May 5: Hamilton Playing Alongside His Boyhood Hero

Veteran third baseman Vince Harrison just smiled when it was suggested he would have a little more pressure on him this season.

“Yeah,” said Harrison. “I’ll have to be good this year.”

The source of the added pressure was sitting across the clubhouse yesterday wearing a No. 11 Goldeyes batting practice jersey. Ever since he was a kid, Jeremy Hamilton looked up to Vince Harrison. Now they’re teammates.

“I have literally known Vince for my entire life,” said Hamilton proudly. “I used to spend entire summers at his house. I was best friends with Vince’s little brother Josh. I’d be at Vince’s house all the time.

“Vince was my idol. He was a three-sport star in Cincinnati and everyone knew him. He was a great athlete and I wanted to be just like him.

“He even taught me in school. He was a substitute teacher at my high school and I was often in his class. It was hard, too, because we all called him ‘V-Hay’ and I’d put my hand up in class and start by saying ‘Hey, V-H... I mean Mr. Harrison.’ It was hard.”

It shouldn’t be hard this year. At least, not as long as the 23-year-old Hamilton has a good pre-season and earns a spot on the team.

While Harrison, 30, will start at third and probably bat clean-up, Hamilton, a young man with plenty of pop in his bat, will have to impress manager Rick Forney and coaches Tom Vaeth and Rudy Arias with both his skills and his work ethic.

Winnipeg has a great veteran team this year and Hamilton’s spot is not guaranteed. Training camp and the pre-season schedule will either be his best friend or his worst enemy.

In the meantime, he’s approaching the 2010 Northern League season with the right attitude.

“I just want to come in here and play good baseball,” Hamilton said. “I know I’m on a team with a lot of experience and I expect to learn a lot. I guess my goal is play good baseball and really learn how to play the game right.”

It’s a nice goal, but if Jeremy Hamilton has been around Vince Harrison all of his life, he probably already knows how to play the game right.