The spirit of baseball runs through this city like the Great Miami River. From the little leagues that teach youngsters how to throw lace up their cleats and throw a baseball, to the high schools that hoist up trophies seemingly every spring– Hamilton cannot deny its roots in America’s pastime. After all, we are a short drive from the birthplace of professional baseball.
For this month in the Hamiltonian we have decided to pay homage to the great players that have played for both the Hamilton Big Blue and the Badin Rams. So we have created an All-Time roster for both schools. All the players on the following list were nominated by the coaches past and present from both schools, but there are some caveats.
I originally tasked the coaches to create a team using five pitchers, four infielders and three outfielders and a catcher. They soon realized that with these two great programs that was impossible, so we played fast and loose with the rules. Both rosters were finalized with 16 players, albeit in different ways. Hamilton has five pitchers, two catchers, five infielders, three outfielders, and one designated hitter. While Badin has six pitchers, two catchers, four infielders and four outfielders.
Other caveats include that the teams’ rosters only feature players that went to school in the current iteration. Meaning that players before the Taft and Garfield merge are unfortunately excluded, as are players from Hamilton Catholic.
With that out of the way, here are All-Time baseball teams from both Hamilton and Badin, as nominated by past and present coaching staffs.
All-Time Hamilton Team
Mike Conley– Class of 1983
“He had the most raw talent,” said longtime Big Blue head coach Dan Bowling.
Conley was the ace for Bowling’s first year, in which Hamilton took home the state crown. The left handed pitcher was taken in the second round of the 1984 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, not too far behind the great Roger Clemens.
“They clocked him at 96 mph every time scouts came to see him,” said Bowling. The former Big Blue coach recalls a game against the Moeller Crusaders where the Montreal Expos came to scout Conley. In the first inning he was hitting 96 mph, in the seventh inning he was still throwing 96.
Aaron Cook– Class of 1997
In 2007, Cook threw six quality innings against the Red Sox in game four of the World Series. The next july he threw more innings in the 2008 All Star game than any other pitcher, as he threw three scoreless.
A decade before those years in the MLB, he anchored a talented rotation as the Big Blue won their second state championship. “If you needed a win, he was the guy you went to,” said Bowling.
In the regional championship game, Cook and Hamilton faced off against Vandalia Butler who threw an arm by the name of Corey Vance. Bowling claims that Vance was the best pitcher that one of his teams ever faced. He was undefeated and was throwing a no hitter, as the Aviators led 1-0 in the seventh. Cook tied the game with a double off the wall, as the Big Blue went on to win the game and in turn the state title.
Aaron was committed to the University of Kentucky, but instead signed with the Rockies as he was drafted in the second round. He played 11 years in the majors, 10 with Colorado, one with Boston.
Todd Morgan– Class of 1984
Morgan was 10-0 as a junior for the Big Blue in 1983, which is quite the accomplishment for a high schooler. He was the number two, behind Conley, on that state championship team.
The southpaw doesn’t get brought up as much as the others on this list, but don’t let that take away from him as a ballplayer.
After finishing his career for Hamilton he pitched for the Bearcats at the University of Cincinnati.
Chad Pennington– Class of 1997
He went to Arizona State to pitch before coming back to Cincinnati. When the Sun Devil played in the 1998 College World Series, Pennington pitched in the championship game.
That was just a year removed from when he started in the state semis for the Big Blue the year before. Pennington struck out eight batters, as he allowed just two hits over a seven inning win.
“He pitched a lot of good games, but that was probably his best,” said Bowling. “We had a pretty good one-two punch between him and Aaron Cook.”
Ricky Stone– Class of 1994
“Ricky was probably the best pitcher out of the entire group,” said Bowling. “If you wanted to win one game with a pitcher, he was the guy.”
Stone was drafted in the 4th round of the 1994 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He eventually made his way to the MLB with the Astros whom he pitched out of the pen with for four years, before throwing for the Padres and Reds.
Bowling claims that Stone had the best curveball out of any pitcher he coached or coached against.
Catchers–
Tyler Elkins– Class of 2005
Elkins was a three year starter, who caught his last two years. He was a career .425 hitter, who batted .500 as a senior– which led the GMC. He also led the conference with 33 RBIs as he hit four homeruns.
Mark Martin– Class of 1983
“Mark Martin was probably the best catcher I’ve ever had in terms of being an all around player,” said Bowling.
He only started as a senior, but was the backstop the year the Big Blue took home the state title. That year Martin hit .390 and batted three-hole.
