By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com
Matt Gorski brings many attributes to the diamond.
The former Hamilton Southeastern High School and Indiana University outfielder now in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization takes pride in his versatility.
“I can do a bunch of stuff on a baseball field,” says Gorski, who swings and throws right-handed. “I consider myself to be a five-tool athlete.”
In 95 games with the 2021 High Class-A Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers (48 in center field, 38 in right field, three in left field, three at first base and three at designated hitter), Gorski hit .223 (80-of-358) 17 home runs, 18 doubles, 56 runs batted in, 62 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and .710 OPS (.294 on-base percentage plus .416 slugging average).
On Sept. 7 at Jersey Shore, 23-year-old Gorski went 5-of-6 with one homer, two RBIs and one run.
Does Gorski consider himself a power hitter?
“I’m starting to think of myself as one,” says Gorski. “I didn’t always.
“During the (COVID-19) quarantine period, I went though a bit of a body change.”
With no Minor League Baseball season in 2020, Gorski focused on strength training at home.
“I could not do a lot of baseball stuff,” says Gorski, who lives in Fishers, Ind.
Once facilities opened, he was able to work on keeping his batting eye and swing in shape.
“I tried to face a live arm,” says Gorski. “You can’t replicate that any other way.”
From October until the holidays, he went to PRP Baseball workouts at Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville, Ind.
Around Feb. 2021 — before spring training in Bradenton, Fla. — he went with Pirates minor league infielder Jared Triolo to Dynamic Sports Training in Houston.
Through it all, Gorski bulked up to 215 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame.
In the field, Gorski is most comfortable in center field though he spent a fair share of time in left as an IU sophomore and right as a Hoosiers junior.
Gorski played three seasons at Indiana University (2017-19) — two for head coach Chris Lemonis and one for Jeff Mercer.
In 165 games (158 as a starter), he hit .306 (189-of-617) with 24 homers, five triples, 32 doubles, 108 RBIs, 127 runs, 57 stolen bases and .869 OPS (.378/.491).
“(Lemonis) was a lot like a dad not like a baseball coach,” says Gorski. “He’s a really good recruiter and knows how to care for people. He cared about the classroom and your family. He was first one to call me (when I got drafted).
“He didn’t try to make anything bigger than what it was. He laid it out for you. You’re going to have to work. He told it straight.”
Mercer took another approach.
“He’s a lot more baseball-driven than Coach Lemonis,” says Gorski. “That’s not a bad thing. They’re just different styles. (With Mercer) it was get big, get strong, hit balls far.
“We won a Big Ten title with him (in 2019). It obviously works.”
Gorski was part of a powerful Indiana lineup that slugged 95 homers (second in the country behind Vanderbilt’s 100) and was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (57th overall pick).
In 49 games with the short-season 2019 West Virginia Black Bears, he hit .223 (40-of-179) with three home runs, two triples, nine doubles, 22 runs batted in, 32 runs, 11 stolen bases and .643 OPS (.297.346).
His two pro ball seasons have taught Gorski some things.
“I learned that it’s hard,” says Gorski. “You have to have the love of the game to go through the peaks and valleys.”
Since the 2021 season ended, Gorski has been working out at PRP Baseball. Next Sunday he heads to Florida for a month-long hitting camp.
Born Dec. 22, 1997 in South Bend, Ind., Gorski moved to Fishers when he was very young.
He played for the HSE Cats and Indiana Prospects before spending his 13U to 18U summers with the Indiana Nitro with Rick Stiner, Ken Elsbury and Eric Osborn as head coaches.
He was on the freshmen team his first year at Hamilton Southeastern then spent three varsity season with head coach Scott Henson.
“He was a lot like Lemonis,” says Gorski of Henson. “He cared about you more than a baseball player. It was the classroom, your family, your girlfriend.
“He was also a very good baseball coach. He made a lot of players better than expected. He knew how to individualize each person’s styles and connect with them in different ways.”
Henson is now an assistant at Noblesville High School.
Matt, who finished his IU degree in Sports Marketing & Management in the spring, is the youngest of HSE accountant Mark and nurse Lisa Gorski’s three children. Steven Gorski is a seventh grade math teacher at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate/Junior High. Kristen Gorski is a communications specialist/press secretary for the Indiana Senate.
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