For some sportsmen like Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who won his fourth Ballon d’Or award on Monday night to be crowned the world’s best footballer, coaches and teammates already knew at the tender age of 10 that he was destined for great things.
But, for Grassy Park’s very own Michael Scritten, 25, his hopes of becoming a professional soccer player ended before it got started, when he broke his ankle while kicking ball with friends.
However, since then, he dedicated his playing time to the diamond where he flourished at shortstop.
Scritten’s performances secured him a spot in the Western Province under-16, under-18 and under-23 team, respectively.
The former Grassy Park High School pupil was awarded the Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the under-23 national championships.
While Scritten bossed at first base for most of his playing days, his coaches and teammates always believed that he had a devastating right arm that should be winning matches from the mound.
And, he got his first taste on the mound at the age of 20.
“I enjoyed being an infield player but was always told I had a strong arm. Everyone thought I should pitch but I never saw myself as a pitcher,” said Scritten.
“Until one day, my coach at Crusaders thought of giving me a go on the mound against Durbanville.
“I was thrown into the deep end because the bases were loaded.
“That didn’t go well at all. In fact, that season didn’t end well for me and I thought I’ll never go back to the mound,” he said.
A young Scitten first walked onto the diamond at the age of eight for Crusaders Baseball Club and hung up his soccer boots.
“I was only 16 years old when Crusaders handed me my Major League debut. I was so nervous and remember facing SA pitcher, Carl Michaels, in my first match.
“Eventually, I earned a permanent spot in the first team as a shortstop,” he said.
“As a kid I played soccer for Crusaders and didn’t know a thing about baseball. But when I broke my ankle, that’s when I thought I’d never play again.
“At the time, my two cousins played baseball and they always asked me to join and I always refused.
“One day I just decided to give it a try at a training session, and I never looked back,” he said.
Scritten left his childhood club and joined VOB two seasons ago. There, he was moved to third base before being molded into the star pitcher he is today.
“The coaches thought I’d do better at third base and I enjoyed the switch,” said Scritten.
“Again, I was asked to pitch and never liked the idea, but thought what do I have to lose and went for it.
“This time, things went much better and everything fell into place and I was made starting pitcher,” he said.
On Saturday, VOB lost 3-2 against the high-flying Westridge Yankees. Scritten was on fire from the mound to keep Yankees scoreless for the opening seven frames, until his pitch count was done.
The following day they played Maitland and lost 13-3.
“It was always going to be a tough game because the Yanks are having a great run. We went into the game with a positive mindset that we will fight until the end,” said Scritten.
“Going into the sixth frame we thought the game could be ours and were ready to wrap it up. We went up 2-0 into the seventh frame and that’s also when my pitch count ran up.
“Josh Rich stepped up and he did a great job, but the Yanks capitalised to score three quick runs.
“We should have done better with the opportunities we had.
“I remember in the eighth frame, we had a runner on third base, no outs, with a game tying run – but we couldn’t bring it in,” he said.
VOB are in fifth position on the Major League log and are experiencing a dip in form.
Last week, they lost 12-7 against third placed Athlone A’s and will look to turn things around against last season’s champions, Bothasig, on Saturday before going into the break.
“It’s been a bumpy first half to the season but I think we’ve done well considering we have a lot of young players and new faces in the squad,” said Scritten.
“I think we just need to find our rhythm to click as a team. During the first round, we’ve won the likes of Athlone A’s and Durbanville who are no pushover.
“That shows we have quality in the side and have the potential to be at the top,” he said.
