Friday’s game against Harwich was an unmistakable sign that Phoenix Call (UCLA) has hit his stride for the Y-D Red Sox. So far in July, Call ranks third in the Cape Cod Baseball League in batting average (.361), third in on-base percentage (.481), and fourth in slugging (.500).
Y-D Assistant Coach Craig Gianinno described the excitement that comes with watching Call succeed.
“Love me some Phoenix. I love me some Phoenix,” Gianinno said. “I think he’s playing with a ton of confidence and a ton of belief in himself.”
On Friday, Call played center field and hit second. He went 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI. In his first at-bat, he was hit by a pitch for his eighth time this season—a feeling he is much too familiar with since he led the Cape League with 11 hit-by-pitches in 2024 as a player for Y-D.
In his second at-bat, he hammered a ball into the left-center field gap for a bases clearing double, which put YD ahead 2-0 and tallied Call’s third double of the season. The pitch he hit was a slider, which Call had foreseen.
“I knew he (Harwich pitcher Cooper Walls) was a big slider guy,” said Call. “Once I got the two strikes, it was just kind of, you know, ‘don’t chase it and get a pitch you can hit.’”
In the fifth inning, Call walked, with two outs but was stranded on base after Armando Briseño (Cal State Fullerton) grounded out to retire the side. In the seventh, Call walked again to lead off the inning. This time, he put on a show.
On a Jake Souders (Mississippi State) hit to center field, Call advanced to second and went for third, where he was safe with a cinematic dive. Y-D’s Brady Dallimore (University of Mississippi) followed Souders in the order. When Dallimore was at the plate and Harwich was on their heels, Call sneakily stole home to put Y-D ahead 6-0 and record his ninth stolen base of the season.
In June, Call was worlds away from his July self. He hit significantly less (.146 batting average), and rarely got on base (.300 on-base) or recorded extra-base hits (.146 slug). Seventeen days into July, Call reflected on his journey from slump to slugging.
“I think working with Pick (Y-D Head Coach Scott Pickler) helped a lot, and I think just the people around me. I give all the credit to them,” said Call.
With Pickler, Call worked on improving his swing’s timing and subtly adjusting his stance.
Gianinno saw the two working together. He credited Call’s improvement to his dedication to making himself a better player, every day.
“He comes in and really works at it. His work ethic has been incredible,” Gianinno said.
Gianinno also highlighted Call’s selflessness. He described it as an invaluable trait to his ability to improve on the diamond.
“He’s a kid who cares about everybody else. It’s like he puts everybody else before himself. I think that attitude of gratitude sort of plays into the spirit of how he is and his personality, and it just shows up on the field in different ways.”
