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All County Baseball: McKinney named top hurler for second year

Badin senior pitcher was a key cog in Rams’ run to Division III state final.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:36 AM Monday, June 22, 2009

HAMILTON — Brett McKinney is not overpowering, according to his coach.

“He just knows how to pitch. He knows how to hit locations,” Badin High School coach Rick Kunkel said of the senior right-hander, who is the JournalNews Butler County Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season.

“He’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve had,” Kunkel said of McKinney, who finished the 2009 season with a 9-0 record and 2.28 ERA. “Very determined. He always wants the ball in crucial situations, always wants to pitch against the best teams. ... And on top of everything, he’s a very fine person.”

McKinney set modest goals for himself at the beginning of the season.

“I just wanted to give the team a chance to win every time out,” he said, “and I feel I did that, for the most part.”

The secret to McKinney’s success is control. Immediate control.

“My biggest thing is getting ahead of the batter, throwing a first-pitch strike,” he said. “If I do that, I feel I have the batters where I want them.”

McKinney was a catcher through his early years and didn’t become a pitcher, he said, until he was 14.

“My summer team needed extra pitchers,” McKinney said. “I was OK. I had trouble throwing strikes, and I started working with my dad (Chuck McKinney) my freshman year.”

That work between father and son obviously paid off.

“He’s the best pitcher I’ve had in my time here,” Kunkel said.

McKinney apparently is coming to terms with the disappointment of the Rams, the 2009 Division III state runner-up, falling one win short of a state title for the second straight year.

“The more I think about it and talk to people about it,” he said, “I realize how much success we did have this season.”

The next stop for McKinney is Columbus, where he will pitch for Ohio State University.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “I’m starting to count the days.”

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