Los Gatos Whiz Kid of the Week Hunter Bigge

Hunter Bigge, age 12

School: Fisher Middle School

Accomplishment: Hunter leads the Los Gatos Little League major division with 37 hits, 30 runs scored, a .692 batting average, and the most strikeouts. He is second with eight home-runs, and led his team, the Tigers, to a 10-8 record in league play during the regular season.

Key to Awesomeness: Hunter Bigge (also known as “Bear”) is a kid who eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. He plays on not one, not two, but three teams. Along with playing for the Tigers' majors team, Hunter also plays for the Los Gatos Yellow Jackets and Lamorinda Diablos—both travel teams. Whether pitching, catching, playing first, short stop or third base, this kid brings it.

Not surprisingly, being a part of three teams means a lot of practices and games. Typically Hunter averages three games between Friday-Sunday, but his record was nine games in one weekend.

Here's how Hunter's mom, Heidi Bigge, describes it. She's the ultimate baseball mom who, in addition to washing all those grass-stained uniforms, also keeps score and acts as team business manager. 

“Literally, Hunter will leave a Little League game, and we'll rush straight out to Twin Creeks to play for the Yellow Jackets. He changes clothes in the car and wolfs down a Subway sandwich on the way.” 

Hunter, who has been playing baseball since he was 5, munches trail mix (peanuts, M&M's and raisins) to keep up his strength during games. His favorite major league player is Tim Lincecum. Hunter says it's a toss-up between his love of pitching and hitting, but if he had to choose, he'd pick hitting. This choice isn't surprising considering his success as a slugger. When asked to describe the feeling of crushing a home run, Hunter says, “I usually hear everybody yelling and I feel really happy.”

In February, the Diablos invited Hunter to join their select travel team, which competes in games and tournaments. The team is ranked No. 1 in California and No. 5 in the U.S.

On Friday, Hunter will travel to the Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame with his fellow Diablo teammates. The boys will stay in dorms on campus with their coaches and play in an invitational championship youth tournament with other 12-year-olds from around the country in the Cooperstown Dreams Park. 

Hunter's success at such a young age does not surprise his Los Gatos Yellow Jackets coach, Nate Anderson, a former Colorado Rockies player and Leigh High School baseball coach.

“We were taking batting practice recently, and Hunter was hitting line drives as effortlessly as a lot of the high school guys I work with," Anderson said. "I thought, ‘that's pretty impressive.'”  

“I've never coached anyone as cerebral as Hunter. He's pretty much a coach on the field. He's called our team our entire game, every game, whether he's been catching or pitching.  That kind of mental fortitude is rare with 12-year-olds.”

Hunter's involvement with the sport will ramp up even more this summer. In July he'll travel to Memphis with the Diablos to play in the NABF National Championship. The following week, Hunter will travel with the team to Orlando to play at the Elite World Series.

Upon his return, he will try out for the USA National Team.

Better stock up on the trail mix now, Bear.