North Carolina State University Athletics
Hard-Nosed Maynard Helps Define Pack
2/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 18, 2011
Baseball Opens Season With 3-Game Set Vs. Elon
RALEIGH, N.C. - Pratt Maynard is a consummate baseball player, a guy who likes to go out every day and make things happen between the baselines.
But deep down, he has a football mentality.
"They say that's the worst way to play baseball, but I like to compete and go 100 miles an hour," said the senior from Franklinton, N.C. "I do that all the time. I'm always ready to do something."
Even if what he's asked to do is really hard, like strap on the catching gear for the first time in his life, which is what Maynard did when he arrived at NC State two and a half years ago. Now, as the Wolfpack begins the 2011 season today at 3 p.m. against Elon, the junior catcher/first baseman is rated by some as one of the top 100 college players in the country.
Maynard grew up as a shortstop and pitcher playing in youth leagues. He switched to third base and corner outfield as he got bigger and stronger. When he was a four-time all-state selection at North Granville High School, he primarily played third base and pitched.
But when he got to Raleigh, there was an opening for hit either as a catcher or designated hitter. So he willingly took up a position he had never played before to find a place in the lineup.
Maynard had never considered how hard the job was. He had to learn all the signs so he could relay pitches from Coach Tom Holliday on the bench to the pitcher on the mound. He had to learn how to position his infielders and outfielders for every single batter.
And he had to learn to avoid the dangers and Pratt-falls of wearing what old-time baseball folks called the "tools of ignorance." But he also quickly learned that the protective gear was his best friend from the foul tips, the slung bats and the wide swings batters sometimes take that bounce off the catcher's mitt, wrist or arm.
He also learned of the great dangers of home-plate collisions, like the one that sent teammate Chris Schaeffer to the hospital in the middle of last year's ACC Tournament championship game against Florida State.
The hardest thing, though, was learning to block the plate.
"It's hard," Maynard said. "The ball's in the dirt and you're supposed to throw your body in front of it. It's not normal. A sane person wouldn't just let a ball bounce off of them. That was the hardest thing to learn to do.
"It's a hard job, for sure, but I love it."
Mainly because it keeps him in the lineup with a chance to take his cuts every other inning or so.
Maynard was one of the more dangerous bats in the Wolfpack's offensively potent lineup last season. He didn't hit the kind of towering shots like first baseman Harold Riggins or departed outfielder Drew Poulk. And he wasn't a spray hitter with a high average, like Dallas Poulk.
He was, however, a hard out in his 56 starts, hitting .273 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. He walked a school-record and ACC-leading 64 times, which ranked second among all NCAA Division I players. His .452 on-base percentage meant he was always working whatever pitcher he faced.
He's the kind of gritty, tough-nosed player that Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent loves.
"If you could recruit all Pratt Maynards the rest of your career, you would do nothing but win," Avent said. "And it would be so easy. He just loves to play. He was taught at an early age to be tough and not complain. He doesn't make excuses.
"He's everything a coach wants in a ballplayer."
Maynard honed his skills the last two summers playing in wooden-bat leagues. First, he played for Forest City in the Coastal Plain League, contributing to the best summer-league record in the nation. Last summer, he played in the Cape Cod League, where he was named the starting catcher for the Eastern Division in the annual all-star game.
For the coming season, Maynard believes the Wolfpack will be successful. He likes the meaty offensive lineup that includes Riggins and third baseman Andrew Ciencien. He's looking forward to the leadership roles the three of them will have in a lineup that returned eight full- or part-time starters from last year. And he believes the pitching, which has more than a few question marks going into the season, will develop nicely through February and March.
"I think right now, if I had to put a tag on us, I'd say we are just a hard-nosed team," Maynard said. "We go play baseball the right way and we play to win."
And, in that way, the Wolfpack is a pretty good reflection of Maynard himself.
• By Tim Peeler, tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
