The Superstar

By: Connor Lenahan

It’s incredible to think that Cory Spangenberg was picked to number ten overall by the San Diego Padres three years ago. I remember excitedly watching the draft waiting to see the greatest baseball player that Abington Heights had ever seen get picked. Not long into the evening did AH get to claim its ties to the pro ranks. It would be a few more years until we would get to watch our native son button up a jersey in southern California.

Today was that day. Three years removed from the draft Cory Spangenberg made his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The news that he would be making the leap to the pros briefly caused excited chaos in my hometown. The news after he played today made similar waves.

Just getting there was enough. Donning a Padres uniform was more than enough to make this a great day. Thankfully, we got more. Cory flashed his defensive ability at third base by bare handing a ground ball and firing a rocket to Yasmani Grandal to get Aaron Hill out. This was a sheer delight. A highlight to hang one’s hat on is not a commodity.

That was not it.

The Padres won 3-1 against the Diamondbacks today. Cory went 1-4 with 2 RBI. That means Cory was directly responsible for winning a professional baseball game.

So not only does Abington Heights get to watch it’s superstar play, but we get to watch a great guy go out and immediately impact the team. This is a great day. On the behalf of Waverly, Clarks Summit, and Scranton – we are proud.