‘Take me out to the ballgame!” If you only could. While most of us baseball fans are moaning that we can’t see our favorite teams in action live or on TV, we must remember the players themselves who are not working right now. 

I don’t refer to the big leaguers, who are hunkering down in comfort, but those minor league players who were looking forward to this season to show their stuff.

Take, for example, Riverside resident Will Kincanon, who played baseball at Riverside-Brookfield High School where his skills were recognized by pro scouts and colleges alike. 

Choosing to attend college, he played at Indiana State University, leaving in his junior year to enter the Major League draft. In 2017, in the 11th round, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. 

The rookie was sent to Great Falls, Montana, and worked his way up in 2019 to the roster of the Double-A Birmingham Barons. Sound familiar? They once had a man named Michael Jordan on their roster.

Kincanon was looking forward to this season after having a successful 2019. The right-handed pitcher (he bats left-handed) was throwing balls clocked at 97 mph.

So what does a player do as he waits for his season starts up? He maintains a strict schedule of training six days a week, including cardio and whatever else works for him. While there are not many options for him to do formal training, but he keeps in touch with the team, particularly his pitching coach, and looks forward to what’s coming next.

Being home, he realizes how much he appreciates the training and support he received while in high school. Kincanon says he is thankful for his family and friends for all their support and everything that is Riverside.

In the meantime, he will wait to see what happens next, and when the call comes he will be ready. He hopes to hear something in mid-June and may be going back to Arizona for training camp.

I saw Will tossing the ball with his dad, Bill, in the park when he was a little boy, and I watched him pitch some good games while at RB. I look forward to continue following his career with the Sox. I may even switch, when Will is playing, to being a Sox fan, although I bleed Cubbie blue.

Let’s play ball! Nothing but strikes, Will.