At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, with good hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes and some natural athletic ability, Kyle Pearson already possessed a lot of what it took to hit a baseball.
Mix in a happy-go-lucky mental approach at the plate, and the 21-year-old outfielder for the Kelowna Falcons has never swung the bat with more confidence or with better results than in 2012.
“I have to credit my coach back home in Louisiana who has just been telling me to relax and have fun up there,” said Pearson, 21, a native of Stonewall, LA.
“He said I should have my heart at 60 beats a minutes, be nice and calm up there, there’s no need to tense up, just stay loose. I think that’s a big reason I’ve had a pretty good year hitting the baseball.”
As a junior this spring at LSU-Shreveport, Pearson terrorized opposing pitchers, hitting 14 home runs and adding 66 RBIs while hitting .363.
The same kind of production has carried over into his second West Coast League season with Kelowna where Pearson had four home runs, 18 RBIs and a monstrous .446 batting average through his first 16 games.
Falcons head coach Al Cantwell said Pearson has come a long way since hitting two home runs and batting .270 in 45 games last season for Kelowna.
“I think his experience in the league last year made him a much better all-round hitter,” Cantwell said of Pearson. “Last year he was supposed to be one of the extras for us, he struggled early, then really started to pick things up and became a regular player. He had a great year at school and he hasn’t missed a beat with us. He’s smarter, he’s getting himself into good hitter’s counts, and he works hard off the field, too.”
For Pearson’s part, coming back to Kelowna for a second summer of baseball wasn’t a tough decision.
“I really like the competitiveness of league, I like the pitching that we get to see, and I really enjoyed Kelowna,” said Pearson, who said there’s an added bonus in that the Falcons’ team of 2012 is much stronger offensively than a year ago.
Amidst other batting threats like Jerry McClanahan (.542), Greg Friesen (.364), Jace Conrad (14 RBIs), and Tyler Qualls (.386), Pearson said the Falcons are a more confident group.
“There’s a lot more of a positive outlook with this group of guys when they come to the ball park. Last year, we were just hoping to get hits…this year I know we’re going to get hits, we’re trying to do things like drive the ball in the gap, not just trying to put the ball in play.”
In addition to being a major producer with the bat, Cantwell said there aren’t many players who are more likeable or coachable than Pearson.
“He’s a coach’s dream, the first one to the yard, he’s positive, he’s never had a bad day in his life,” said Cantwell. “I think he’ll likely end up playing pro, but I think he’d also make a an amazing coach some day. He loves to help and just loves the game.”
Pearson, Cantwell and the Falcons will open a six-game road trip Friday in Klamath Falls, Ore., against the Gems.
