You would never know by looking at a happy-go-lucky sixth grader that he had a fastball quicker than the speed limit on the Deerfoot to go along with his bulldogged competitiveness.

Darek Fogal, 11, poses with former Major League pitcher Tommy John at the Baseball Alberta awards banquet Saturday in Edmonton. Fogal was named the Mosquito Competitive Player of the Year by Baseball Alberta.

Darek Fogal of Okotoks received the Mosquito Competitive Player of the Year award at the Baseball Alberta banquet Saturday night in Edmonton.

“When you look at him he doesn’t look like an athlete — he is tall and kind of skinny,” said his coach Barry Whelan of the Okotoks Mosquito Outlaws. “But boy, what a heck of a baseball player. We had a gun on him one time and it was around 78 miles per hour (125 km) — now that’s really unofficial.”

It goes without saying he was the ace of the Outlaws.

“We used him as much as we could,” Whelan said. “We might have lost a game when Darek started (on the mound), but we were never behind when he came out of the game. He is a hard guy to hit.”

Whelan said Fogal not only has speed, but also excellent control. By the end of the season he was working on painting the corners of the plate with his fastball.

At the Mosquito level, pitchers are limited to the number of pitches they can throw during a game and even in a week to protect their young arms. As well, they are not allowed to throw curve balls or any other ‘junk’.

“He knows how to throw a strike,” Whelan said. “Usually, at this level they are throwing just right down the middle of the plate, but Darek was working on his location. He also started working on his off-speed stuff.”

Whelan said that Fogal’s velocity is such that adults who caught for the young man during practice would often shake their hand in pain afterwards.

Fogal has a bit of Okotoks Dawg Jeff Duda in him because he is a bulldog on the mound.

“His disposition is incredible,” Whalen said. “He loves the heat of the moment. If someone got on base that’s when he dug his heels in. Darek just commanded that mound. He could intimidate the other teams.”

Whelan added the intimidation came through his pitching. Fogal showed respect and sportsmanship to Outlaws’ opponents at all times.

Fogal didn’t start playing baseball until the spring of 2008. He developed his skills that spring by attending some Okotoks Dawgs youth training camps under the guidance of now Dawgs head coach David Robb.

Two seasons later, he got the unexpected phone call from Baseball Alberta.

When the 11-year-old heard the news he won the award, Fogal admitted he might have lost his composure a little bit.

“I was like going crazy — it was awesome,” he said.

He said when he does have a man on base he does concentrate more.

“I just think about getting a strike,” he said.

The 11-year-old played all positions except catcher for the Outlaws and he led the team in hitting as well.

The top Mosquito of the Year is selected by Baseball Alberta after researching scoresheets and recommendations from coaches across the province.

Fogal got to meet another pretty good pitcher during the ceremonies in Edmonton on Saturday.

The guest speaker was Tommy John, who won 288 games in his Major League Baseball career.

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