It is not often in life someone gets the opportunity to pursue one’s first love, whether it’s romance or one’s favorite sport. But former West Montgomery standout athlete Derek Binns is getting a second chance to play the game he learned to love as youth playing on the playgrounds and fields of Montgomery County, baseball. This past summer, Binns, a 2005 graduate at West, earned a spot on the Spartanburg Blue Eagles baseball squad. The Blue Eagles are a member of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, a league that uses wooden bats.
For folks that remember Binns from his days at West where he played football, wrestled and was a key senior member of the Warriors’ baseball team that won the Rocky River 2A Conference baseball tournament championship, football was the road that would pay for his college education.
After graduating from West, Binns headed to North Carolina Wesleyan to play football. Never wanting to be far from his field of dreams, Binns was also a member of the school’s junior varsity baseball team. After a year at Wesleyan, Binns got the opportunity to try out for the Appalachian State football team, one of the top Division Football Championship Series teams (formerly Division IAA) in the nation. Binns eventually earned a spot on the team as a wide receiver and received a ring for the Mountaineers’ national championship in 2007.
But his love for baseball kept tugging at his heart, so he decided to devote his full attention to baseball.
“I’ve always loved to play baseball for as long as I can remember,” said Binns, who was tied for the Blue Eagles team lead in stolen bases this summer. “I really missed baseball so I wanted to find a way to play and maybe one day get drafted into professional baseball. I’ve played with some guys that were drafted and I feel like if I work hard enough, maybe I can play in the minors or somewhere.”
So Binns transferred to Pfeiffer University this past fall and hooked up with the fall baseball team. For some the transition from playing football and not playing baseball since the summer of 2006 for the Stanly County American Legion team would be too much of an obstacle to overcome. But with patience, hard work and many hours in the batting cage, Binns earned a spot on the team this past spring and eventually earning some playing time. Binns made four plate appearances, with a pair of hits for a .500 batting average.
“I took the chance because I didn’t want to look back a couple of years from now and wonder what would have happened,” said Binns. “I knew the hardest part about trying to come back after a couple of years away would be hitting and adjusting to the pitching at the college level.”
After the season, Binns hooked up with the Blue Eagles and was one of the top batters during the early part of the season, but a slump near the end caused his average to drop. While leadoff is Binns’ favorite batting spot, this summer he batted in every spot but cleanup and fifth in the batting order.
But Binns’ fielding didn’t take a drop. He finished the season with a .977 fielding average while playing mostly in the outfield.
“I think I had a pretty good summer and I think I opened some eyes with my effort,” said Binns.
Binns will return to Pfeiffer this fall for his senior season and maybe his final chance to make it to his dreams of playing at the professional level.
“If I don’t make it, then I gave it my best shot,” said Binns. “My goal right now is to maybe go into coaching and hopefully eventually maybe being a minor league coach. I’m willing to take whatever steps necessary to make that happen. I might have to start at the high school level and then college and then on to the minor league coaching. Baseball is game I really love and I would love spending my life doing something in baseball.”
