Baseball is fun again for Kris Honel.
Almost 25 years ago, the 6-5 right-hander was one of the hottest pro prospects in the nation, drafted in the first round by his hometown White Sox.
He spent 11 seasons in pro ball, getting as high as Double-A, before retiring and moving on with his life. But baseball was an itch that never really went away. Now, in the second season of his comeback with the semipro Beecher Muskies, Honel is a national champ.
He pitched a five-hitter to beat the Addison Braves 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the National Amateur Baseball Federation Charles Blackburn Major World Series on Aug. 2, and the Muskies won the title the next day. It was Honel’s first complete game since throwing a no-hitter for the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden League — on opening day, no less — in 2010.
“Playing with these guys just kind of rejuvenated my love for baseball,” Honel said after the Addison game. “Fred (LeSage, the Muskies manager) gave me the opportunity to come out and pitch. It meant the world to me.
“I was a little rusty last year, hadn’t pitched in a long time, didn’t really prepare for it. Prepared this year and the results have been night-and-day different.”
So why did he come back last summer?
“I could tell there’s just something still in me that was just burning to come out and pitch again,” Honel said. “I started throwing again, with the lessons I give around town, throwing with high school kids. And I didn’t know how my arm was gonna respond.
“I started pitching and the arm felt good. Actually felt better than I ever have. So I was just like, I’m gonna run with this, see where it goes.”
The win over Addison in the World Series was his only decision of the season. Honel finished with 18 strikeouts, eight walks, a 1.29 WHIP, a .235 opponent’s batting average and a 4.98 ERA across six games and 21 2/3 innings.
But it was about more than the numbers.
“Just the camaraderie,” Honel said. “Being out here with guys that want to compete, want to play, want to win. That’s what I missed the most after not playing for (more than) 10 years — just being … with guys that just want to be dogs and compete and win. …
“Especially with this organization that’s been around a long time. They’re very prideful. So I just want to do my part and just keep helping the tradition.”
History lesson
The Muskies trace their history back to 1978, when some current and former Manteno High School players formed a team for 17- to 21-year-olds called the Manteno Thorobreds.
Fred LeSage was one of the players on that team, which was renamed the Muskies in 1984 and moved first to Momence for a year and then to Beecher in 1991. LeSage took over as manager in 1994 and has remained at the helm ever since, guiding the Muskies to numerous national tournament appearances and the 2010 NABF World Series title.
Now. 15 years later, LeSage is a champion once more.
What does it mean to hoist the trophy again?
“You know, I was telling (coach Todd) Sippel, you go through the grind of rhe season and it’s so many things, the challenges you have,” LeSage said. “Sometimes it gets very frustrating and this payoff at the end makes you appreciate how hard work gets you to someplace great. Hopefully these guys picked that up, too.
“These guys worked on a lot of stuff this year. … For me, it’s something I’ve always known, that hard work will get you to a place you want to be.”
Best of the best
Six Muskies were named to the All-World Series team, led by co-MVPs Bryce Shafer and Marty Coyle.
Coyle caught all six games over a five-day span, batting .458 with a 1.042 OPS.
Shafer was 3-0, getting the semifinal and title-game wins in relief, with a 2.45 ERA and 18 strikeouts across 11 innings.
Also honored were left fielder World Series batting champ AJ Le, who hit .545 with nine runs and 12 RBIs; Honel; first baseman Patrick Carmody, who hit .444 with seven RBIs; and third baseman Nolan Czako, who batted .316 with an .856 OPS.