“He was like having a coach on the field,” said Bowling. “He worked with the pitchers so well, and was so solid behind the plate. You could actually put him down as a coach/catcher– he was that type of a player.”
Infielders–
Matt Hubbard– Class of 1998
The starting second baseman for the state championship team in 1997, Hubbard was a three year starter who hit .373 for his career.
“He was just a solid infielder for us,” said former head coach Dan Bowling. Hubbard went 3-7 as the lead off hitter for the Big Blue at state.
“He was just solid, game in and game out for us,” said Bowling.
Bryan Jackson– Class of 1984
Jackson was the second baseman on the other state championship Big Blue team. A two year starter, he hit .426 as a junior.
In the semi final game, Jackson scored three runs out of the two-hole as Hamilton throttled Grove City 25-7. In the championship game he was 3-5 with two RBIs. He went on to play at Northern Kentucky University.
“He ran very well,” said Bowling. “He could steal a base at any time and could always take the extra base.”
Mark Lewis– Class of 1988
The second overall pick of the draft in 1988, Mark Lewis is in the pantheon of local athletes. He hit 42 homeruns and .545 for his career with the Big Blue, including hitting .566 as a sophomore. His 212 career RBIs were a national record when he graduated, passing Don Mattingly’s record.
“He was the best player that I ever coached,” said Bowling. “His hands were so quick, he was just so talented.”
Lewis played 11 years in the majors, five with the Indians, a pair with the Reds, and one each with the Phillies, Giants, Orioles and Tigers.
The highlight of his career came in 1995, when he hit a pinch hit grand slam for the Reds in game three of the National League Divisional Series.
When asked if there was any game that sticks out when remembering Lewis’ playing days, Bowling said there are too many to count, but did recall when Mark hit a grand slam against St.X in the 5th inning of a scoreless game.
Craig Mills– Class of 1982
Mills was a shortstop, who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 18th round of the draft. Bowling wasn’t Mills coach at the varsity level but he recalls how talented of a player Mills was.
Though he was a shortstop in high school the Tigers tried to make him a catcher in the minors. Bowling cites the right-handed Mills as one of the best power hitters in Hamilton’s history.
Kenny Reed– Class of 1990
A three year starter, Reed played several positions. Reed batted .405 for his career, while slugging 17 home runs and 82 RBIs.
Reed was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round but opted to go to college at Ball State. He was then drafted again, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 18th round. He played two years in the minors, at various positions including first base, third base and catcher.
His last two years of high school he played primarily first base, but Bowling said that Reed could have been one of the better catchers to go through the Big Blue.
Outfielders–
Robby Huffman– Class of 1983
Huffman went and played at Michigan after his time with the Big Blue, where he played alongside Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo as a freshman. He got one at bat in the College World Series, and got a hit.
He was drafted by the Braves out of high school and opted to go to Michigan. Huffman might be most remembered for hitting two homeruns in the 1983 state championship game.
“Huffman was probably the best outfielder I’ve ever had,” said Dan Bowling.
Curtus Moak– Class of 1997
Moak played most of his career at first base, but he started right field one year which is why he was put on this list.
He was a three year starter, who not only hit but pitched frequently for the Big Blue. In fact, Moak got the win in the state championship in 1997. He hit .384 for his career at Hamilton with 61 RBIs.
Moak went onto UC where he pitched and even set the record for most saves. After being a Bearcat he was drafted in the 25th round of the 2001 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He spent three years in the minors and played one year of independent ball.
Seth Morris– Class of 1999
23 home runs and 100 RBIs for his career, Morris was not only a threat with the bat but also his arm. Bowling said he could have made this list not only as an outfielder but as a pitcher too.
Morris was drafted by the Twins out high school but he opted to go play at the University of Kentucky. Three years later he was drafted by the White Sox in the 21st round.
Morris played three years of pro ball making it as high as A.
Designated Hitter–
Nate Mahon– Class of 2003
“[Mahon’s] sophomore year was one of the best seasons I could ever remember,” said Bowling. Mahon hit .467 his sophomore year, .396 his junior year before taking a dip down to .255 his senior season.
“I got a call from the Cincinnati Enquirer his sophomore year, and they told me they were going to select Nate as the player of the year in southwest Ohio,” said Bowling. “All the local coaches complained about it because he was only a sophomore. So I got a call back a couple days later saying they were going with someone else.”
His sophomore year the Big Blue made it to the state semi finals, where Bowling recalls he hit two balls that would be gone at a normal high school field. But because they were playing at Clipper Stadium they were just doubles.
Mahon took over the helm of the Big Blue football program last year, and took them to their first playoff game in a decade.
