Big Guy is back: Pioneer League home run king Jayson Newman returns to PaddleHeads - 406 Sports
Jayson Newman has accomplished pretty much everything a player could dream of in the Pioneer League.
Jayson Newman has accomplished pretty much everything a player could dream of in the Pioneer League.
The third-year Missoula PaddleHeads first baseman is the reigning MVP. Plus he's in the Pioneer League record books as the single-season home run king with 32 taters last summer and he came within one RBI of setting a single-season record in that department, piling up 115.
He also has a championship ring that he earned after joining the 2021 team late in the season. He just got married recently and you'd think maybe now would be as good a time as any to make a break from baseball.
Not a chance.
"I feel like when we left we had unfinished business," Newman said of last season, which saw the PaddleHeads set a team record for wins (71) but lose in the league championship.
"Personally I had a great year but we didn't finish the way we wanted to. We left empty-handed. We're focused on getting back to competing at the highest level. With Skip (manager Michael Schlact) and all the guys we have here, it's an easy decision to come back."
No one is more thankful for Newman's return than Schlact. Fourteen members of last year's team are back, giving the PaddleHeads and their fans every reason to believe they'll deliver the best record in the league for a third season in a row.
"It's humbling," Schlact said of the return of so many players. "I hope they want to keep chasing the dream. I'll certainly take them back.
"I think it comes down to the fact that they know when they show up here and put on our uniform that we love them and care about them. Because of that, they know we're not going to show up different every day depending on their results. The bigger goal is to produce great people."
Schlact calls Newman "super important" to the 2023 cause.
"That's both from a marketing standpoint — obviously people love to watch him play and they love to watch balls go into the Clark Fork (River) — but he's also a leader in the clubhouse and he's consistent," Schlact said. "His maturity level mentally has taken a huge step forward, and I mean that in the best way possible.
"He knows who he is and what he needs to do. You can't lead people until you know, and he's been through it. He's ready to do it again. He went through things here that's he's never gone through before. We had our first exhibition game (last week) and his first two at-bats were home runs, like way into the river. He's so ready to play."
The PaddleHeads have one more home exhibition game against the Black Sox on Wednesday at 2 p.m., then they'll turn their focus to the regular season. They open on the road, with a six-game series starting next Tuesday at Billings.
No matter what happens, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound Newman plans to enjoy the ride.
"It starts with the front office and their investment in us, how we're viewed as not only workers for the PaddleHeads but family," the 25-year-old said. "When you're viewed as family, you'll do anything for your family. You fight for your family.
"That's why it's so different here than anywhere else I've played. It's great. Skip (Schlact) does a great job of bringing in guys that he thinks will fit. If you don't — we'll find a way to make it work or you'll move on."
Newman did a lot of vacationing and strength training in the offseason. He will try to avoid the nagging injuries that slowed him during his dream 2022 campaign.
That's easier said than done since a measure of luck is involved. But whether he's hitting home runs or scooping throws at first base or hanging out with his teammates, Newman is an asset.
"He's a great teammate," PaddleHeads veteran third baseman Cameron Thompson said. "Obviously he's a great player on the field, but he's a better person off the field.
"The camaraderie of the team — the last two summers I've been here, it's the most fun I've had playing baseball. There's really nothing better."