Posted on 08/28/2022 2:02:31 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco
A baseball legend’s tale is now ready to be told
By Ian Perrotta
As far as documentaries go, the film on Hamtramck’s own Art “Pinky” Deras was a grand slam.
On Monday (Aug. 23) the premier of “The Legend of Pinky Deras: The Greatest Little-Leaguer There Ever Was” was shown at the Hamtramck High School Community Center to a packed crowd. Among those in attendance were Deras himself, as well as several former teammates including ex-Major League player Tom Paciorek.
The film was produced by Brian Kruger and Buddy Moorehouse and is being released by Michigan-based Stunt3 Multimedia’s Blue Hammer Films. It tells Deras’ tale from his Little League days through his retirement from the Warren Police Department.
In that little league season, Pinky never lost a game. During the actual tournament from the local level to the championship game, Pinky started 18 games, threw 16 shutouts, 10 no-hitters with 5 of them being back to back. He pitched in 108 innings, recorded 298 strike outs against only 10 walks.
As a batter, he hit .641 with 33 home runs and 112 RBI's......
Thank you for watching.
As a post script, sadly, Art "Pinky" Deras passed away this past June with no fan fare just as he lived his career as a law enforcement officer with the local Warren police department.
The article date I posted is not consistent with when it was actually published.
4 touchdowns in a single game!
I remember him. His team won the championship at the next level the next year.
What I want to know is how a some one so dominant not at LEAST have a half decent career in the majors? Is it simply the pressure?
It was two years later in the Pony League.
Instead of just asking questions, if you watch the documentary that I posted thru it's entirety, you will get the answer you are looking for.
Good luck in your quest.
Roger that.
He played at least 5 years in the Cardinals minor league system as a hitter. Never made it as a pitcher, even in the minors. A big mature kid at 12 isn’t a guarantee that he’ll stay ahead of other players as he ages. There’s a reason MLB players usually look younger than their years.
And many players who might have been greats have undergone some hard to cure physical damage that ended their careers, especially in the past.
I love following LLWS as well. I will never forget the fawning over Danny Almonte by the liberal MSM...
He could have if he had proper mentoring as was explained by teammate Tom Paciorek who was signed by the Dodgers and played for then new coach Tommy LaSorda......
It was the expectations thrown on him due to his success in the teen years that he wasn't able to deal with once signed by the Cardinals..........
He was a diamond in the rough that could have blossomed had he had proper leadership. Unfortunately he didn't and he ultimately walked away from the game. What is most telling about his mindset at that time was the fact that once he returned home, he threw away every single item of his history, from the trophies to all the magazine clippings he and his family had accumulated and never played baseball again.
Very possible new-style coaching and training techniques might have allowed him at least a modest MLB career.
Even as great a player as Sandy Koufax really had only about 5 good years due to physical damage that probably wouldn’t have been near as bad with today’s methods.
bfl
“Is it simply the pressure?”
It’s quite common considering that kids mature and develop at different stages. We had a running back in peewee’s that scored a touchdown on about 95% of his touches. He was so much faster and stronger than the other kids his age.
As years passed the gap narrowed and others caught up to him. He remained a decent player but by his senior year didn’t even get a vote for team MVP.
Peaking in peewees. Up till now I thought peaking in highschool was tough.
LOL!!
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