Every time he steps onto the baseball diamond Michael Schwab proves size doesn't matter.
The four-foot-six, 69-pound rookie for the Lomak Knights, Prince George's peewee double-A all-star baseball team, has many opponents and spectators wondering if he's the team's bat boy when they first see him.
"They say, 'Somebody should check the birth certificate on that kid because he's probably too young to play,'" laughs Schwab, pointing out he's not the first ballplayer that has had to overcome a height challenge.
"Dustin Pedroia's coach thought he was too small to play but now he's a huge star in the MLB," he said. "Size doesn't really matter."
Pedroia, second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, was listed at five-foot-nine when he won the Major League Baseball, American League's Most Valuable Player award in 2008.
Schwab, like the Red Sox player, enjoys playing on the middle bag, but due to a couple of veteran 12-year-old players on the Knights, he finds himself playing a lot of centre or left field.
"I like playing the infield because I find it's faster, but in the outfield you get to track down a lot more balls," said Schwab.
In addition to his defensive play, Schwab also finds ways to get on base where his speed often confounds opponents. During the opening game of a doubleheader the Knights played against Quesnel, the 12-year-old used his quickness and smarts to get out of a rundown and scored a run in the process.
At the John Main Memorial tournament, Schwab batted .800 and had an on-base percentage of .875, while stealing three bases as the Knights finished the event at 2-1.
James Sinclair, hitting and catcher's coach for the peewee Knights, said once people see what Schwab can do on the diamond, they forget about his size.
"He stands out from a lot of players because of how hard he plays and how smart he plays," said Sinclair. "In my mind, the first time I saw him I knew he probably had a good chance to make this ball club this year."
Sinclair said he witnessed Schwab's talent during a mosquito house league game last season when he made an outstanding play.
"I saw him dive for a ball up the middle as a second baseman, which you don't see a lot of 10-year-olds do, and the fact that he actually came up with the ball to make a play to first was pretty impressive," he said.
Schwab was one of several Knights' players to tryout for Team B.C. in Kamloops, and though he'll be a long shot to earn a spot on the 2012 team, Sinclair said, now that he's on the radar he should have a good shot at next year's team.
"I heard he really showed well," said Sinclair. "Whether he makes the team or not, I think he'll definitely standout in their eyes."
Last year, Schwab was on the Prince George mosquito all-star team that won the silver medal at the provincial championship.
"We had a great run," said Schwab. "I just wish we could've won first because coming in second is not the best feeling."
Schwab said his teammates like to bug him about his size, but it's friendly, though he hasn't found a way to razz them back yet.
"You can't make a joke about somebody who is taller than you," said Schwab. "It doesn't work that way."
