Baseball Player Tannahill Produces for the Cougars

Back in 1986, I had the assignment of writing about the baseball team as they marched toward a division championship.

I spent quite a few days watching them play at . Although a quaint field, it did have its drawbacks.

The dirt infield was hard, and often played victim to sudden gusts of wind. The sun glared on the spectators in the first base bleachers, until it disappeared behind the old school that sat just beyond the left field fence. 

On the field, the catcher that year was Kevin Tannahill, a talented athlete I wrote about a story about. He played three sports and did so very well.

Fast forward to the 2011 Cougar team, which I went to watch play a few weeks ago. The dirt infield was gone, replaced by neatly manicured grass. The old school was also gone, replaced by a new earthquake-safer building. The catcher? To my amazement, his name was Tannahill.

That’s right. Behind the mask and shin guards was Kyle Tannahill, Kevin’s son. 
Much like his dad, he's taking a big role with the Cougars as the team makes a run at a league championship. They finished the Bay Shore Athletic League schedule with a 15-1 record and are the No. 1 seed going into the league playoffs, which begin Wednesday.

The Cougars (18-5 overall) will host fourth place St. Josephs with the winner playing in the finals Friday for an automatic bid into the North Coast Championships.

“Kyle is like a coach on the field,” said Albany coach Jim Giblin. “He knows the situations and he knows what we will be doing. He has a high baseball I.Q. It’s a position I don’t have to worry about. I know I can call any pitch at any time.”

Tannahill, a junior, is in his first full season as the Albany catcher. He was trying to make the team last year as a middle infielder when Giblin told him he needed a back-up catcher midway through the season. Since he had often played that position growing up, Tannahill agreed.

This year, he came in as the No. 1 guy on a talent-laden team, and was given a simple game plan by his coach.

“He said he needed me to catch and block the balls and anything else would be a bonus,” Tannahill said. “I wanted to do what it took to help the team, which was play defense. We have nine seniors on this team. I just want to do the little things and let them have the glory.”

He not only caught and blocked the ball, but he took charge on the field. According to Giblin, the catcher has no problem telling the pitchers what they are doing wrong.

“Last year being the back up, I had bullpen duties,” Tannahill said. “I got to see how they pitched, their mechanics and their flaws, so I have confidence when we are out there on the field.”

Tannahill did exactly what Giblin wanted him to do, and that is to take care of the little things. Hitting near the bottom of the order, he bunted runners over and played situational baseball. After doing that the first half of the season, his low batting average started to take a toll on him. So much so, that he did something about it.

“I was mad that I wasn’t hitting well and situations changed because I was leading off innings a lot more, so I changed my approach,” Tannahill said. “I started working on things with Myles (Rabin, a teammate) and he gave me some pointers. I worked on my mechanics and found I wasn't staying back (in my swing).”

The extra work turned Tannahill into an offensive threat. During a six-game stretch in the middle of league play, he went 10-for-18,  hitting in all six games and raising his average near the .300 mark while becoming a key part of the Cougar run.

"I think the season has gone a little better than I expected," Tannahill said. "Playing on so many travel leagues with a lot of competition helped get me ready. Also my dad has coached all the teams I have been on and has showed me a lot about being a catcher."

Although he sees himself as a middle infielder in baseball beyond high school, he and his Cougar teammates eagerly await a chance to see what they can do in the Division III North Coast Section playoffs.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.