Medina's R.J. Walgate piles up strikeouts in Major League Wiffle Ball

At just 14 years old, Medina resident R.J. Walgate is taking the world of Major League Wiffle Ball by storm. Not only is Walgate the youngest player in the eight-team league made up of six active players per club and centered in Brighton, Mich., the right-hander also is the tallest at 6-foot-5 and has been the most dominant pitcher in the circuit so far this season. A large number of players are older teenagers, but there are players playing into their low-to-mid 20s, accordina to Walgate, who leads the league with a 4-0 record. He has thrown four complete games without allowing a run and struck out 27 batters in 13 innings for the Metro Magic. "It's been pretty crazy," Walgate said. "A lot of the guys in the league I was watching just a few years ago and was a huge fan of them. Now to be playing with them is a surreal, full-circle moment, for sure." Walgate first caught on to MLW, which was started in 2009 by Founder and CEO Kyle Schultz, by watching videos on a YouTube channel that has more than 432,000 subscribers. MLW promotes itself as the most popular Wiffle Ball league in the world, with more than 1 million followers across its social media platforms. Walgate and his friends were invited to an MLW tournament in Brighton last year and he was just looking forward to meeting some of his favorite players. After performing well at the first tournament, Walgate and his friends were invited to a second tournament. There, Walgate caught the attention of the Magic, which traded up to make him the third pick out of eight selections in this year's draft. "It was crazy at first, because (Metro) said they were going to have to make a trade to get me," Walgate said. "It was weird, being uncertain about what was going on. The waiting process was difficult, to not know what to expect. Eventually, the trade went through, they were able to take me and I was really grateful for that." Games are recorded and then edited and released once per week. While the World Series will be played in early September, the video probably won't be released until early November. Teams play with three fielders — a pitcher and one defender on each side with a backstop serving as the catcher and determining balls and strikes — but must bat four to six hitters. Games are three innings long and baserunners may be thrown out by being hit with a ball thrown by the fielders. It's 38 feet from the pitcher's rubber to home plate, 43-6 to first base and 36 feet to all other bases. The outfield fence is between 68 and 80 feet. Through games that have been released to this point, the Magic is 5-1, tied for the best record in the league with the Downtown Diamondbacks and Western Wildcats. Metro opened the season against Walgate's favorite team growing up, the Great Lakes Gators. After beginning the season with a loss, the Magic has run off five straight victories, thanks in large part to the team's phenom pitcher. The 175-pound Walgate's favorite pitch is the screwball because the amount of movement he gets on the ball makes it hard to hit. "A lot of the MLW guys say that I'm so tall that my arm angle releases the ball from a different point than all the other guys," Walgate said. "I think it's tough for hitters to react, because I can reach a little longer as well. Everything that my length gives me makes it tough." Walgate was the starting pitcher for the American League in the MLW All-Star Game held last Sunday. Due to league rules on games that have not been released by the league, Walgate was not able to speak on specifics. "That was pretty crazy," he said. "Playing in the National League, there's a lot of guys that I won't get to play. I ended up getting to pitch to them in the All-Star Game, which was cool. I met guys that I never knew if I'd meet this season. Talking to those guys is always super fun." In addition to competing for MLW, Walgate runs his own Wiffle Ball league of four teams in Medina, where he has a slightly smaller Wiffle Ball field in his back yard. There is deer fencing around the perimeter of the field to serve as the home run fence, as well as prevent balls from rolling into the woods or too far away. "I always wanted a field at my house, just because it would be easier for me to be at every series to run it," Walgate said. "It's really nice that instead of me having to go somewhere, all my friends can come to me." In addition to playing Wiffle Ball, Walgate is an incoming freshman at Medina Christian Academy, where he plans to play basketball. He hopes to play basketball collegiately. Before that, Walgate and his friends are looking to defend their championship at the U17 National Tournament this fall. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.