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By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 4, 2001
With no professional or major college sports teams within a reasonable driving distance of Punta Gorda, several hundred locals often turn out for Charlotte High sporting events. About a thousand showed up on a Friday night in May when Charlotte hosted Seminole in a Class 5A region semifinal.
Most came to root for the home team. Many came to see Casey Kotchman.
When Baseball America and other publications tab you the nation's No. 1 senior, word even reaches quiet country towns in southwest Florida.
After Kotchman walked three times -- another frustrating night of being pitched around -- in Seminole's 8-3 win, a group of kids waited behind the dugout for him, to get a close-up look and an autograph.
Kotchman, a strapping 6-foot-3, 215-pound first baseman, has been under the microscope all season. Opposing players, fans, hordes of scouts -- everyone has been watching his every move.
"I really tried not to pay attention to the people outside the fences," said Kotchman, who batted .402 with 29 RBI and 41 runs in helping the Warhawks to the state title. "I was just locked in and focused on trying to win every game."
The left-handed hitting Kotchman has been immersed in baseball his whole life. His father, Tom, is a scout and minor league manager for the Angels. Each summer for the past 10 years, father and son have been in Boise, Idaho, where Tom has managed the Angels' rookie league affiliate (the team relocated this season to Provo, Utah) and Casey has worked out with professional players, developing his prodigious talent.
"It's helped me out a lot. I got to see the everyday grind of the minors. In my dad's league they play 76 games in 80 days. That's tough," said Kotchman, who was named the national player of the year by Gatorade. "I know what I'm getting into."
Tuesday, Kotchman should be picked in the first round of the draft. Baseball America now rates him the eighth-best draft prospect overall (including college players).
Could he be selected No. 13 by the Angels and end up playing for his father? Kotchman, who hasn't signed with a college, said it doesn't matter where he's picked, he just wants to start his career.
"I'm definitely ready to swing the wood bat for a professional team," Kotchman said.