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Overall, this year for Foothill High junior baseball player George Schmitt Jr. has been a case of this being his world and we’re all just living in it.
Through 14 games, the left-handed batter is hitting .438 in the season. Schmitt has also scored 12 runs, walked eight times, drove in 15 runs and jacked three home runs.
He’s been on the college radar since before high school when, as a member of the Tri-Valley Babe Ruth all-star team the summer after he graduated from eighth grade, he was one of the key players for a team that won the Babe Ruth World Series.
This past week he took care of his college plans when he was offered and accepted a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley.
After another year of being a Falcon, Schmitt will be a Bear.
“It feels great,” Schmitt said of committing to Cal. “It’s still a year away, but it’s amazing.”
Cal had Schmitt in their sites right away.
“The first day recruiting opened, Cal was the first to reach out,” Schmitt explained. “They had me over for a camp. We took a tour of the school, had a workout and played a game. We also had a tour of the facility, then all went to a Cal football game.”
Head coach Mike Neu’s Bears are 15-11 overall and 6-5 in conference play.
With Cal now a member of the Atlantic Coach Conference, it was a major attraction for Schmitt. His home games are 30 minutes from home, but the road games — as well as home conference games — bring national exposure.
“Playing in a caliber league like the ACC is huge,” Schmitt said.
In addition, going to a school like Cal is a heck of an accomplishment scholastically.
“I feel like Cal is another step in my education,” Schmitt said.
And as mentioned above, it’s not far from Pleasanton.
“That was weighted as well,” Schmitt said of the proximity. “I still feel like I am going away to college — it’s far enough away — but it’s still close enough that I can go home if I need something.”
As for now, it’s back to business at Foothill.
The Falcons are 9-3 overall and 2-2 in the competitive East Bay Athletic League. In their most recent game, the Falcons fell 5-4 to De La Salle after leading 4-0.
Granada is the defending CIF Northern California champion and is off to a 4-0 start in the EBAL, including a 6-2 win over De La Salle, a team that went to the CIF NorCal semifinals last season.
“Granada is a tough team,” Schmitt said. “We’ve had a good start to the season, and I feel any team in the league is beatable. We’re a really connected team.”
The last remaining question is: Will Schmitt be suiting up for the Foothill football team. He is one of the top players for the Falcons, a two-way player that impacts both sides of the ball.
He had a Jones fracture — in the foot — in a game against Dougherty Valley. He did it in the first half but stayed in the game and scored a touchdown in the third quarter before coming out of the game.
“I will have to have that conversation with the Cal coaches,” Schmitt said.
Next up in the Big Picture
Check back next week in the Big Picture for previews of the local spring break baseball and softball tournaments.
For baseball it will be the playing of the Crown Classic, with softball bringing the annual Livermore Stampede, arguably the best high school softball tournament in Northern California.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation.
