Player of the Week - Week Two - Dean Anna - Columbus All-Americans

When a baseball player can tell his buddies that he’s batting a .467 with a slugging average of .667%, that generally earns some words or grunts of approval. And the boys are definitely approving of Dean Anna, the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League’s Player of the Week from June 18th- June 24th. Along with the first two impressive stats, which include one of the highest batting averages in the league, Anna has also racked up two doubles and a triple to further his team’s success.

Anna, a sophomore shortstop out of John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL, plays for the Columbus All-Americans, and, it seems is one of the best all-around players on the team.

Head Coach Brian Mannino attributes Dean Anna’s success to good pitch selection and batting technique.

“The biggest thing is that he hits the ball hard and makes good contact. He has a good approach to batting and hits good pitches,” Mannino says of his slugger from Mokena, IL.

Dean says his approach is derived from habit. “Before every pitch, I loosen and tighten my batting gloves, hit the bat with my left shoe once, and tap the plate twice.”

Whatever he’s doing, it’s working, even if getting used to the feel of a wood bat, as opposed to the metal that all colleges use, was a little difficult for him at first. Now, he’s got the hang of it, and his stats, and the team’s as well, have gone to the top of the league.

Anna looks for what everybody looks for, that perfect pitch, the fastball right down the middle, and opposing pitchers seem to throw what Anna likes to see, but the competition is still tough.

When comparing his college league to the GLSCL, Anna says, “The pitching’s a little better. The relievers and starters are all good pitchers. Here the competition is tougher.”

But he seems to be holding up well to the higher level of play. Coach Mannino says, “It’s not a fluke [that two shortstops have been Players of the Week]. You have a lot of the better players at that position. [Anna] is the lead off hitter, so every game sets the tone of the game. When he does well, the team does well.”

From the looks of it, the Columbus All-Americans, and Dean Anna, have perfect tone.