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Making a Name for Himself
This is the first of two parts. The second part will be published in the Wednesday, July 5 edition.
On a muggy afternoon in mid-June, 2016 Fort Scott High School graduate Kaleb DeLaTorre was among the first players to arrive on game-day at the Joplin Outlaws clubhouse at Joe Becker Stadium.
With a chiseled 6-foot, 185 pound frame and a megawatt smile, second baseman DeLaTorre looks like he was born to play the game of baseball. After concluding his freshman campaign this past May at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, DeLaTorre promptly joined the Outlaws of the MINK League’s South Division. A jam-packed eight-week slate of games in the wooden bat league will provide the versatile middle infielder ample opportunity to hone his skills.
DeLaTorre, a left handed-batter, is off to a tremendous start for Joplin, batting .334 with a home run and 15 runs scored.
“I hit a stretch where I kind of caught fire a little bit,” DeLaTorre said. “And I’m hoping I can stay on that and stay confident.”
His current success was carried over from Neosho County, where DeLaTorre finished his freshman season with a .335 batting average while starting 63 of 65 games for a Panther squad that finished 43-22 and advanced to the Region VI championship game.
“Kaleb was an everyday starter for us as a freshman,” Neosho County head coach Steve Murry said. “Hitting is his biggest attribute, and he is extremely coachable. He gave us great defense, and also set the table for us to score runs.”
DeLaTorre said that, “I knew I made a good choice to play for coach Murry, he’s a great coach. He’s so knowledgeable about the game, I learned so much just in the fall that I was able to carry it over into the spring. We had such a great group of guys, they made it fun to be around and made me love the game that much more.”
DeLaTorre said he had to make adjustments, going from the aluminum bats he used in high school and college to the wooden bats of the MINK League.
“The sweet spot on the (wooden) bat is a little bit different and you have to focus up a little more,” he said.
DeLaTorre said that his drive to be the best has been fueled by others doubting his capabilities.
“My dad is my biggest influence,” DeLaTorre said. “Even though he only coached me in basketball, growing up a coach’s kid translated into all sports for me. I had to show up early and work hard.”
DeLaTorre’s father, Jeff, guided the Fort Scott High School boys’ basketball team to back-to-back Kansas Class 4A State championships in 2004 and 2005. DeLaTorre was a starting four-year varsity point guard for his father, and Fort Scott’s starting varsity quarterback his senior season. DeLaTorre said that during his prep career he became accustomed to the whispers of others, suggesting his high-profile athletic roles were automatically handed to him because his father was a head coach.
He said nothing was ever given to him, that he worked hard to earn the opportunities.
“Being the coach’s kid, you had to earn everything,” DeLaTorre said. “There’s people that are always saying, ‘You’re only playing because you’re the coach’s kid.’ I always looked at it like I was trying to prove them wrong, and just tried to outwork everybody and earn my spot. And I think that helped me out, whether it was football, basketball, or baseball in high school. Now, in college, I’m still trying to outwork everybody and earn my spot.”
DeLaTorre said getting a first-hand view of the 2003-04, and 2004-05 Fort Scott High state champion basketball teams was a whirlwind experience.
“It was pretty cool because it was always everyone’s goal,” he said. “As a kid you understand what’s happening. But then, by the time you get to high school, you’re like ‘wow, that was really special.’
“And so my junior year (2014-15), when went to the State Tournament in Salina, that’s when everything kind of felt real. I felt like I was there, and it was cool to be in that same moment, that same environment those guys played in back then.”
Fort Scott High School head baseball coach Josh Regan said DeLaTorre had an instant impact on the Tigers’ baseball program from the moment he stepped on the field his freshman season.
“Kaleb had a huge impact at the varsity level as a freshman, and then just got better and better from there,” Regan said. “Four games into his freshman season he became our second baseman, and he started every game from there on out. He’s the only freshman I’ve ever had to hit over .400 and hit a home run. But maybe, more importantly, he immediately fit right in with his teammates, both on the field and off.”
Regan said DeLaTorre displayed leadership qualities beyond his years from day one of his freshman season.
“By the time he was a senior, everyone in (Kansas Class 4A-Division I) across the state knew of him and respected him,” Regan said. “I had coaches ask about him all the time, and some still do. When Kaleb graduated we came to find out that he was the type of player you just do not replace. He is a great player, teammate, leader, and friend.”
Regan said being a coach’s son has helped DeLaTorre to maximize his skill set.
“Kaleb just kind of operated on a different level than many other players,” Regan said. “He was super-coachable. Everything he was ever told, he took to heart and tried to do. If he was chewed on he would take it with respect and dignity. He was never a ‘rah-rah’ guy, but he led by example.
“Besides that, he had the softest, surest hands of any infielder that I have had, and he could flat-out stroke it at the plate. When a player like that graduates from your program, the team just changes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, other players get the chance to mature and become leaders. But you just don’t replace a player like Kaleb.”
DeLaTorre said he has many fond memories from his prep-career playing days in Fort Scott, adding the highlight of his high school career occurred during his sophomore campaign when the Tigers made it to the 2014 Class 4A-Division I State Tournament and advanced to the semifinals.
“It was the first time we went to state in a while,” DeLaTorre said. “We had a good group of guys and we knew we were going to have a good year.”
Regan, who lost his father, Dave, in a tragic accident in 2003, said one of his favorite memories of Kaleb relates to his dad, who was Fort Scott High School’s first baseball coach. Regan warmly recalled how he told the team a story in honor of his late father on Dave Regan’s birthday.
“After I talked to the team I was trying to conceal my emotions and just kind of tried to make my way out of the presence of the players,” Regan said.
Regan said DeLaTorre followed him out of the room, got his attention, and proceeded to share an uplifting story about Dave Regan.
“It was a story about my dad coming to Kaleb’s birthday party when he was a little boy, and trying to clumsily carry a train-set, even though he was on crutches,” Regan said. “It made me laugh, which I really needed at that moment. That meant so much to me. And again, it just reinforces the fact that Kaleb is a great young man. Not only is he talented, but he has a great heart and he is good to people. That is much more important than what he is able to do with a baseball or a bat.
“Kaleb is a coach’s dream. Players like Kaleb make our job truly enjoyable. I see him in church and think how pleased God must be that Kaleb maximizes the talent he has been blessed with through hard work and doing things the right way, while treating people right. I couldn’t be more proud of the kid and I am better for having had the chance to coach him and have him in my life.”
“Coach Regan was awesome,” DeLaTorre said. “He’s a great coach, and playing for him helped my game even more.”
DeLaTorre said one player he models his game after is Fort Scott High School alum and Major League Gold Glove Award winner Adam LaRoche.
“He always did the right thing,” DeLaTorre, who is friends with the LaRoche family, said. “Adam was always calm, cool and collected. You even see that with him outside of the game, he’s just the easy-going type. And that’s how I’ve always tried to be. If I had any questions at all, I could go to him and talk about the game, and just learn from him.”
DeLaTorre said getting to experience opening day of Dave Regan Stadium, located at LaRoche Sports Complex, was an experience he wouldn’t trade for the world.
“I remember it was opening day my junior season and the place was packed,” DeLaTorre said of the top-notch facility. “It was probably the biggest crowd at that time that I had ever played in front of. It really made us feel like big-league guys.
“And of course Adam was there, and he brought Willie Robertson (of Duck Dynasty). So it was a unique experience.”