There were no other players nominated
Badin Pitchers-
Joe Giuliano– Class of 1994
“Quite simply he was a dominant high school pitcher,” said former Badin high school coach, Mark Maus. Guiliano was a four year pitcher on the varsity squad who was committed to Ole Miss before signing with the Atlanta Braves in the 3rd round.
Maus recalls in 1993, when Giuliano was a junior, he faced Franklin High School in the District Championship. The Wildcats came into the game with two losses, were ranked in the state and had several Division I guys in the line up. Giuliano threw a three-hit shutout and struck out 14. Even more amazing was the fact that no ball left the infield.
Joe was thrown into the limelight as a freshman, as he earned a win in both the State Semis and State Championship out of the pen in 1991. Giuliano holds records in Badin’s unofficial record book in career wins (25), innings pitched (185) and strikeouts (285). He also is one of two players to strike out more than 100 batters in a single season.
Brion Treadway– Class of 1997
In 1996 the Rams were State Champions, Treadway was the leading arm during the run. He was 11-1 during that season, which still stands as a Badin record. Just like Giuliano before him, he earned a win in both the State Semis and State Championship.
Treadway graduated from and went on to play at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. From there he was drafted in the third round by the San Francisco Giants. He spent four years in the minors and played one year of independent ball.
Coach Maus recalls Treadway’s senior year the Rams played the two-time D1 defending state champion, Canton Glenoak, and he the right hander shut them down.
Brett McKinney– Class of 2009
The Rams made the state final four in 2008 and 2009, the key piece to that team was McKinney. In ‘09 he was selected as the D3 Player of the Year as he went 9-0 with a 2.29 Era on the hill, and hit .479 with five home runs as a hitter.
“His senior year was one of the best years that any Badin player has ever put together,” said Treadway who was an assistant coach of the Rams at time. “He got wins against all four GCL South schools (Moeller, St. X, Elder and LaSalle), which I’m guessing has never been done.”
“We Knew when he was on the mound, we were going to get a win,” said Treadway.
McKinney went on to play at Ohio State, where he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent six seasons in the minors making his way all the way up to AAA.
Chuck McKinney– Class of 1978
For anyone that was old enough to see both Brett and his dad, Chuck, pitch it is no secret where the talent comes from.
McKinney was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round of the 1978 draft. He spent three seasons in the minors, making it as high as A ball. Chuck went 4-1 as a senior for the Rams.
Just like the other players on this list that were before 1990, McKinney’s talent has been talked about like folklore throughout the years. To this day, McKinney is an assistant coach for the Badin Rams.
Ed Tobergte– Class of 1967
Tobergte was a graduate of the second ever Badin class. While there aren’t as many stats on him as a player the name and the legend has lived on through word of mouth alone. When alumni get together and talk about the greatest to ever take the mound, Tobergte is often one of the first named.
The right handed pitcher was drafted in the sixth round to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played two seasons of rookie ball before hanging up the cleats.
Sam Arminio– Class of 1990
“He didn’t have the same velocity that the other guys had but he knew how to pitch,” said Maus.
Arminio went on to play at Coker University, which is a D2 school in South Carolina. After playing for the Cobras, he signed to play in independent ball for four seasons and even earned a minor league contract in 1997.
Catcher-
Matt Marcum– Class of 1996
He was a three year varsity player, but caught his senior year. As a junior Marcum earned first team all-state as a designated hitter.
Marcum, a left handed hitter, went on to play at Bowling Green State University. The highest praise Coach Maus could give was that not only was Marcum a great player but he was a fantastic student and teammate too.
Brian Dirheimer– Class of 2005
Baserunners thought twice about running on the Rams with ‘Dir’ behind the plate. Dirheimer, like Maus, was a three starter for the Rams and was a major key on the 2005 state team, as he batted cleanup for most of the season. Brian batted .365 across his career, including batting .412 as a senior.
He went on to play baseball for Trevecca Nazarene, where he was an honorable mention All-American in NAIA.
Infielders–
TJ Nicthing– Class of 2013
The Rams unofficial all-time leader in runs (110), average (.461), hits (159) and RBI (95). The switch hitter was a rare four year starter for Badin and was front and center during two regional championship teams (2010 and 2013).
“TJ is the best hitter I’ve ever coached,” said current Badin coach Brion Treadway. “He came in as a freshman and led our team in hitting. In fact he led our team in hitting three out of the four years I was there.”
Nichting was a switch hitting middle infielder for the Rams, but after his time in kelly green he played for UNC Charlotte. From there he was drafted in the ninth round by the Baltimore Orioles. He has spent the last three seasons in the minors getting as high as AA.
