Sunday, Jul. 05, 2009

Tindall has made transition from high school to the pros

He's living in a Holiday Day Inn, doing his own laundry, making his own meals and paying his own bills with the ultimate summer job in Florida.

Nick Tindall is living the dream, one that he has prepared for since he was 10. The recent O'Fallon High School graduate is toiling for the Minnesota Twins' Rookie League team, the Gulf Coast Twins, in Fort Myers, Fla., after the 17th-round draft pick (522nd overall) signed with the club on June 17.

"It feels like I've been away from home for a while, but it's only been two weeks," Tindall said. "It seems like the high-school season went by so fast. I can picture myself playing freshman baseball, and now it's over and I'm getting paid to play."

Wooden bats have replaced the aluminum ones Tindall used all his life. At 17, Tindall is the youngest player on the roster, and the catcher/designated hitter is just another guy with the Twins.

With the Panthers, Tindall was "the man."

"This is the biggest jump I've ever taken," said Tindall, who is hitting .250 (3-for-12) with four RBIs in three games. "No one here throws under 88 mph and everyone can hit and is faster. In high school, I guess you can say I was one of the better players. Down here, I'm just in the mix with everyone.

"I'm proving myself every day. In high school, I didn't have to prove myself every day to the coaches because I already had the spot."

Writing Tindall's name on the lineup card every day was a given for O'Fallon coach Jason Portz, who watched him cobble together one of the best prep seasons in recent memory.

Tindall hit .492 with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, two triples and 64 RBIs for the Panthers, who finished 32-10 after a 3-2 victory over Cary-Grove in the third-place game of the Class 4A state tournament in Joliet.

Tindall was named News-Democrat Large-School Co-Player of the Year in voting done by area coaches, sharing the award with Edwardsville's Dane Opel.

"Both of those guys are very rewarding of the honor," Portz said. "It's impressive, and to me, it's very rewarding as a coach to watch how far Nick has come. You got a chance to see him mature and develop as a player and a person.

"Nick Tindall has become a very, very good person and that's important. As a player, the numbers that he put up were just outstanding. Everybody could see that."

Both Tindall and Opel, who hit .447 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs, were first-team selections to the 2009 Louisville Slugger High School All-American Baseball Team.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Tindall was a three-year starter for the Panthers and a legitimate five-tool player, meaning he could hit for average and power, run well (his time in the 60-yard dash was 6.7 seconds), possessed a strong arm and had an outstanding physical and mental makeup.

Teams rarely ran on Tindall, and his ability to come through in the clutch was crucial for the Panthers. In O'Fallon's 2-1 victory over Naperville Central in the Bloomington Super-Sectional, Tindall hit a game-tying home run in the second inning, then picked off a runner at first in the fifth to preserve a one-run lead.

"That, to me, is tell-tale what Nick meant to our team," Portz said. "He was able to control teams defensively. He could squash rallies with his arm, and obviously, his potential to hit the long ball at the plate and come through in clutch situations for us was huge.

"He was able to get the big hit for us at the plate, and he was always changing momentum on defense. That explains his season."

Tindall credits his teammates for much of his success. He had Kyle Stanton (.468, 11 homers, 63 RBIs) hitting in front of him and Nick Johnson (.367, six homers, 46 RBIs) hitting behind him in the lineup.

"It was either pitch around Kyle and pitch to me, or pitch to Kyle and pitch around me," said Tindall, who walked 21 times. "I just felt comfortable hitting fourth. Even if they didn't pitch to me, I had confidence in Nick Johnson, Brad Taake and Sonnie Rollins behind me.

"Without them, I think I would have been pitched around and walked two or three times a game."

Given the whirlwind his life has been the past month, Tindall hasn't had a chance to reflect on the impressive numbers he put up for the Panthers. He said the only statistic that matters is third, as in O'Fallon's third-place finish.

"Getting third place at state with all the guys I've been playing with since the sixth grade is the thing I'm going to take from this season," Tindall said. "The numbers are great, but getting to experience the state games with all my friends and coaches and knowing all the hard work I put in the last four years paid off is the best."

Tindall misses his family and friends in O'Fallon. He calls his parents, John and Amy, every night, and stays connected with his buddies through texts and e-mails.

"I'll be sitting in the hotel sometimes and just wishing I could be around my friends," Tindall said. "I stay in touch with everyone. A few guys -- Jon Levin, Stanton, Brad Taake -- are coming down in August, and my parents are coming down next week.

"It's hard sometimes, but this is what I've always wanted to do. To be living it is awesome. I'm playing with mostly 20- and 21-year-olds and I think 'Give me four years and where can I be?'"