins per season. During his final season, Hallock won 10 games and posted a 1.95 ERA, earning him MAC Pitcher of the Year honors and All-America status. He still ranks in the top 10 in all of the Golden Flashes’ major pitching categories.
Hallock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 10th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. In 2013, Hallock was promoted three times, spending time with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Single-A), Lancaster Jethawks (Advanced-A) and Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A) before finishing the year with the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Triple-A). In total, Hallock appeared in 59 games as a pro, logging 186.2 innings.
“We went after his high school teammate Brennan Smith extremely hard, and same thing with Kyle. What a great high school team they had, but also what a great Legion team that they had in Sandusky (Post 83),” longtime Falcons coach Danny Schmitz said. “I think both Bowling Green and Kent State won out on that one. Brennan was the MAC Pitcher of the Year for us his sophomore year, then two years after that, Kyle won it.
“We’re glad he’s here now. His résumé is outstanding, not only as a player, but as a coach as well.”
Schmitz called the hiring of Hallock a “no brainer.”
“When we said goodbye to Rick (Blanc) it was tough, being that he was here for 11 years,” he said. “I knew the new guy had to be special. I truly believe Kyle is one of the better up-and-coming coaches out there.”
