One hundred years ago, Hernando High first fielded a baseball team. The team has had a number of players that have learned how to compete, lead, and persevere. Some of the players have gone on to become lawyers, doctors, marines and even a few professional baseball players. Ernie Chatman noted that baseball allowed many players to go to college that otherwise would have not had the chance.
Consistent coaching has been a strong point of Hernando High Baseball. They have managed to have three long term coaches Tom Varn, Ernie Chatman, and Tim Sims. These three men coached a majority of the teams over the past 50 years.
The best anyone can tell Hernando Baseball started in 1916. The Hernando track team was active in 1915. This is known since Raymond Pearson won four gold medals at the state meet that year. It is likely that the baseball team started at the same time. There is mention of a former Hernando High player named Cobb playing for a semi professional team in 1922, so there would have had to have been a team before then.
Hernando High Baseball has been something passed down from father to son. It has even had a father and son coach Tom Varn and Bubba Varn. Both Grover Ellis and his son Tyson Ellis played for Hernando. Tyson Ellis is currently the baseball coach at Central High School. Hernando High have even had a grandfather, father, son combo Jim Kimbrough, Jimmy Kimbrough, and Pierce Kimbrough. Pierce is on the current Hernando High Team. It is likely that Pierce’s great grandfather Alfred McKethan also played for Hernando High. That would make four generations of the same family playing for Hernando High.
I spoke with Ernie Chatman about his time with Hernando Baseball. He spoke of two particular teams that were quite successful. They were the the 1982 team and the 1993 team.
The 1982 team was ranked number two in the state. Unfortunately they met the number one ranked team in the district final and lost to end their season. They had previously defeated the number 3 team in the state in Tallahassee.
The 1982 baseball team featured Tim Sims, Eddie Looper, Jimmy Kimbrough, and Jerome Brown. Jerome Brown led the team in steals, which is impressive since Jerome weighed 250 pounds and went on to become an all-star NFL defensive tackle.
The 1993 baseball team was also very successful. That team featured Landon Hessler, Brent Stentz, Tom Valdez, Jeff Coots, Bill Vance, and Bronson Arroyo. They played the number one team in the nation Miami-Westminster and took the game to extra innings. Alex Rodriguez (the Alex Rodriguez) hit a homerun to give his team the win.
Hernando High produced a number players that went on to play baseball professionally. The first to do this was a right handed pitcher named Mike Walker. He was drafted in 1984 by the Cleveland Indians. He played for the Cleveland Indians in 1988, 1990, and 1991. He then played for the Chicago Cubs in 1995 and the Detroit Tigers in 1996.
Bronson Arroyo attended Hernando High and graduated in 1995. He was drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft (MLB) draft. After five years, Bronson made his first major league start for the Pirates in June 12, 2000. Bronson was waived by the Pirates before the 2003 season. This worked out great for Bronson as he was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. He went on to win the World Series with Red Sox in 2004, breaking the curse of the bambino. Bronson was traded to the Reds in 2006 and played for them for seven years. He bounced around for several teams and is currently playing for the Washington Nationals.
Christian Arroyo was drafted 25th in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants. Christian Arroyo started out 2016 in the San Francisco Giants spring training camp before being reassigned to a minor league affiliate. He is considered one of the top 100 prospects in the nation and many expect him to be promoted to the big leagues soon.
Burt Snow went on to play for Vanderbilt and was a top prospect for the Oakland As. Injuries ended his MLB career.
Brent Stentz was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. He was the 1998 Rolaids Minor League Fireman of the Year in the minors. He made the 40 man roster, but tore his bicep.
Eddie Looper played in the minors for the St Louis Cardinals. He was injured and was offered a coaching position for St Louis.
Hernando High has a proud baseball tradition that has moulded many young men. Many of those young men went on to be successful in life and a few made it in baseball.