Staff Report
In today’s high school baseball world, sometimes it seems we get obsessed with prospects, measurables, how hard a guy throws, what the spin rate is on his curveball, the exit velocity when he hits a home run.
And sometimes we overlook those guys who just come out and compete every day and do what it takes to give their team a chance to win a ball game.
That’s the kind of player Michael Kahn, a senior outfielder and pitcher, has been for Lenape High the last four years. He stands 5-foot-8 and is about 160 pounds, so he’s not going to wow anybody with his physical presence. But he’s that scrappy, hard-nosed player who reminds grandfathers of players they loved back in the 1960s and 70s.
As a pitcher, he throws in the low 80s, about average for a high school varsity player, and mixes in a curveball and change-up, both in the mid-70s, according to Prep Baseball Report.
Again, nothing that’s going to blow anybody away, but he just goes out there and gets the job done, gets a bunch of ground balls and flyouts, limits walks and gives his offense a chance to score some runs. He’s walked 17 batters in 36 innings this season, but seven of those came in his first two starts, and he has a 3.44 earned run average this season. In two years as a pitcher, Kahn has a 2.64 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings.
“He’ll fill up the zone. He’s not a guy who’s going to blow you away with velo, but he’ll mix up speeds, he’ll hit locations and he’ll get guys out. That’s exactly what our pitching staff needs,” said Lenape coach Matt Woods. “He’s probably one of our better hitters as well. He helps us a lot on the mound, but he helps us a lot in the field, too. He’s the senior leader we need to have. He’s our leadoff hitter, our center fielder and our go-to arm.”
“Every day, he’s the hardest worker we have. He’s straight business,” said fellow senior Frankie McCartney.
As a hitter, Kahn leads Lenape with 24 hits, tied with teammate Jackson Wheeler, and is hitting at a .369 clip. He has 10 walks, 10 stolen bases, 12 RBIs and 13 runs scored, and has helped Lenape win four of its last six games. Kahn is hitting .321 for his career, and is six hits shy of 50.
“He’s an old-school type of baseball player,” Woods said. “He’s not the P.O. (pitcher-only) who throws hard, he’s not the D-1 hitter. He’s just a great leader, he’s a smart kid and a terrific athlete. He’s a traditional gritty athlete, and I love to see that.
“Coach says it every day, the early season is just to figure it all out,” said Kahn, who plans to attend Villanova University in the fall. “Later in the season, that’s when it really matters. For some of the young guys, this is their first varsity experience, and as leaders the seniors are trying to set the tone that hard work will pay off.”
— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan
