While his Parras Middle School classmates were braving the cold December weather, Jake Thau spent his winter break in short sleeves under the summer sun.
The Redondo Beach 14-year-old is a highly-touted baseball player who spent two weeks in Australia playing in the Goodwill Series, an event started in 1983 providing players ages 13-18 the opportunity to play internationally. The Goodwill Series rotates between Japan, Australia and China.
Playing for the Reds Rookies, Thau was one of two California boys on the team of 14-year-olds that hailed from places like Boston, Texas and even Singapore,
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 185 pounds, Thau was impressive on the mound and at the plate. When the right-hander’s 83 mph fastball wasn’t mowing down opponents, his bat was doing the damage while Thau played first or third base.
Playing in Adelaide and Perth, the Reds Rookies finished with a 10-1-1 record against West and South Australia state teams. Thau was also called up to pitch two games for the U.S. 18-and-under team.
Thau pitched three scoreless innings and hit two triples earning him game MVP honors in an 11-1 Reds Rookies win over South Australia.
“The experience was one I’ll never forget,” Thau said. “Playing against international competition was great. It was interesting to see the different styles of play. We swept our games in Adelaide and tied Australia’s 2012 Little League World Series team who was very good.”
Thau said the biggest difference he noticed between American and Australian baseball is on the practice field.
“We seem to focus more on specializing at certain positions,” Thau said. “On Australian teams, every player knows all of the fundamentals and equally practices every aspect of the game like batting, fielding and base running.”
Thau, who will attend Redondo Union High School in the fall, plays club baseball for Trosky training at Beach City Baseball Academy in El Segundo.
He also played for South Bay Surf where he was named its Player of the Year in 2013. When Thau was 11 and 12 years old, his Surf teams played in Cooperstown, NY against teams from other states.
“Playing at the Hall of Fame and on the field that holds so much baseball history was a fantastic feeling,” Thau said.
Baseball wasn’t the only thing Thau learned from his trip down under.
“The entire trip was a great learning experience and sports gave him that opportunity,” said Jake’s father, David. “He learned to travel on his own and lived with two different families while he was there. In Perth, there were kangaroos everywhere and koalas in the trees at the local park. In Adelaide, the family he lived with had chickens where they used the eggs daily. Jake learned the culture, tried to figure out what the heck cricket is as well as Aussie football and rugby. He went to the beach in Perth with the sharks all around, ate barbecue kangaroo on Christmas Eve, saw the fireworks in Sydney on New Years Eve and climbed the Harbor Bridge.”
Jake said the Australian people welcomed the players with open arms but noticed one cultural difference.
“I thought people in the South Bay were always on the go, but the Australians are full of energy,” Thau said. “They get up at 5 a.m. and many days stay up until midnight.”
Thau, who has numerous coaches during his young career in baseball, said he uses advice given from each of them. Yet, he credits his parents, David and Rachel, for his success.
“They push me to try my very best at everything I do,” Jake said. “They are very supportive and I think the lessons they have taught me have helped me deal with pressure situations during games.”
Thau, who is an avid Yankees fan and claims Detroit pitcher Jason Verlander as his favorite player, said he is looking forward to pitching for the Sea Hawks and head coach Jeff Baumback, who teaches physical education at Parras.
“Jake has attended our camps in the past,” Baumback said. “He has a very bright future, for sure.”
Thau hopes a strong prep career will pave the way to the big leagues.
“If I’m fortunate enough to be drafted in the first or second round, I will probably go straight to the pros,” Thau said. “If not, I’d like to play for UCLA, Texas or USC, especially if Tom House is still the Trojan’s pitching coach. He’s considered the best around.”
Thau is taking a month off from baseball but the teenager will be anything but idle.
Four hours after Thau’s plane arrived from Australia, he was in Anaheim where he joined his teammates on Southern California Volleyball Club’s Quicksilver 14 team that was qualifying for the Junior Nationals to be held this summer in Columbus, Ohio.
“It’s a tough balance with baseball, volleyball and schoolwork,” David said of his son’s life. “But I’m confident he can do it.”
