West All-Stars, Grogg shine in showcase night

By Adam Harnish
Danny Grogg walked onto Ray Heatwole Field on Saturday afternoon with modest expectations. By the end of the night, he had two brand new plaques straight from the RCBL Commissioner to hang in his garage.
 
Grogg, the player-manager of the Broadway Bruins, won the Home Run Derby in walkoff fashion in the afternoon event, and then proceeded to win the MVP award during the All-Star Game, leading the West All-Stars to a 17-3 win over their East counterparts. Grogg, however, was quick to turn the spotlight to his teammates after the game.
 
“To be able to be successful at this level still, it’s pretty humbling,” Grogg said. “It’s always fun to come out here in this environment and compete with the best. It’s just been an awesome time.”
 
The player-manager for the Bruins had not seen much success in past Home Run Derbies, so he had a new plan coming into the night: “In the past I haven’t done too hot in these, so this one I had to change a little bit. I coach baseball at Broadway High School, and I told my kids, ‘don’t change anything because it gets you into bad habits.’ Luckily today, I changed some stuff at the plate just to try to make myself a little more successful, and it worked!”
 
Not only that, but Grogg went 3-3 in the All-Star Game with three RBIs. Aren’t you supposed to do worse at the plate after changing your swing for a Home Run Derby?
 
“Luckily that worked out for me,” Grogg said with a smile. “I think [the Derby] helped me see the ball a little better tonight...but who knows, man, it’s baseball. Baseball’s a crazy sport, sometimes you’re the bat, sometimes you’re the ball.”
 
In this case, it was a good night to be a bat for Danny Grogg and the West All-Stars.
 
You can find more information about who played in the All-Star Game here. Regular RCBL action resumes Sunday night, as six of the eight teams are back on the field to get the second half of the season underway.

---