Bubba Starling vs. John Means is the MLB match-up made in Kansas
The scene may not have been very memorable to the smattering of fans at Camden Yards a week and a half ago. Many likely didn’t realize what they’d seen.
Teammates and classmates from a Kansas high school, a position player and a pitcher, faced off against each other in a big-league ballpark for the first time.
People with ties to Gardner Edgerton High School, particularly baseball fans, certainly took notice when Royals outfielder Bubba Starling stepped into the batter’s box against Baltimore Orioles left-handed pitcher John Means.
“They’re both just extremely hard workers,” former Gardner Edgerton baseball coach Jerald “Tiny” VanRheen said. “Bubba was just, obviously, blessed with superior athletic ability, where John wasn’t. John was given a gift to throw a baseball. But I think they both had to work their tails off to get where they are.”
The two high-profile members of the school’s 2011 graduating class will clash again this weekend when the Royals host the Orioles at Kauffman Stadium.
“We just both will compete against each other and do the best we can,” Starling said of their pending match-up. “Hats off to whatever happens. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Means got the better of the individual match-up during their first meeting. Starling went 0-for-2 against him with a groundout and a swinging strikeout on a wicked 3-2 change-up. Means threw five no-hit innings, but he gave up three runs (two earned) in the sixth and ultimately took the loss.
“It was a cool experience,” Means said of the head-to-head match-up. “You don’t get those, even two Kansas kids going at it and especially two kids from the same high school getting to face each other in the major leagues.”
The local legend
Starling, a multi-sport standout, grew up in Gardner. He became a local legend, a highly recruited All-American high school quarterback as well as a baseball star picked fifth overall in the MLB Draft by the hometown Royals.
“Probably since he was 12 years old there’s been pressure on him,” Means said of Starling. “It’s just one of those things that those high-level athletes get coming up, the first-rounders, the guys that are supposed to do all these things.
“That’s what I feel pretty blessed about. I wasn’t ever supposed to do anything, and now I’m up here. There was not a lot of pressure coming up.”
A 6-foot-4, 215-pound athletic phenom with a cannon for a throwing arm, the ability to cover large swaths of land in a few strides and raw ability with the bat in his hands, Starling’s speed bumps along his path to the majors largely consisted of injuries that hampered and limited him to the point that the Royals took him off of the 40-man roster last offseason.
This year, Starling seemingly put it all together and earned Triple-A All-Star honors before making his big-league debut at Kauffman Stadium on July 12.
Startling batted .310, posted a .358 on-base percentage, slugged .448 with 20 extra-base hits, 38 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 72 games for Omaha.
“For me it’s been awesome,” VanRheen said. “I’ve known Bubba since he was 4 or 5 years old. His mom used to be our daycare lady. I’ve known him a long, long time. Worked with his grandmother and coached his older cousin. It’s been super special in that regard because I do remember him as a 5-year-old kid and watching him progress and grow.”
Starling, who recently turned 27, is still adjusting to hitting against major-league pitching but he’s made several dazzling defensive plays in the outfield, including the hardest-thrown outfield assist in the majors this season (100.7 mph).
A JV afterthought
Means attended Olathe East as a sophomore and transferred to Gardner Edgerton midway through his junior year following winter break.
Means had played on the D and C Teams at Olathe East, and didn’t even make the junior varsity. However, he’d played fall ball for VanRheen and showed an ability to pitch.
Starling remembers first hearing from VanRheen that a new guy, a left-hander who could throw pretty well, was coming to their school.
In high school, Means’ fastball topped out short of 90 mph. But he threw multiple pitches for strikes and knew how to mix up his repertoire. While VanRheen saw signs that Means would grow, he was just 5-foot-10 and hadn’t filled out.
“He’s come a long way,” Starling said. “I think he was 85-88 (mph) in high school. He was our ace. I never pitched my senior year.”
Means went to Fort Scott Community College, where he caught the eye of the West Virginia University coaching staff. He went on to pitch for West Virginia, where he started 25 career games and went 10-6 with a 3.24 ERA. The Orioles drafted him in the 11th round of the 2014 draft (331st overall).
The now 6-foot-3, 230-pound Means spent this past offseason training with the St. Louis-based Premier Pitching Performance (P3), where he focused on biomechanics. He saw his fastball velocity jump up to as high as 94 mph this season.
As a rookie, the 26-year-old Means represented the Orioles on the American League All-Star team in July. He enters the weekend with a 9-9 record, a 3.61 ERA, 95 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings and a 1.18 WHIP.
While VanRheen hoped Means never put a ceiling on Means’ future in baseball, he didn’t foresee what Means has already accomplished.
“He’s a testament to if you work on you and it doesn’t matter where you play or what level of college baseball you’re playing, if you just do what you’re supposed to do and you keep working and developing, you’re going to get noticed,” VanRheen said.
A special weekend
This weekend, VanRheen and a host of others from the Gardner Edgerton community figure to make their way to Kauffman Stadium.
“That date’s been circled for a while,” Means said. “I was just hoping to be here for it at the beginning of the year. Now to get the opportunity to pitch in Kansas City, there’s going to be a ton of people especially from Gardner where we are from. There’s tailgates and just all sorts of different events that people are making to come to the games.”
Means will pitch in Kansas City for the first time in his career. He’ll take the mound in the same park where he and friends used to buy $5 tickets and eventually make their way down near the dugout, where he could sit in awe of players he imitated in his backyard like Mike Sweeney and Joe Randa.
While the Starling and Means families have grown close — Means’ younger brother Jake was drafted by the Royals this spring — both men vow it will be all business when they meet this weekend.
In Baltimore, Starling and Means chatted pregame on the field the day after Means pitched in the series opener. Their respective competitive nature didn’t even allow them to acknowledge each other the first time Starling stepped into the box.
“Usually, with guys you know like that when you get up to the plate you give them a head nod,” Starling said. “But it was just all baseball. From then on just baseball and having some fun against each other.”
For VanRheen it will be a joy just to watch the two. He won’t have a rooting interest in the outcome. He insists that just being there to see it will be a joy.
He’ll also view it as a beacon for young players in the local area.
“When you go to a baseball tournament in Kansas City, you see kids like John and occasionally you might see one like Bubba at those tournaments,” VanRheen said. “The message that sends to these kids now is ‘Wow. I have a chance.’ I think that’s a good thing for baseball players in Kansas.”
