For a Florida-based team, the 2020 American League champion Tampa Bay Rays had a remarkable Delaware Valley feel.
The Rays drafted CB East’s Nick Bitsko in the first round and Avon Grove’s Joey Wendle was Tampa Bay’s regular infield starter. Pitcher Charlie Morton, a Flemington, N.J., native, allowed just one earned run in 15.2 innings during the Divisional and Championship Series while OF Brian O’Grady (Warminster) got a brief call up to Tampa, getting two hits in five at bats.
But half of that foursome will be moving on. Morton signed a one year, $15 million deal with the Atlanta Braves on Nov. 24. He returns to the organization where he made his big league debut in June 2008. If Morton stays healthy, he should get his 100th career major league win sometime in 2021.
O’Grady signed with the San Diego Padres on Dec. 8, a deal that reportedly will pay him $650,000 in the majors and $300,000 in the minors. The Archbishop Wood grad debuted with Cincinnati on Aug. 8, 2019. The promotion capped a breakout 2019 year for O’Grady, when he tied for the Triple-A International League lead in home runs with 28. O’Grady rewarded the Reds with five extra base hits in 48 plate appearances.
Jay Wright (Council Rock) earned his 600th career win on Wednesday, Dec. 16 when his No. 7 Villanova Wildcats trounced Butler 85-66 in ‘Nova’s home opener. The Wildcats improved to 2-0 in the Big East. The “W” gave Wright 478 on the Main Line to go with 122 victories that he accumulated at Hofstra. The Wildcats improved to 7-1 after Saturday’s 88-68 win over Big 5 rival St. Joseph’s.
Ryan Bates is going to the playoffs. The Warrington product has played in every game – mostly on special teams – for the 11-3 Buffalo Bills, who clinched the AFC East with Saturday’s 48-19 drubbing of Denver. Undrafted out of Penn State, offensive lineman Bates appeared in 33 snaps between Buffalo’s 24-21 win over New England on Nov. 1 and 44-34 victory over Seattle one week later. The Bills last won the AFC East in 1995.
Bates saw significant special teams action in Buffalo’s opening day 27-17 win over the Jets, a game where CB South’s Josh Adams had four touches. Bates also squared off against another area product – Arizona starting guard Justin Pugh (CR South) – in the Cardinals’ 32-30 win on Nov. 15. That contest ended on arguably the NFL’s 2020 Play of the Year: Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray hitting DeAndre Hopkins on a 43-yard game-winning Hail Mary touchdown.
The Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association named its all-state teams on Dec. 17. CB West junior forward Taylor Moyer and Council Rock South senior midfielder Aubrey Hondros both earned berths. Moyer was just one of six underclass forwards; she helped guide West to a second-place divisional finish while earning the SOL Colonial Division Player of the Year. Hondros claimed SOL Patriot Player of the Year honors. The Golden Hawks (8-3-1) were co-division champs this fall.
Speaking of soccer … Amber Brooks (New Hope) thrived with the NWSL’s OL Reign in 2020 after spending four years with the Houston Dash. The 2017 Dash MVP, Brooks was the 24th pick in the NWSL’s inaugural season. A two-time NCAA champion at North Carolina, Brooks played all 360 minutes as a defender for the Reign in the NWSL’s October Fall series; she scored the lone goal in the Reign’s 2-1 Oct. 11 loss to Portland. Brooks also appeared in three games for the Reign in the NWSL’s July Challenge Cup, helping the Seattle-based club post two clean sheets.
Basketball season will start for Matt Walsh (Holland) on Jan. 15. Walsh enters his third season as the main owner of the Australia National Basketball League’s New Zealand Breakers, who went 15-13 last winter. Walsh starred at Florida and had a cup of coffee with the Miami Heat before a lengthy pro career in Europe. The Breakers open at Melbourne. The NBL received notoriety for producing two first rounders in this year’s NBA Draft, including New Zealand’s R.J. Hampton, who plays for the Denver Nuggets after the Milwaukee Bucks selected the point guard with the 24th overall pick and traded him on draft night to the Mile High City.
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