“I never saw him coming,” said Whitehall coach Warren Zweigle of Kyle Stratton, and that’s probably also true of most pitchers who have seen Stratton whiz around the bases during his four-year career.
Last Thursday, Stratton entered his name into the MHSAA record books, stealing his 181st career base to surpass previous record-holder Nate McLouth, a Whitehall legend and former major league All-Star.
Stratton set the record in the first inning of game one of a doubleheader at Mason County Central. After he singled on an infield pop-up that fell in, Stratton swiped second to set the record. Teammate Ryne Christensen, coincidentally, made the stolen base moot a moment later by cracking his first career home run, the first of three hits for him in that game.
As Zweigle alluded to, Stratton may have been an unlikely record breaker - he only stole around 15 bases his freshman season - but his feat was no accident. After the multi-talented athlete - he’s headed to Taylor University to play football this fall - took a leap forward as a player and stole 50-plus bases as a sophomore, Zweigle did the math and realized Stratton, with good health and more development, could take aim at McLouth’s record.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind,” Stratton said during Tuesday’s doubleheader against Manistee. “After my sophomore year, me and Coach Z talked about it a lot, the possibility of chasing Nate McLouth. We talked about what I needed for the next two years.”
Stratton hasn’t stopped running ever since, going over 50 again last year on his way to Division 2 all-state honors. He stole seven more bases Tuesday to bump his season mark to 66, and should surpass Cayden Ritchie’s single-season program record of 72 before it’s all said and done.
The senior is obviously a terrific athlete, but there’s more to stealing bases than just speed.
“He’s worked specifically on stealing bases,” Zweigle said. “He works on getting jumps and reading pitchers. We talk a lot about moves and leads and what to do in this situation and what to look for and what counts to steal in. He’s been a fast learner.”
McLouth paid it forward upon learning of Stratton’s record. Tipped off by his former coach Zweigle that Stratton was approaching his mark, McLouth sent Stratton a congratulatory video once the deed was done. CatchMark SportsNet posted the video to its YouTube channel Friday morning. Adding that he’d seen a few of Stratton’s football games, McLouth, who played on the gridiron at Whitehall too, said Stratton was among the greatest athletes in school history.
“It (makes you) proud to have a kid that’s so passionate about baseball and so humble about records and so happy for a kid,” Zweigle said of McLouth. “You could watch the video and tell that he’s genuinely happy for somebody else to break his record, and that’s got to be hard for anybody to do. He couldn’t wait to make that video.”
Stratton was thrilled to receive the recognition, further validating his hard work over the years to achieve the new mark.
“It was sweet,” Stratton grinned. “I opened up my phone after our game and saw that. It was really cool for a guy like that, an MLB All-Star, to reach out to me.”
The new record might be the biggest notch yet in the belt of a player who’s accomplished as much as any Viking ever, but Stratton hopes it’s not the capper. After Whitehall’s football and basketball seasons ended with postseason disappointment, Stratton is as determined as ever to author a positive ending to his high school sports career.
“It certainly adds a little pressure, but there’s also motivation,” Zweigle said. “He has unfinished business to take care of and he knows this is his last opportunity to take care of that. He’s pretty motivated by that.”
The Vikings drew Big Rapids, owner of the gaudiest record in the district, in the semifinals of the bracket. The Cardinals are also the team that ended Whitehall’s football championship dreams last fall. Stratton and his teammates will be ready.
“That means something to us, so we’re hoping to put a little run in next week and maybe make some distance in the playoffs,” Stratton said.
Against MCC, Nolan Taranko scored the first game’s winning run in the sixth inning - both games were six-inning affairs - after the Spartans made an error on a sacrifice bunt by Cash Bloomberg-Brown. Taranko singled and reached second on a passed ball prior to the error. Taranko also got the win on the mound, with Stratton pitching a spotless sixth inning for the save.
No such dramatics were necessary in game two, as Whitehall scored five times in the first inning and added two four-run innings later to pick up an easy win. Stratton had a pair of hits, including a double, and added five more stolen bases to his career mark. He also scored three times and drove in three runs. Christensen added two hits, two walks and two RBI. Stratton got the win, allowing one earned run in three innings and striking out three.
