CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – If you have followed the Perfect Game World
Wood Bat tournaments over the years, you would notice Chain Baseball is missing
from 16u event. The long-standing organization, led by Andy Burress decided to
make a move, merging with the 5 Star Tigers to create 5 Star National.
“Well, Mr. Buddy Myers started Chain Baseball back in 1985.
Great man, passed away in 2014, and when he passed away, there were other people
that got to use the name of Chain Baseball. We had done a lot, won two National
Championships with Chain, and because of the other people that got to use the name,
we just wanted to separate ourselves,” Burress said. “That’s the biggest thing
for us. We wanted to separate ourselves from what some of the other guys
associated with Chain Baseball were doing, we merged with the Jacksonville
group that already had a good name in the Five Star name, it’s Five Star
Tigers, and on the youth side, already had a lot of the logos and stuff done,
so it was for us a good separation.”
Burress goes way back with Chain Baseball, having played
there as an amateur and coming back as a coach in 2007 after a stint in the
Minor Leagues. Although he is sad to see his time with the Chain name end, he
said that the move was best for the organization. He did not make the decision
over night, either, having consulted with former players and coaches on some of
the changes that were being made.
“You always wonder when you have a name change, because we
had created such a good brand with Chain Baseball and were nationally known, we
felt like maybe we were going to have some hurdles when we changed that name,
but really it’s been all good,” Burress said. “Nothing negative has come of it.”
Part of that transition has been the people that he has
built relationships with over his time as a coach. People recognize the 5 Star
name, and have seemed to take hold of it quickly. The organization is
continuing to grow, and has followed a similar model in regard to the personnel
as in the past.
“For me, I think we have probably more than anything, what I’ve
always tried to do is find the right people, find the right men or coaches,”
Burress said. “The people involved, we have some really good guys in North
Carolina now, Paul Brannon. Some really good guys down in Florida that are
associated with the program and for us, that’s more than anything is what I’ve
looked for over the course of, started this in ’02 and 15 years later build it
into something that we’re proud of.”
The success that Chain had in addition to the development reputation
that Burress has built over his time in travel baseball has allowed them to
bring in some of the best names in the country. Burress said that he focuses on
developing kids from a young age, rather than just bring in kids who are
already committed. This past year, Chain had two high-round draft picks in D.L.
Hall and Cole Brannen, and have caught the eyes of talent in states other than
Georgia and Florida.
“I think people come up to us and say ‘Hey, how’d you get
this guy from West Virginia? How’d you get this guy from Texas? How’d you get
this guy from California?’ What it’s become is guys reaching out to us and say ‘Hey,
we like how you do things, we want to be a part of what you’re doing,” Burress
said.
One of those players is the No. 32 player in the class of
2019, Isaiah Bennett. The 16-year-old is a native of Fayetteville, N.C., and
although he could have played in his home state, he decided to play with
Burress’ squad after he and his father watched them play a game in the fall.
“One of my boys, Christian Cairo, he’s an LSU commit. He
plays middle infield and he was on my team in the USA tournament down in
Florida and he was telling me about his team,” Bennett said. “I kind of need a
new little view of everything because I used to play for my dad since I was
really little, and I was like ‘I kind of want a new way, see something
different and get me higher exposure,’ and he told me Andy does it the best
way, so I came and joined, they were Chain at the time, so I came and joined 5
Star.”
The 6-foot, 170-pound righty has been clocked up to 91 mph
on the mound. He has thrown hard for his age for a few years now, sitting
between 83-86 mph, but really took a step forward over this past year after
ramping up his arm care exercises, allowing him to consistently sit in the
high-80s to low-90s. He is currently committed to the University of North
Carolina and hopes to continue his development as a pitcher as a Tar Heel.
“Coach [Robert] Woodard, he was a big reason. He’s
transformed pitchers into big league ball players and I really wanted to do
that,” Bennett said. “That’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was little was
be a big league pitcher, so I feel like he was the best one out there for me and
I wanted to stick with him.”
Another top-tier player is Niceville, Fla., native Rece
Hinds. The No. 2 ranked player in the class of 2019 had been with Chain
Baseball since the fall of 2015 and said that Burress has really helped him
grow as a player in addition to helping him to commit to Louisiana State
University.
“Andy’s done everything I’ve wanted him to do,” Hinds said. “He’s
the best coach out here and being with these teammates, it’s fun. I’ve been
going on visits because of him, got to where I’m at right now because of him with
college and stuff.”
The bat is one of the highly regarded tools of the shortstop,
possessing a 92 mph exit velocity, while also ranking in the top percentiles in
barrel speed, impact momentum and max acceleration as measured by Diamond
Kinetics. With the numbers aside, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Hinds can really play
and shows a knack for many aspects of the game.
“Honestly, the Tournament of Stars that we went to last week
made me know where I’m at as a ball player,” Hinds said. “Playing up one age
group and playing against the best players in the country.”
Both players are highly-regarded by Burress, and he praises their
abilities both on and off the field, raving about how good each is as a
teammate.
“You couldn’t ask for two better kids on the field, in the
dugout, no matter what happens, those guys are two of our leaders also,” Burress
said.
The two sparked the offense in a 6-3 win over Legends Baseball
Club 16u on Monday morning, as they scored two runs apiece. Bennett is now
4-for-10 with two RBIs and two stolen bases, while Hinds is 3-for-8 with a
triple and an RBI. On the mound for 5 Star against the Legends was Luke Lesch
who gave up one unearned run and three hits, while striking out four over five
innings of work.
“For us, kids at 16 years old playing a full game, playing
seven games in five days is really tough. It’s one of those things that we have
to be able to play start to finish,” Burress said. “Allowing them to be able to
understand the importance of playing a game start to finish.”
The team has successfully finished four games, off to a 4-0
start to the tournament which has them in the lead in their pool with two games
left to play. On their tail is Stix Baseball at 4-1 and the East Cobb Sox 16s
at 3-1, the former having been beaten 5-0 by 5 Star. With a playoff spot in
reach, the team is looking to give Burress a WWBA win under the new 5 Star
name.