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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 12, 2015 | 36 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports League Baseball draft. He was ranked 187th by Baseball America while other scouting outlets had him rated north of 200. The Reds didn't agree. "Every time we saw him, he boosted his stock," said Cincinnati scout Dan Bleiwas. "He had good day after good day, and baseball being an every day sport, that's one of the most difficult things to do." Bleiwas said Gordon is a player who can hit for average, take advantage of his speed and play excellent defence in centre field. Though calls from other teams indicated he might go earlier, Gordon was still surprised to see his name appear on the TV screen shortly after the second day of the draft began. "I don't even have the words to describe it," Gordon said. "Seeing my name coming up on the screen was incredible. It was a reward for all the hard work I've put in and for all the people who have helped me." Gordon was also excited to see the Reds draft his Canadian junior teammates J.D. Williams, Isaac Anesty, Darren Shred and Will McAffer. And while the St. Ignatius of Loyola student has committed to the University of San Francisco, he said he will discuss his options with his parents before making a decision. "Whatever I do, wherever it is," he said. "I'll be playing baseball next year." · · · · Baseball wasn't always a given. Gordon had two sporting pursuits, playing hockey at the AA and AAA level up until two years ago. Not surprising, speed was one of his biggest assets. Unlike baseball, where he wanted the ball all the time, Gordon said he was more of a playmaker, dishing the puck to others. But playing hockey caused him to miss many of his baseball team's winter workouts. His coaches told him if he wanted to reach his goals, he would have to dedicate himself to one sport. Gordon chose baseball. At the time, his goal was to get a scholarship. Major League Baseball wasn't even a consideration. That changed when he was named to the national junior team last fall. Playing against Major League instructional league teams, Gordon shined. During the team's recent Dominican Summer League tour, Gordon hit .395 with a home run, three doubles and a triple in 12 games. · · · · Gordon realizes the draft is simply an opportunity. Nothing is a given. "I still have lots of room to improve," he said. "If I go to Arizona (home of the Reds' training camp), it's a process that's not easy. There will be a lot of tough days. I'll have to work on everything -- throwing harder, running balls down in the gap -- because I'll be playing against the best of the best." That kind of perspective is another thing Bleiwas saw in Gordon. "He's very mature despite being one of the youngest players in the draft because of his birthdate," he said. "But he knows who he is, what his game is, and he uses his physical tools. He's a great, positive kid off the field and takes that on the field and plays with energy and enthusiasm." And if keeps that up, chances are there won't be any daisies growing in the outfields he'll be patrolling in the future. "Connected to your Community" Reds hope to have a real catch in Gordon by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Miles Gordon wanted to be in the middle of the action. That's what made catching the ideal position for him -- he was involved on every play. In one respect, his Oakville Whitecaps coach saw the benefit of having him behind the plate. Even as a nine-year-old, Gordon's advanced baseball sense made him an ideal candidate to be the on-field leader the position demands. But Gerry Lubanszky couldn't get past one thing. It made no sense to have his fastest player playing the most stationary position. So after a few games, he moved Gordon to centre field. "Miles was so fast and had such a great feel for where the ball was going," Lubanszky said. "You could have put him anywhere, but he was so fast." But for Gordon, it was the exact opposite of where he wanted to be. "At that age, nobody really hit the ball to the outfield," he said. "I wanted to be where the plays were, not standing around picking daisies." As he got older, and hitters got better, Gordon got his wish. "He was making superstar plays even back then," said Lubanszky, who recalled the league championship tournament in Stoney Creek. "He made three outstanding, across-thefield catches, and two of them were diving catches. He was born for that." · · · · The Cincinnati Reds also have a feeling that Gordon was born to play the game. Tuesday afternoon, the Reds selected Gordon in the fourth round, 115th overall, of the Major Oakville's Miles Gordon was drafted in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Reds in the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday. The St. Ignatius of Loyola student, who now plays for the London-based Great Lake Canadians after coming up through the Oakville minor baseball system, joined the Canadian national junior team in the fall. He impressed Reds scouts with his speed, hitting, defence and maturity. | photo courtesy of Baseball Canada Hinchcliffe `improving daily' but has no memory of crash by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff James Hinchcliffe will serve as the Grand Marshal for Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto. The Oakville IndyCar driver says he is improving every day as he recovers from a life-threatening crash. Hinchcliffe received medical clearance to travel on Thursday. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver James Hinchcliffe crossed the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ahead of him was the No. 2 car of Juan Pablo Montoya. It was the first practice session since qualifying and Hinchcliffe would start 24th on the grid for the 99th running of the Indy 500. If he was going to have a chance to win the race later that week, the Oakville driver needed to find the quickest way around the storied track. Now, with Montoya the perfect distance ahead of him, Hinchcliffe could slide in behind him and draft. "This is going to be a good lap," he thought to himself. And then.... "I remember waking up in ICU," he said, "knowing that obviously I'd had an accident, that I was somewhere I probably shouldn't be." Hinchcliffe never did finish that lap. And as the details of the 28-year-old's injuries emerge, it is becoming clear just how close he came to that being his final lap. As the four-time IndyCar race winner entered Turn 3, the suspension on his car broke. Unable to turn, he crashed into the wall at close to 230 mph. A piece of the suspension pierced through the cockpit, through his right leg and into his left thigh. "As the doctors will tell you, if that piece had been five millimetres in a different direction, it might not have been a survivable injury," Hinchcliffe said, speaking on a media conference call Wednesday. The piece of suspension hit an artery, leading to what was described the day after the accident as `massive blood loss.' Though Hinchcliffe has no memory from the start of that lap to waking up in the hospital after surgery, he has pieced together the details from speaking to people since the accident. The 2011 IndyCar rookie of the year was removed from the car, conscious see Hinchcliffe on p.37