Mattingly Baseball BEAST of the Month
The Mattingly Baseball BEAST of the Month is an award that is given to one of the top hitters in the country. The award is presented by Mattingly Baseball in association with Baseball Factory and Team One Baseball. The player is selected by a panel of Baseball Factory and Team One coaches and scouts.
This month’s “BEAST” is Taylor Dugas from Lafayette, Louisiana. He was selected based on his strong performance at the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament. Taylor also performed well during his high school season. He batted .478 with 50 runs scored, 44 RBI’s, six homeruns, and 13 doubles to round out his stats. Taylor is one of those players that have the deadly combination of speed and power. Along with his stellar batting stats he stole 
22 bases making him a real impact player on offense. When Taylor was told of his selection as the Mattingly Baseball BEAST of the Month he was very surprised. He said, “It’s a huge accomplishment I worked very hard.” Taylor was the 2006 BCA Rookie of the Year, presented by Baseball Factory. The BCA is the National High School Baseball Coaches Association making his award very special.
Taylor, a junior at Teurlings Catholic High, is an outfielder who leads off for his high school team, which was ranked first in the state of Louisiana. Being the lead off man is important to Taylor, because he says that his teammates depend on him in his first at-bat to take pitches and get a feel for the pitcher. He said that he tries to, “work the count and try to get on base…its important that I see a lot of pitches.” With all of this pressure on Taylor to perform, I asked him about his confidence when he goes up to the plate. Taylor spoke about not being afraid and being able to move on after each at bat. He said, “every time I get up to the plate I am a confident hitter, you can’t be afraid of the pitcher, you need to be patient with the pitcher.” Taylor says that to have confidence at the plate you need to have a short memory, “you can’t carry negative results with you.” This attitude helps Taylor have such great success at the plate especially in the tough lead off position.
Taylor was selected as a Mattingly Baseball BEAST of the Month because he showed the same tactics at the plate that Mattingly Baseball and Baseball Factory believe great hitters do. Mattingly Baseball’s V-Grip bats are designed to help players become great hitters, like Taylor, by helping them keep the knocker knuckles aligned and shift the bat away from the palm and into the fingers; thus, correctly “power-loading” a batters energy and forcing the batters grip to be in perfect alignment every time they hit the ball.
Taylor told me that to have a lot of success in baseball it takes hard work. He said that “the number one thing I try to do is work hard and give my best effort.” Taylor said that unlike most high school kids his age he doesn’t like to sit inside and play video games; he’d rather be putting in extra time in the cages. “I don’t like to slack,” this type of attitude is a clear indication of how Taylor got to where he is in baseball. He said he started working with his older brother and then his high school coach put countless hours with him at the plate and in the cages. Taylor said that his coach’s philosophy was that, “everything was for the players,” and that he was as hands on as any coach. Taylor said he remembers doing drill after drill for hitting until he couldn’t swing anymore. With Taylor‘s work ethic and a dedicated coach the hitting prowess of Taylor was developed.
All of the hard work has paid off. Dan Forester, Player Development Coordinator at the Baseball Factory, said that Taylor, “has great ability on the field and is a well rounded kid off the field.”
Taylor, only a junior, is currently playing on his high school team and plans on competing in showcases this summer, including the Under Armour Team One South showcase from July 8-10, 2007. Mattingly Baseball and Baseball Factory are excited to see how Taylor continues to perform at the plate in the future. We wish Taylor luck in all his future endeavors and congratulate him on his selection as the Mattingly Baseball BEAST of the Month.
For more information on Mattingly Baseball and the BEAST baseball bat visit www.mattinglybaseball.com.
