No Matter the league, former UConn Star Willy Yahn always shows his love for baseball
copyright Peter Wallace Register Citizen 6/25/24
NORTHWEST: Three years removed from a minor league career ending with the Orioles’ AAA affiliate Norfolk Tides, Tri-Town Trojans third baseman Willy Yahn still wants to be the best baseball player he can be. Anyone who’s ever seen Willy Yahn play baseball knows he’s deeply in love with the game – and life, for that matter.
The baseball range goes from high school/Berkshire League star at Housatonic (2014) through similar stardom at UConn, a four-year minor league career ending at triple A in the Orioles’ organization and now, at 29, the most dedicated hustler there is in three high-level adult summer and fall baseball leagues. “I owe everything to this game,” he says in a phone conversation Tuesday morning. “I was always the crazy clubhouse guy trying to pump everybody up, but I played with guys with more talent than I had who would have hit the majors if they had half the enthusiasm I have.”
Area fans may have witnessed third-baseman Yahn’s talents – and enthusiasm – at their best at any level from All-State Highlander to All-Conference Husky to All-Star teams at several minor league stops and now as the reigning Silver Slugger for the Tri-Town Trojans in the Tri-State Baseball League. If so, the sight offers a new grasp of what amount of talent, enthusiasm and maybe luck beyond his it really takes to hit the majors. “At the end, one of my strengths coming into the minors (drafted in the 25th round in his junior year at UConn) turned out to be one of my weaknesses at my highest minor league level,” says Yahn. “I hate to strike out so I don’t get many walks and that hurt my on-base percentage.”
In his final two years at Housy, Yahn struck out one time over that span while his batting average screamed .602 and .590. In his third and final year at UConn before the Orioles drafted him, he led the Huskies with a .317 batting average and a 14-game hitting streak after a summer as a lead-off All-Star in the Cape Cod League at .290. His journey through the minors included major ups and downs in batting average, but, at the highest levels, smooth-fielding third basemen like Yahn (he also did stints at second base and left field), with a strong enough arm to also be Pitcher of the Year for his final two years at Housy, are also expected to show power at bat. Reaching for pitches that might otherwise be ball four with a runner on are not conducive to that.
Yahn had nine home runs in his minor league career. The writing on the wall began showing in 2021 at the AAA Norfolk Tides with fewer playing days and, finally, at the Orioles’ spring training camp the following year. “They called me in and said, ‘Unless you can hit 10 home runs in the next few days or other players go down, you’re going to be released,’” he says. Disappointed? Of course, though “one or two other teams reached out to my agent (with no offers).” But lessons learned as well. “Bouncing around a lot makes you resilient,” Yahn says. “In college, you have 35 guys on the same roster all pulling together. Pro ball makes you appreciate the little things more, like the chances to see your family and friends.”
Appreciation grows with time while love for the game remains rock solid.
“Daryl Morhardt started coaching at Housatonic my junior year,” Yahn says. “He has a beautiful mind for baseball. I learned more from him than anybody else.” “I had bad fall and spring practice sessions as a freshman at UConn. Coach (Jim) Penders told me if I kept that up, ’you’re not going to be a Huskey.’ But he had enough faith in me to give me another chance. I hit a home run in my first game and things fell into place after that.” That year, Yahn was second team All-American Athletic Conference with a .342 batting average (13 strikeouts in 172 at bats) and a Louisville Slugger All-American.
Just as importantly, despite the end of his professional dreams, he’s learned to appreciate and rely on his own gifts within the game all the more. “I always thought I had enough bat speed, so I’m not chasing sharp curves or sliders when I can’t reach them. But, when I came up against a guy throwing 99 mile an hour, I read the scouting reports. Then it always came down to whether I worried about his tools or relied on my own. “In what amounted to fight or flight situations, I decided I had no choice but to fully commit and just be an athlete.”
“I still want to be the best player I can be. I won’t stop playing until I’m physically unable to. It makes me happy when young guys come up to me and say, ‘I like the way you play the game.’”