McDorman brothers help Mudcats to NBC World Series

Baseball is often a game of streaks, but Josh McDorman went into one of those merciless funks at the beginning of his summer season that had him wondering if things would ever turn in his favor.

For the former Niceville slugger and two-time second-team All-Panhandle Conference honoree, going 0-for-20 wasn’t the sort of introduction that he envisioned making in the M.I.N.K. (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas) Baseball League for the Chillicothe Mudcats.

What he’s done since that cold streak is what he had in mind.

McDorman became one of the team’s primary offensive weapons, and he and brother Shawn, a relief pitcher, have helped guide the Mudcats to the 76th Annual National Baseball Congress World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The tournament, which will feature 32 of the nation’s best summer league teams, starts today.

“I think it’s going to be a blast,” Shawn said. “There’s going to be great talent up there that we’re going to compete against.”

The McDorman brothers, who both played for Niceville’s 2008 final four team and then together last season for Pensacola State College, helped Chillicothe win the North Division of the M.I.N.K. League and thus secure a berth in the NBC World Series.

While using a wooden bat took some getting used to, Josh attributed his early slump mainly to being off with his timing and to having a swing with too much loop in it, leading to easy pop outs and lazy fly outs. Once he leveled off his stroke and made it more compact, Josh started seeing better results.

Statistically he’s in his division’s top 10 in several categories: ninth in batting average (.299), seventh in on-base percentage (.386), tied for sixth in hits (38) and, perhaps most surprisingly, second in stolen bases (18).

“You have more time to react when your swing is short, so I think that really helped me,” said Josh, who has played all three outfield positions for the Mudcats. “It feels like that as the season’s gone on, my swing’s gotten better and better.”

What about the unexpected amount of steals?

“It feels like since my high school days I’ve gotten faster,” said Josh, who wasn’t slow — he was a capable running quarterback in football — but never raised eyebrows with his speed. “But also we have a really aggressive coach and an aggressive approach as a team.”

While Josh fine-tuned his swing, Shawn has spent the summer overhauling his mechanics on the mound. One of the most important developments the right-hander has made is honing his changeup.

“I finally have it to where I can play with it, and I know where it’s going now,” he said.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he added of his overall development. “I feel like I can hit my spots nine out of 10 times.”

Working out of the bullpen for Chillicothe, Shawn is 0-1 with a 3.89 ERA in five appearances. He’s struck out four and opponents are hitting .265 against him.

The NBC World Series will present another level of competition for the McDorman brothers, not to mention exposure. Josh is going to walk on at Troy University and said the World Series is a chance for many players to possibly catch the attention of pro scouts for the first time.

As Shawn pointed out, that could be a double-edged sword.

“One bad thing about the radar guns is if you know they are there and you throw to them,” the Pensacola State College rising sophomore said. “ … It’s important that me and the rest of the pitching staff don’t go there and just try to put numbers up (on the radar guns).”

Team-wise the McDormans believe the Mudcats could be a threat in the World Series.

“Different parts of our team have stepped up,” Shawn said. “Sometimes the pitchers have thrown complete-game shutouts and we’ve won 1-0. Sometimes we’ll win 12-10. It’s been a team effort where we all step up when we need to.”