Baseball Standout Metzger Named To Rockville HS Hall Of Fame

VERNON – Left-handed power pitcher Jason Metzger (Class of 2000), a winner of 21 games in a three-year varsity career who helped pitch and hit Rockville High School to its first state baseball championship as a senior, is the first announced member of the eight-person RHS Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

RHSA Hall of Fame Committee chairman Scott Smith made the announcement late last week.

Also a first baseman, Metzger helped the Rams to a three-year varsity record of 55-14 from 1998 to 2000, three state tournament appearances, their first two outright CCC-East titles and two appearances in the state championship game.

With Metzger, RHS was ranked as high as No. 2 in the state in 1999 and ended up as the No. 1 rank in the final poll of 2000 after winning the Class L state title in a 5-4, over No. 7 Berlin.

The Eighth RHS Hall of Fame Social and Induction Ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 19 at the high school. A 1 p.m. social will be followed by the 2 p.m. ceremonies. Tickets are priced at $20 and can be reserved by contacting Scott Smith at smithsc33sbcglobal.net or at 860-604-6618.

Metzger becomes the second RHS Hall of Famer from the Class of 2000, following former baseball teammate and charter inductee Mike Leonard, a two-sport athlete and starting catcher on the 2000 state title baseball team.

An individual who welcomed pressure situations, Metzger either started or relieved in nine of 10 state tournament games in his career (including all five as a junior), winning all four of his tournament decisions in his final two seasons.

In 184 career innings, Metzger was 21-4 with a 2.05 ERA, striking out 212 (10.4 per game) and walking only 49. Metzger won the last 11 decisions of his career, winning eight games as both a junior and senior.

With the 1-2 left-handed pitching punch of Metzger and Matt Schumey, and battery mate Leonard — all seniors — the Rams compiled a combined overall record of 41-7 in 1999 and 2000, including 25-3 when they won consecutive CCC East titles to break the stranglehold of East Hartford.

As a senior, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Metzger was selected to the Hartford Courant and Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) All-State teams, was an honorable mention choice to the USA Today Player-of-the-Year list, and was named to compete in the CHSCA Senior All-Star Game and the Connecticut-Massachusetts All-Star Game.

As a senior on the state title team, he was 8-0 with a 1.08 ERA and batted .378 with 22 RBI and 18 runs. That year, he had 80 strikeouts in 65 innings, an average of 11.1 per game. Metzger struck out 10 or more batters five times in 2000, including 14 in a six-inning, three-hit 11-1 CCC East win over Fermi at Henry Park in his first start of the season. In his next start, he no-hit Simsbury, 7-0, striking out 10. In late April of that year, Metzger tossed a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 2-1 home win over perennial CCC East champion East Hartford that kept the Rams unbeaten both overall (9-0) and in the conference (6-0).

Academically, Metzger was a three-time Hartford Courant All-Academic and three-time CCC All-Academic qualifier as a high honors student, and member of the National Honor Society. As a senior, he was presented the John Ashe Memorial Award which recognizes character and leadership ability.

Metzger accepted a Division I scholarship upon graduation and appeared in 81 career games in four seasons at the UNCG and played two summers in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League (winning a championship with Orleans) before being drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 23rd round of the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft.

Metzger holds a B.S. Degree in Exercise and Sports Science and an MBA from UNCG and is employed by HanesBrands, Inc. as a Senior Manager of Corporate Accounting. Jason, his wife Dr. Salem Metzger, and their two children, Griffin and Sloan, reside in Greensboro, NC. He continues to share his passion for sports as a volunteer with local youth athletics.