Man About Canton: Bobby Witt Jr.

Did you know …

The front page of the July 15 Sports Illustrated magazine pictured Bobby Witt Jr. as the Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year. Witt Jr. was the second overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft by the Kansas City Royals. According to Sports Illustrated, Witt Jr. graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas with a 4.0 weighted GPA. Bobby’s father, Bobby Witt Sr., was a pitcher for Canton High back in the 1980s. Born and raised in Canton, Witt was taken third in the 1985 MLB draft, pitched for 16 seasons, and went 142-157. Bobby Jr. received a $7.79 million signing bonus, which is the third largest in draft history. This past season, his high school team won its first state championship, with Witt Jr. batting .482 with 15 homeruns, nine triples, 14 doubles, 65 runs scored, and 55 RBIs in 42 games. Witt Jr. also won the High School Home Run Derby at Nationals Park, hitting eight homeruns in 76 seconds. Grandpa Bob Witt, who graduated with MAC many years ago, still lives in Canton with his wife, Carol.

Talking about Major League Baseball, last month Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room at the age of 27. In the Angels’ first home game following his death, on the night before what would have been his 28th birthday, pitchers Taylor Cole and Felix Pena pitched the 11th no-hitter in franchise history, beating Seattle 13-0. What makes the game even more amazing is that the Angels scored seven runs in the first inning and finished with 13 runs and 13 hits and Skaggs’ birthday is 7/13 (July 13). In addition to his mother throwing out the first pitch on that night, all the Angels players wore Skaggs’ name and No. 45 on their jerseys.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court last year ended Nevada’s monopoly on legal sports books, they’ve opened in eight more states. The latest state to legalize sports gambling is New Hampshire. The new law legalizes betting on professional sports and most Division 1 college sports, excluding games involving New Hampshire schools.

Selectmen have authorized the DPW to spend between $6,000 and $7,000 to have vegetation removed in an effort to improve the sight lines at the intersection of Pleasant and Angela streets, described by Police Chief Ken Berkowitz as the most dangerous intersection in Canton.

Selectmen have begun the bidding process to sell the vacant Gridley School as a two-family residential unit. The starting price is $400,000. The building has been condemned by the building commissioner and is in need of major roof and structural repairs.

According to a Zillow data analysis, about 37 percent of U.S. households are “free and clear,” meaning they no longer have a home mortgage. MAC is not one of them.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the months between July 2018 and June 2019 were the wettest on record in Massachusetts. The state received 61.87 inches of rain. The average for that period is 45.48 inches. The year 2018 was also the wettest calendar year ever, with 61.3 inches falling. The average for a calendar year is 45.41 inches.

The month of August was named to honor the first Roman emperor (and grandnephew of Julius Caesar), Augustus Caesar (63 BC – AD 14).

According to a recent story in the Canton Citizen, Canton developer John Marini’s project at the old Emerson and Cuming site off Washington Street is moving ahead quickly with plans that include the construction of 17 townhouses and a three-plus-story garden-style structure that will contain 40 additional for-sale units. Marini had initially proposed a 53-unit project, but he was approved for four additional units with the caveat that they would be designated as affordable housing. The completion date for the project has been set for December 2020.

Know that people are doing the best they can from their level of awareness. Accept people for who they are and always be ready to forgive.  –Deepak Chopra

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=59540

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Aug 17 2019. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.