By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
For Scott Kelly, the learning curve never ends when it comes to baseball.
Now in his third season with the Somerset Patriots, Kelly is having his most productive year as a professional baseball player. For the West Windsor-Plainsboro North graduate, his career is a process that continues moving forward.
“I’m happy,” Kelly said Wednesday night after the Patriots’ 5-2 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. “I get to play baseball and I am going to continue to do this as long as I can. When you have this type of opportunity and you are doing something you love to do, a smile is always showing. I am grateful I get to still play the game and I am looking forward to the future.
“I am on a 10-year plan. I want to give myself all the time I can to chase my dream. And when I see another person who wants to work hard and chase the dream, I will help them out the same way so many people have helped me out along the way.”
The versatile Kelly has been playing mostly shortstop this season for Somerset, which currently leads the second-half standings of the Southern Division of the Atlantic Professional Baseball League. The division winners of the second half join the winners of the first half in the APBL playoffs later this month.
At the plate, Kelly is batting .271 with a home run, 28 runs batted in and has scored 57 runs. He also has 35 stolen bases for the Patriots, who are 66-57 overall and 28-25 in the second half.
“It has been going pretty well,” Kelly said of the season, which has been a relatively healthy one for him. “We are battling for a playoff spot. Right now we’re half a game up with 17 games left on the schedule. Bridgeport is also playing well. It will go right to the end.
“The past two years we’ve won the first half and kind of used the second half to prep for the playoff. Now we’re in a battle to the end and we have to go out there and grind out the wins.”
When it comes to baseball, it is never a grind for Kelly. Since his days at WW-P North and later at The College of New Jersey, he’s always loved being on the field. He’ll continue to play the game he loves as long as he can.
“Obviously, I have goals and aspirations and the best things take time,” Kelly said. “Each day I learn more about myself as a player. I build up and create the skills I need to play this game at the highest level. I am happy playing the game itself. The knowledge I have gotten playing with guys with Major League experience and Single-A and Double-A experience has been great. To be able to play with guys like that day in and day out has been an incredible learning experience for me.”
Kelly batted just .193 in his first season with the Patriots. A year ago he was limited by injuries and played just 31 games. He batted .337 in 83 at bats last year and carried that strong year at the plate into this season.
“I am one of the younger guys in the league,” Kelly said. “It is a veteran league. I get to learn from guys like Robert Andino. He was with the Orioles organization for nine years and was our shortstop last year. He is an example of what can happen because he is back in the Major Leagues with the Marlins. He got picked up in the off-season and was at Triple-A all year and now the big leagues for the last month.
“Daryl Ward spent nine seasons in big leagues. If you look at the rosters this is a Double-A or Triple-A league. Guys with a lot of Major League experience are in this league and they know what it takes league to compete. I am grateful to play with guys who have been there. The other day one of our veterans, Donovan Hand, said ‘kid, when you stop learning you stop growing.’ I have learned a lot about approach and routine over the last three years and everyone is different.”
Kelly has played in 99 of the Patriots’ 123 games this season. He is hoping he makes a difference down the stretch as Somerset makes a push for the playoffs.
“Personally, the season is going well,” Kelly said. “I have had a couple bad breaks, but I have also been on the right side a couple times. I don’t know my stats. I don’t check them. Averages are for the manager. I try to make a positive contribution with every at bat. That’s all I try to do every day.
“It’s nice to be playing baseball again. I got hit on the wrist in the middle of the season so I missed a couple games. But other than that I have been healthy all season. That was my number one goal, to stay healthy and play almost every game.”
Kelly has done that and has been a steady presence in the lineup. He goes to the ballpark every day happy to be playing the game he has loved his whole life.
“This is really my first full season,” he said. “It is a different role. I have a bigger role than my first season. You can never figure out baseball. I have learned so many different things in my three years that can propel me into my future in baseball.”
