Wesley de Jong first picked up a baseball with the encouragement of his parents, and he never looked back.
“Footy and cricket was finished, baseball was the next best thing. Mum and dad both played baseball and softball,” Wesley said. “For some reason it just clicked, and I haven’t had a year off since I was five. Love at first sight I reckon.”
Ready to Win
The 23-year-old Werribee Giants pitcher confirms he’s in the game for the long haul and is prepared to showcase his skills every week, especially as his team makes a run for the playoffs in the 2019/20 VSBL Division 2 season.
Wesley’s VSBL success is backed up by a long history of dedication to the sport. Some of his greatest achievements include playing for Victoria and traveling with fellow Aussies to play in the U.S. But by far his most prestigious accomplishment was when he was selected to play college ball in America, an experience that taught him a lot about the game and helps him to this day.
Wesley lived in North Dakota for two years as he attended Williston State College, and he had the time of his life. “One of my friends who plays for Geelong, he was over there a year before me, so we tried to network a little bit and put in a good word. I got in contact with the coach and it led from there,” Wesley said. “I was in North Dakota which was very remote and cold so that was hard, but we had some unreal facilities.”
Taking a lot away from his college experience, Wesley is prepared for whatever happens out on the field every week. He’s supported his beloved Giants as they’ve put together a stellar season campaign so far, securing a 15-5 record to sit in second place with six games to go. Even so, it hasn’t been without some challenges as Werribee faces some new teams and players in the Division 2 mix.
“Baseball is a sport where you need to sort of switch on and off between pitches or between innings,” Wesley said. “The hard part is both meeting new people and playing against people you know really well.”
Focus on Finals
Wesley has adjusted to the competition, keeping a positive attitude out on the field, even when Werribee has faced some close calls. Six of their games have been decided by one run, with four of those turning into victories. Still, a win is a win for Werribee as Wesley and his teammates look to get back to grand final glory.
“I think we’ve made seven of the last eight finals series, but we couldn’t get that one step further,” Wesley said. “So if we could close out the year with a premiership and hopefully move onto Division 1, it will be a big step.”
Wesley is vocal about his goals for the season, and he’s determined to prove himself. “I’d love to win the league pitching award,” Wesley said. “I’ve been up there the last couple of years but can’t seem to grasp it. Josh Lee, my other teammate, he’s won it and so have a couple of the other boys, so it’ll be good to get one back on them.”
The pitcher has thrown in thirteen of Werribee’s games so far this season for a total of 70.1 innings including a couple of complete games. He has an ERA of 2.56 with six wins, one loss and a save, as well as 48 strikeouts overall. His season-best game came against Preston in round six when he pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just four hits with 10 strikeouts.
“I think my pitching has gotten a lot better, especially from last winter. Year in, year out I think there’s been minor improvements,” Wesley said.
A Warm Werribee Welcome
It’s that slow yet steady progress that has allowed Wesley to continue his successful baseball career over the past 18 years. He says he’s thankful for the comradery around the club, as well as Werribee’s desire to see the best of their players unleashed on the diamond.
“For us, we’ve had a pretty core group of guys since we’ve all played juniors,” Wesley said. “We’ve known each other and played together for 10 years so we can bounce off each other on and off the field. There’s no cliques or anything like that so I think that really helps us win more games than we lose.”
While there’s other sports out there that he likes, nothing compares to baseball. “I thought about going back to footy and cricket just to try for something different, but I can’t seem to find a way to do it so I just jeep rocking up every week,” Wesley said. “The baseball community is unreal and full of great people which keeps you around for the long haul.”
De Jong credits the club’s welcoming members as one of the main reasons why he has stayed around for so long, and has no plans of leaving anytime soon. Besides, he also wants to support Werribee as the Division 2 firsts look to prove where they belong.
For the Giants, it’s important to build on their special team environment, which will give them an edge against highly competitive opponents, particularly if they make finals and have to face added pressure. Wesley is ready for it though. “It’s a big moment to move forward from just your regular season game and make the finals on a big ground, as there’s plenty of people watching,” Wesley said. “Some people can handle it, some people can’t. It’s just about trying to meet in the middle and have everyone execute what they need to do at the time.”
That’s the recipe Werribee will be looking to follow in the coming weeks as there’s just six regular season rounds to go. Thanks to a strong start, Werribee is in fine form heading toward the finish line, and Wesley hopes that the Giants can keep up the pace if they do make finals.
“Getting off to a good start is massive. I mean, if you win game one, you go in happy and ready to go in game two,” Wesley said. “But if you lose, you’re on the backfoot, really having to work hard to get the next two knowing that you’ve already lost one. Game one is definitely the most important I think.”
With a bright future ahead of him, regardless of what the rest of this season has in store, Wesley hopes to see more people give his favourite sport a try.
“Give it a crack. You might not know a whole lot about it, it’s a pretty intricate sport. The people, whether it be presidents of clubs or parents of kids or players, make it a really tight-knit community,” Wesley added. “I think that helps our sport grow and we’re seeing it get bigger and bigger.”