Treadway recalls one moment above in Nichting’s career above the rest. In 2013, the Rams played CHCA in the Regional Semi-finals, facing off against future second round draft selection, Cameron Varga. Nichting told Treadway before the game that he was going to hit the first pitch of the game off the pitcher. When the first pitch was thrown, Nichting almost lived up to that as he missiled a line drive right up the middle.
Pete Spoerl– Class of 1978
On more than one occasion Pete Spoerl has been sighted as possibly being the greatest athlete to go through Badin High School. Spoerl was a shortstop, quarterback in football and played guard in basketball.
Spoerl played four years for the Xavier Musketeers. In 1987 Spoerl played for the USA fastpitch softball team in Indianapolis in the Pan American games– USA earned silver.
Drew Maus– Class of 2005
Maus was the vocal point of the offense during the 2005 State Runner Up team. Batting .480 as a senior, where he was selected as the GCL North’s player of the year. Maus played shortstop for three seasons. After Badin, Maus bounced around a couple of schools before winding up at Ouachita Baptist University where he was reunited with another Badin great, Drew Wurzelbacher. The Tigers finished second at the D2 College World Series in 2008.
As a junior Maus tore his ACL during basketball season, he opted to get surgery after the baseball season so that he could still play with a brace on. He batted .423 that season.
Darin Rieman– Class of 1986
Just like Tobergte for the pitchers, when alumni talk about the greatest hitter in Rams’ history Darin Rieman is one of the first names brought up. Rieman batted lead off for the 1984 State runner up. He played the left side of the infield and even got the start on the mound in the state final game– as a sophomore.
Rieman went on to play at the University of Kentucky, where his name is scattered throughout their all time record book. Most prominently, he played 212 games which ranks fourth all time for the Wildcats. He also was awarded the second most free passes in UK history.
Outfielders–
Jeff Rook– Class of 1996
If you go to Athens and visit Ohio University’s Bob Wren stadium you will find a wall featuring all the records that are held by various Bobcat ballplayers. Consistently number two in the power categories is three time MVP and Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt. Number one on those lists? Jeff Rook.
The right fielder was the 1996 D2 Ohio Player of the Year, as he clobbered 10 home runs. He was a three year varsity player. He might have been a four year guy, but he didn’t play baseball as a freshman.
“He was a man amongst boys,” said Coach Maus. “He was a flat out stud”
Maus remembers playing Middletown High School. Rook was at the plate with the bases loaded and the score tied. Legendary Middies coach Fred Nori came out to the mound. Maus couldn’t make out every word but he did hear Nori finish the meeting by saying, “Have some guts, throw the ball over the plate.”
The next pitch Rook sent the ball into orbit for a grand slam.
Brian Giesting– Class of 1993
“In my opinion, he was the best hitter I coached,” said Coach Maus. “He was just a natural hitter. I coached some dudes, but he was just a natural hitter.”
Giesting had a gorgeous left handed swing which earned him starting duties on the 1991 State Championship team as a sophomore. Giesting played in three state games, two a sophomore and one as a senior. In those games he went 8-10 with two doubles and three runs scored.
Alex Holderbach– Class of 2015
A three year starter for the Rams, Holderbach spent his sophomore and junior year in the infield before transitioning to the outfield. That ability to adapt to a new position carried on in college as he moved to catcher where he was a finalist for the Johnny Bench award his senior year.
“He was a phenomenal hitter and a tremendously hard worker,” said Treadway. “When he came up to the plate you knew good things were going to happen.”
He was drafted in the 16th round of the 2018 draft by the Houston Astros. He has spent the last two years in their system. Holderbach finished his high school career with over 100 hits and 80 runs scored.
Jim Tracy– Class of 1974
It seems remiss to not include the only Badin Ram to ever reach the MLB. Tracy initially was heading to Xavier University to play football, when they folded their football program he transferred to Marietta College. From there he was drafted in the fourth round by the Cubs. He eventually spent two seasons playing for the Loveable Losers playing in 185 games.
After his playing days he started managing. He took over for Davey Johnson as the manager for the Dodgers from 2001 to 2005. He spent two years at the helm of the Pirates and four years with the Colorado Rockies. In 2009 he was selected as the National League Manager of the Year.
Other Players Nominated: Zach Toener, Wally Gerbus, Corey VanNata, Pat Kreke, Drew Wurzelbacher, Jeff Smith, Dan Scheffel, Ted Shalloe, Zack Gray, Kyle Pfirrman
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