Super-speedy White hoping for a quick stopover in Niles

To move up, he’ll need to develop his overall baseball skills.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

NILES — For most of his baseball career Adam White has relied on his speed and quickness to carry him through.

Now he needs to add to his abilities if he wants to make it into major league baseball.

White, a 22-year-old outfielder from Morrisdale, Pa., was a ninth round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians in this month’s baseball draft. He’s been assigned to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the Class A short season New York-Penn League.

The 5-10, 195-pound outfielder played two seasons at West Virginia University before getting drafted.

He was considered one of the fastest players in NCAA Division I baseball and consistently runs the 60 yard dash in under 6.5 seconds.

“My defense and my speed have been by strengths all through my baseball career,” White said this week after reporting to Eastwood Field for his professional baseball debut.

“I know that I have a lot of work to do on my offense if I want to be up in the big leagues some day,” he added.

Exciting time

White, who stole 19 bases as a redshirt freshman in the 2006 season for the Mountaineers, is excited about his new career in baseball.

“I’ve been dreaming about this day since little league and now that it’s here it is still hard to believe,” he said.

He said that the big difference between college baseball and professional baseball will be the grind of playing every day.

“There is also going to be a lot of traveling and a lot of early morning workouts, but it’s something that I look forward to if I ever want to be successful at the next level.”

White got his first introduction to his teammates last weekend when the team first reported to Eastwood Field and the only teammate he’s familiar with is pitcher Kyle Landis of Pittsburgh, who he played against during the Big East season.

“I’ve had about three weeks since the college season ended,” White said.

“We didn’t make our conference tournament, so I had about two weeks off, then had to attend several pro camps before the draft.”

He was also impressed with the facilities at Eastwood Field.

“This place is great for a short season Class A team and Niles doesn’t even seem like a bad town to be in,” he added.

“Although it’s nice here I really don’t want to be here any longer than I need to if I’m going to get anywhere in this organization.”

mollica@vindy.com