Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
A shoulder injury caused him to miss his final season of high school football, but for Midland senior outfielder Alex Rapanos, missing out on the gridiron resulted in a chance to play college baseball for Michigan State University.
Rapanos suffered a right shoulder injury during his junior season of football which required him to have surgery in February 2011.
“With the contact in football and my shoulder still being pretty fragile, I decided it would be better to take football off,” Rapanos said. “It would be too risky to play quarterback with that kind of injury.”
However, when he signed to play for MSU in November, the sacrifice became well worth it.
“They saw me as the player that I saw myself as, a guy that can play a lot of positions and hit the ball,” Rapanos said of becoming a Spartan. “Some of the other colleges wanted me to play just one position. That, and they have the type of coaches I want to play for, and [I like] where the program is heading. They won the Big 10 last year. It just seems like they’re heading in the right direction.”
Though he was able to return to the baseball field as a designated hitter last May, the four-year varsity player is still fighting his way back to full strength.
“Usually, it’s a two-year recovery period to get from the day you have surgery to where you were before,” said Rapanos, who has been playing left field this season. “Right now, I am playing, but I am definitely not completely back yet. It was a lot more frustrating last year than this year; I can actually go to the outfield and throw people out now.”
Through 37 plate appearances this year, Rapanos has a .655 batting average and has scored 13 runs.
“He is successful because he has God-given abilities, he has worked hard on his game, has a passion for the game, and strives to play at the highest level,” tenth-year Midland head coach Eric Albright said. “Other players look to him to be a leader in the dugout, in our lineup, and after the ball game. In many ways, he sets the tone for our ball club. He will have a good career [at MSU] because he is coachable and takes nothing for granted.”
The Chemics went 22-11 last year and claimed a district championship. So far in 2012, they are 11-1, and if Rapanos has anything to say about it, they could be headed for even bigger things.
“We have a lot of people back and our whole pitching staff,” he said. “Our lineup is extremely deep and our junior pitchers are stepping up, too. We have good team chemistry; it’s been a fun season so far.”
Though he’s excited to get his career as a Spartan started, Rapanos isn’t quite ready to head to East Lansing yet.
“That’s kind of hard to think about; I’m really focused on the high school season,” he said. “I want to play a lot [at MSU.] By the end of my time there, I want to be good enough to get drafted and play professional somewhere. I just want to win a lot, win a Big Ten championship, and have a good career there.”