USA Baseball Blog

The Latest Events, happenings & Releases from USA Baseball

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Offseason Chatter with Ethan Puig

Joining us on this episode of Offseason Chatter is Ethan Puig, who was named to the 2021 15U National Team after hitting .333 (6-for-18) with one triple, seven RBIs, and five runs scored for the Stripes at the 2021 15U National Team Trials. Puig discusses competing for, and earning, a spot on Team USA this summer, what that meant to him, and what it was like to share that moment with his family. He also touches on his holiday traditions and offseason training, including spending time with friends and family, conquering the slopes on his snowboard, getting his workouts in to own the offseason, and much more.

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Offseason Chatter with Elijah Green

2021 18U National Team powerhouse Elijah Green joins this episode of Offseason Chatter to talk about staying humble and playing his own game while competing at the 2021 PDP League, and with Team USA. He also discusses his holiday traditions, what he wants most for Christmas, and what he’s been up to this offseason. The Windermere, Florida, native goes into detail about his dominant performance in the 18U National Team’s seven-game series against Canada, including his series-leading four home runs that traveled a combined 1,715 feet. Green’s seven runs scored and .957 slugging percentage also led Team USA in the series and he finished a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases whiling tying for the team lead in hits (8) and RBIs (7).

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Offseason Chatter with Tyler Austin

On our first Offseason Chatter episode of 2021, we check in with Tyler Austin who was an integral part of Team USA’s run to a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer. The Conyers, Georgia, native talks about what it was like to represent the U.S. on sport’s biggest stage and what it meant to him to finally wear the red, white, and blue after not making Team USA twice in high school. He also touches on his diagnosis of testicular cancer at 17 years old and his work with the Sean Kimerling Foundation to raise money and spread awareness for those affected by the disease, as well as his offseason routines, his holiday plans and memories, and more. Austin was named the All-Olympic Team designated hitter after collecting hits in every game of the tournament for a team-high 10 throughout the event. He also led the Olympic Team in batting average (.417), doubles (3), runs (5), and RBIs (7) in six games.

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Her Own Story: How Malaika Underwood Turned Her Baseball Journey Into a Children's Book

Growing up, ten-time USA Baseball Women’s National Team alum Malaika Underwood always knew she wanted to play baseball.

“In my life there is no pre-baseball,” Underwood said. “I’ve always loved baseball and it was the first sport that I ever chose to play.”

So, whether it was playing in rec league games, on a playground or even just at a friend’s house, Underwood always found a way to play the game she loved. No matter what.

But as she finished middle school and realized there weren’t really any opportunities for girls to play baseball at the high school level, she had to create her own opportunity. She knew she could excel at the next level, she just needed a chance and, once again, she found a way.

Underwood wrote a letter to every high school coach in the San Diego area – not asking for a spot on the team, just for a fair shot to try out. Luckily, Coach Bob Allen at La Jolla High School gave her that shot.

Throughout tryouts, Underwood put a tremendous amount of pressure on herself to succeed.

“I didn’t want to put myself on the line and fail, but you have to take those risks if you’re going to achieve things in life,” Underwood said.

And that is exactly what she did: Underwood took a chance and it paid dividends. She excelled at tryouts, earning a spot on the team, and with a double down the right field line in a preseason game, Underwood became the first girl in San Diego to ever play baseball at the high school level.

“I remember that moment so clearly it was that sense of relief and belonging on the team,” Underwood recalled. “It was ‘Ok, I’ve got this.’”

She played baseball all four years at La Jolla High School. But since she knew her future opportunities on the diamond were once again limited, she also played basketball and volleyball, and with her incredible athleticism, she continued to excel at it all. Eventually, Underwood earned a scholarship to play volleyball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her time in Chapel Hill not only brought her great success on the court, but also brought her closer to Cary, North Carolina, the home of USA Baseball and her chance to get back on the base paths: the Women’s National Team.

Since reigniting her baseball career and making Team USA for the first time in 2006, Underwood has been named to a USA Baseball national team a record-10 times, which is more than any other alum – male or female. In that time, Underwood has won four gold medals, helped Team USA to a world championship in her first year with the squad in 2006, tied for the Women’s National Team single game records in at-bats (6) and hits (5), and was named the USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year in 2015. 

That’s not all Underwood has done since 2006, though; while playing baseball for her country, she has also built a successful career, gotten married and had two daughters. And now, Underwood has added children’s author to her long list of accomplishments.

Her new book “Birdie Can, Too!” was inspired by her own journey within the game of baseball – told through the eyes of her oldest daughter, Birdie.

As she began to read books to her daughter, Underwood realized that although they were fine stories, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be more. Wanting Birdie to absorb as much meaningful language as possible, she got the idea to write a story that shows you can achieve anything you set your mind to if you work hard enough.

It was the idea to write her own story.

“If you do the work you can make it happen and that’s why I wrote the book,” Underwood said. “I want it to be so engrained in [young girls] that they can achieve anything that they don’t ever question that. I really truly believe that seeing is believing. That you can accomplish something." 

And for Underwood, it even goes beyond that. The mindset and confidence lie with the individual, but the progress that is happening and is still yet to be made in baseball stretches nationwide.

“The game is accessible to everyone,” Underwood said. “And some of the progress that’s being made at the grassroots level is really meaningful and will have a lasting effect on our game.”

Underwood wants to continue that progress in communities across the country so that young girls will have the same amount of opportunities as boys to get started in baseball. As more opportunities present themselves, the number of girls actively playing and pursuing the game will increase as well. 

For Underwood, the goal is to empower girls to continue to play at any level. And not only just to play, but to feel accepted in the game as well. That confidence and sense of belonging is what she hopes her book instills in young girls everywhere. She wants “Birdie Can, Too!” to serve as that initial building block for girls in the game she loves.

“I hope this is the start of that message being more pervasive and I have a lot of hope in that,” Underwood said, noting the recent advancements of Miami Marlins General Manager Kim Ng, Vanderbilt football’s female kicker, Sarah Fuller, and having the first woman as Vice President of the United States in Kamala Harris.

“What I do also hope with this book is that we start to see advancements in gender equity pick up speed. The things that I went through, I hope that my daughters don’t have to go through,” she said.

Underwood’s advice to girls looking to follow in her footsteps is simple: “Do the work. You have to prove every step of the way that you belong on that baseball field.”

But while every athlete has to put in their own work to make it, Underwood also knows the importance of finding advocates and friends along the way – like Birdie. “You feel so much more empowered when you don’t feel so alone,” she said.

Approaching her 40th birthday this year with four gold medals, a full-time career with One Team Partners, two daughters and now a book that she hopes will make an impact on her own daughters and anyone out there fighting to reach a dream, Underwood has no interest in slowing down anytime soon.

This is just the start of her impact on the game she loves.

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The USA Baseball Experience

Every year, USA Baseball hand picks some of the best baseball minds and instructors in the game to lead our national teams. And every year, those coaching staffs use their incredible wealth of knowledge, passion and skill to take the best players in the U.S. to new heights both on and off the field.

Now, those same coaches are joining us to expand the reach of that instruction to every young baseball player who wants to learn from the best through the USA Baseball Experience.

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