CHICAGO — Gainesville High rising senior Jonathan Gettys is one of nearly a dozen Georgia players who will participate in the eighth annual Under Armour All-America Baseball Game, which will be played at 4:05 p.m. at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday.
The game will be broadcast live on the MLB Network.
It won't be the first time Gettys, a potential first round pick in next year's MLB Draft, has pitched in a Major League park. Earlier this year he was invited by the New York Mets to pitch a session at Citi Field In Queens, N.Y.
"That was cool. It was a great stadium," Getty said.
Under Armour All-Americans, 39 players in all, are selected by a committee of Baseball Factory scouts and will compete in an American vs. National team match-up. The All-America Baseball Game is the culmination of a four-day premier baseball experience, highlighted by a formal workout for Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts and a homerun derby, all while under the tutelage of some of the game’s best players and coaches.
“The Under Armour All-America Baseball Game provides the world’s best high school baseball players with a premier opportunity to compete alongside tomorrow’s superstars in a Major League environment,” said Jim Bel Bruno, Senior Category Director, Baseball, Under Armour.
Gettys said Under Armour representatives came to watch him pitch and then invited him to the prestigious event.
"I was hoping they would ask and after they saw me pitch they did. I was pretty excited," Gettys said.
Gainesville High baseball coach Jeremy Kemp said Gettys, a standout left-handed pitcher, is a worthy choice for the event that features some of the nation’s best high school players.
“I may be biased but I feel he is one of the best pitchers in the nation,” Kemp said. “He works hard, he’s come a long way since his freshman year, and he’s very deserving of this honor.”
Gettys helped lead the Red Elephants to their first state finals appearance since 2002 this past season before losing in a thrilling three-game series against Greenbrier in Class AAAAA.
Under the format there are nine pitchers on each squad and every pitcher will get in one inning of work. Gettys said he has a dream scenario.
"Really, I'm just going to go up there and do the best I can," he said. "There are some great hitters that will be there. But, I would love to get three strikeouts. That would be cool. I'll probably start the first guy off with a fastball and see if he can hit it."
A potent hitter in his own right, Gettys said he asked officials if he could take part in the home run derby as well.
"They said it was for the position players only but it would be fun to see how I would do," he said.
The only drawback is that he will miss two days of school, which just got under way last week, to take part in the event... Well, maybe not a huge drawback.
"Yeah, I have to miss a couple of days, but it's worth it for sure," Gettys said. "There was no chance I was turning this down. I'm really looking forward to it."
