After working on both the physical and mental aspects of baseball during the offseason, junior shortstop/pitcher Sean Cody is now beginning to see the initial payoff for Richards.
That’s to say the Cody you will see in May and June could be even more effective than he is now.
Just wait.
“I would say the biggest thing was gaining weight in the offseason,” Cody said before Monday’s practice. “At the end of last season, I was 160 pounds. And now, starting this season, I’m 185.
“That impacts everything a ton.”
That’s the body portion of the equation. What about the mind?
“When you’re at the plate, you can find yourself overthinking,” he said. “But I feel like it’s talking with people that can help you out like teammates or coaches, trying to get you in the right mindset, be positive all the time and not negative.
“That’s what I worked on in the offseason a lot — trying to find the right people to tell me the right things.”
Cody is already off to a good start for Richards (1-0). In the season opener March 12 at Marist, he singled with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth inning to ultimately give the Bulldogs a 5-2 win.
For good measure, he pitched four innings, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Senior catcher Jack LaBonte said Cody’s velocity on his fastball has improved, which will almost assuredly make him a tough customer as the season unfolds.
“You can see the amount of work he’s put in, his velocity and his off-speed,” LaBonte said. “He works so hard on it, and everything is pinpoint accuracy.”
However, Cody’s preferred position is shortstop, the role he would like to play in college at one of his two dream schools — Oregon or Illinois-Chicago.
To that end, he has spent a ton of time working one-on-one with his infield coach, Cody Bohanek. Again, it’s just something more to add to his skill repertoire.
Bohanek, who played at UIC and runs defensive practices at Prestige Baseball in Alsip, has seen Cody come a long way in two years.
“With him, it was more fine-tuning some small details,” he said. “We learned how to use his feet and attack the ball. We got to dive deeper into those little details so he can separate and get a college offer soon.”
Leadership is another area where Cody has grown.
“I always try to do the right thing,” he said. “I try to be first in everything I do, have a great mentality and pick up my teammates but also do it for myself so they see a great role model all around.”
Richards coach Jeff Kortz said he and his staff identified Cody as someone who would be able to help Richards during tryouts his freshman year.
He was impressive, but he had to grow bigger and stronger. That’s why Kortz held Cody back until the latter part of his freshman season before promoting him to varsity. But once Cody arrived, he became a fixture.
As a sophomore, Cody batted .448 with 10 doubles, five triples and seven home runs. He scored 37 runs and drove in 30. On the mound, he went 3-2 with 41 strikeouts and a 2.94 ERA.
“He’s growing every day,” Kortz said of Cody. “He’s always been a little bit of a leader just because he went and did the things. Now he’s starting to be that vocal leader.
“He just loves to play the game. The talking part is the biggest part we’re getting him to.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
