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WVU’s J.J. Wetherholt’s roots tied to a Pirates fan favorite

MORGANTOWN — It was midday Thursday and despite the soot in the air from the Canadian wildfires, the baseball camp in suburban Pittsburgh was in full swing. The kids were hacking away at batting practice pitches, throwing to catchers and fielding ground balls, all under the eyes of the high school coach running the camp […] J.J. Wetherholt, the star of the Pirates' Dick Howser Award, was recently named the WVU second baseman and the Big 12 Player of the Year. He was part of a youth baseball camp in Mars, Pa., where he trained with some Pittsburgh Pirates' players. Andy Bednar, the father of David Bednar and the father to Will Bednar of the 2021 first round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants, is now a volunteer pitching coach at W VU. He has had a big hand in producing such talent from the youth league to the big leagues, and is now an extended baseball family. He believes that the success of his sons and their teammates has been a gift to them.

WVU’s J.J. Wetherholt’s roots tied to a Pirates fan favorite

Published : 10 months ago by in Sports

MORGANTOWN — It was midday Thursday and despite the soot in the air from the Canadian wildfires, the baseball camp in suburban Pittsburgh was in full swing.

The kids were hacking away at batting practice pitches, throwing to catchers and fielding ground balls, all under the eyes of the high school coach running the camp and some Pittsburgh Pirates’ players who had taken the time to take part with the youngsters.

This was a big deal, but there was an offshoot from it, too, that really made that high school coach feel good.

“JJ showed up,” Andy Bednar, the coach said, referring to the WVU second baseman, the Big 12 Player of the Year and the guy who was just named the finalist for the Dick Howser Award, JJ Wetherholt.

“Just to hear about his season was great, but what was cooler was the kids knew all about it. These are like 9-, 10-, 11-year-old kids saying, ‘JJ’s going to be here? JJ’s going to be here. Oh my God!'”

This was incredible for a number of reasons. First off, this was in the heart of Pitt country, up in Mars, Pa., which Wetherholt calls home. It’s a suburb 21 miles north of Pittsburgh.

And, yes, there were big league players there to occupy their attention, but Bednar saw it a different way.

“It was just incredible because not that long ago, JJ was one of those campers there,” he said. “I had the honor to coach him in high school as well and see a big part of his development. Then to follow his success at WVU has been just incredible.”

Now, that Bednar name may be intriguing to you because yes, Andy Bednar, is the father of David Bednar, the All-Star closer of the Pirates.

He is also the father of Will Bednar, the 2021 first round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants who did at Mississippi State what Wetherholt has not yet been able to do at WVU, leading the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Championship while pitching six no-hit innings in the championship game.

Mars, Pa., is an interesting place. The high school has the best nickname this side of the Poka Dots in West Virginia as the Fightin’ Planets. Even though it’s a small community whose population is just 1,423, it has produced the Bednars, Wetherholt and the Pitt designated hitter, Jack Anderson.

All of it is an extended baseball family for Andy Bednar, who has had a big hand in producing such talent from the youth league to the big leagues. He spent 22 years coaching baseball there, took a couple of years off to follow his sons, and now is back as a volunteer pitching coach.

There aren’t many youth coaches who have such a resume.

“It never gets old,” he said of bringing along young players, whether they are superstars or are simply in it for the challenge or the companionship you get in a team sport. “It’s just completely surreal to see David be a 35th round pick and then get a shot at making a big-league club, then getting traded to his hometown team.”

“Then to have Will be a part of the College World Series at Mississippi State, then get drafted by the Giants, and then to see the success that JJ Wetherholt has had, it’s just so incredible for the community.”

Certainly, whatever approach he is taking has been the right one, for all are not only superior players, but fun, intelligent, friendly people who are secure in themselves and their accomplishments but not overbearing or taking it too seriously.

What is the philosophy Bednar has used to bring along his sons and Wetherholt and all those who have taken the ride?

“The secret is there is no secret. There’s no magic bullet other than putting in the time to hone your craft. Obviously, JJ has a special gift,” he said.

According to Andy Bednar, son David summed up what it’s all about last year at the World Baseball Classic and the All-Star game.

“He just says it’s really neat to see some of the superstars go about their daily business,” Andy said. “There’s no shortcuts. The hitters get their tee work and the pitchers talk with the other pitchers about their craft.”

You give them the basics as a youth coach, the fundamentals, give them the tools to work with and then put the time in to ingrain those fundamentals.

Then you encourage them and turn them loose on the world.

Coaching young players — and Bednar was Wetherholt’s high school coach his freshman and sophomore year in high school before David came to the Pirates — is as much about not screwing them up as it is about creating superstars.

“It’s just staying the course and just trusting yourself. With David, he talks about trusting his stuff, knowing it’s good enough,” Bednar said. “It’s the same with JJ. It’s just knowing his skill set, knowing he’s had a lot of success.”

Bednar first knew of JJ Wetherholt when he was about 10 years old and just beginning to blossom. He’d have him in camps and see him around.

When Wetherholt got to Mars High School as a freshman, Bednar did not hesitate giving him the stage to perform on.

“As a freshman, he was our starting shortstop and hit about .400. I want to say that during my coaching tenure, I found out that was a lot to take on. It’s demanding to do that as a freshman and that was the best team we ever had, losing in either the state semis or the state quarters.

“For a 14- or 15-year-old kid that’s a pretty big stage, but he didn’t miss a beat.”

No matter how good a kid is, however, there are down times, too, and it’s a heavy responsibility on a youth coach to see they learn how to take the bad with the good and get through it.

He learned a lot about how to do it by watching his older son, David, work with Will.

“David has been most helpful with Will on keeping that middle ground. At that level, you are going to have some bad days, you are going to have some good days,” Andy Bednar said.

“What’s most important is to stick to your routine and do what you did to get you there.”

That lesson was passed on to Wetherholt, who finally at the end of this season had his first rough period of the year as WVU lost late, but regained his stroke when the Mountaineers were facing elimination in the NCAAs.

That he learned to shake off the bad times was emphasized as he showed up at the camp just a few days after being eliminated from the regional tournament, talking with the kids, chatting with the big leaguers on hand back in a friendly, familiar environment.

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