RBI Sports Academy clinic a big hit

MORRIS – A group of kids 11 years old and younger got the opportunity Saturday to learn about baseball from some of the best.

Former major leaguers Scott Spiezio of Morris, who played for the Oakland A’s, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals, and Corky Miller, who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox, were on hand at RBI Sports Academy, 824 Liberty St. in Morris, to help proprietor Jake Roberts conduct a two-hour clinic.

“We had between 25 and 30 kids at the clinic,” Roberts said. “It couldn’t have gone better. Scott and Corky were great with the kids, and the kids loved having them there.”

Spiezio was a big attraction, especially when he brought out the World Series rings he won as a member of the Angels in 2002 and the Cardinals in 2006. Spiezio and his father, Ed, are the only father-son combination to win a World Series ring with the same organization (Ed has a ring from the Cardinals for both the 1964 and 1967 seasons) and are the only father-son combination to have two more rings each.

“The kids liked the rings,” Spiezio laughed. “They noticed how big and heavy they are.”

Roberts pointed out that they kept the clinic small enough to be compliant with COVID-19 guidelines and that only the players were allowed in the building during the clinic.

“We did what we had to do to keep everyone safe,” he said. “We do that all the time with our camps and lessons. The kids are the only ones allowed in the building. The parents can stay and wait, but they have to wait outside in their cars.

“The kids really like coming here. It gives them a place to come and do something during this time when they are forced to be at home most of the time.”

Roberts said that any interested parties can visit the website at rbisportsacademy.com to get information on lessons, teams or clinics.

“We have teams ranging from 10U to 18U,” he said. “But we do offer lessons to players of any age.”

During Saturday’s clinic, Spiezio, Miller and Roberts broke the players into groups, with Spiezio taking the outfielders, Roberts taking the infielders and Miller taking the catchers, to go through fielding drills. The groups then switched, and Spiezio took the infielders and Roberts the outfielders. Then there were some 10-minute hitting sessions with each coach taking a group of kids into the batting cages.

“It was a great time,” Spiezio said, noting that he also offers private hitting lessons at his own facility. “I had gotten to know Corky Miller when I was managing a team and he was managing another in the City of Champions Cup in Joliet last summer. This clinic went from five kids to 25 to 30 kids pretty quick, so we just figured out how we were going to do it and we had a lot of fun with it.

“It was nice to be back around the game of baseball, especially around the young kids like that. It reminded me of why I love the game. The kids asked some crazy questions, but that made it fun.”

Spiezio said that he talked to the group about setting goals and working to achieve them.

“I told them that I am proof that someone from the little town of Morris can make it to the big leagues,” he said. “I told them that I had set my goal to be a major league player and what I did to accomplish those goals. Setting up hitting stations in my parents’ basement when I was a kid. Shoveling snow in the driveway so I could throw a ball against the garage door and field it coming back to me. Having my dad pitch to me. Running in the sand at the strip mines that were by my house. Just doing whatever I could think of to get better.

“I told them how important it was to hit off a tee. All the great hitters do it. It might be boring at times, but if you can’t hit a ball off a tee, how are you going to hit one that’s moving at about 95 miles an hour? It was all fun, though. I saw some swings that were really good and some that need some work, but that’s why they were there – to work and get better. I was happy to help out.”