Baseball player converts to Barry switch-hitter, thanks to unusual training routine

Garbanzo beans are not only delicious, but they also make for good batting practice.

At least, that’s the way it works for Willie Escala, the former Miami Hurricanes middle infielder who is now a junior at Barry University.

Escala, who batted .325 this year while making 20 starts for 17-4 Barry, has been keeping sharp during this coronavirus sports stoppage by hitting — among other things — those tiny chickpeas from about 12 feet away.

The pitcher in these sessions is his father, Guillermo “Big Willie” Escala.

“The beans are small, and you have to track them, so it helps with your vision and reactions,” said Willie Escala, who also swats at plastic golf balls. “My dad can throw them pretty hard.

“It’s fun. It’s an extra challenge.”

Escala, a three-year starting shortstop at South Dade High, was an immediate success as a University of Miami freshman in 2018. He started 53 of UM’s 54 games that year, hitting .280 with two homers and a .719 OPS, all while playing second base (.969 fielding percentage).

As a sophomore, however, Escala lost his starting job to Anthony Vilar. Escala started just 15 of his 40 games, hitting .257 with no homers, a .707 OPS and a .910 fielding percentage.

Escala transferred after that season, and he took a big step this past fall when he asked Barry coach Juan Ranero if he could work on switch-hitting.

Ranero was all for the idea.

“I told Willie, ‘Do it for the entire fall, and then we can reassess’,” Ranero said.

The plan worked as Escala hit over .300 from both sides of the plate this year. In fact, his only homer was from the left side.

“It’s pretty natural for me,” Escala said. “I’m right-eye dominant, so I see the ball better from the left side.”

Escala said he has experimented with lefty hitting since age eight, but he didn’t do it in high school or college games before this year, and that is something he regrets.

The pressure to put up numbers – especially at a highly competitive program such as Miami – was so intense that Escala felt he couldn’t experiment.

“There were some struggles from the left side early this season, but then it clicked, and I’m happy I decided to commit to it,” Escala said. “It was cool to feel that solid contact from both sides.”

Escala, who led Barry with 13 steals (in 16 tries), is one of two draft-eligible prospects on the Bucs team that scouts ask about the most, according to Ranero. The other is senior right-hander Myles Gayman, who was dominant in six starts this season (4-0, 0.21 ERA).

Whether either gets selected in what is expected to be an abbreviated five- or 10-round MLB Draft June 10-12 remains to be seen.

But Escala, who is one year away from earning his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, said he would be happy to return to Barry for his senior season if that’s the way it works out with the draft.

After all, things were going well for the Bucs before the stoppage. After enduring losing seasons four of the past five years, the Bucs had risen to a No. 7 national ranking in NCAA Division II, according to Collegiate Baseball magazine.

The Bucs were the highest-ranked team in arguably the toughest region (South) in the nation, and their ERA (2.24) was third in the country.

“When (Ranero) told us our season was over (due to the pandemic),” Escala said, “half of us were in tears.”

While Escala still keeps in touch with many of his former UM teammates, including Alex Toral, Gabe Rivera and Isaac Quinones, he has found a new family at Barry.

Before the coronavirus, Escala would visit the offices of Ranero and assistant coach Jimmy Correnti virtually every day.

“I feel really close to them,” Escala said. “I would go over there and analyze film, talk about shifts and hitting.”

Those in person talks, of course, are not possible now with social distancing. Instead, all that remains is to keep hitting those garbanzo beans and wait for the draft to determine Escala’s immediate future.

“I would love to pursue my dream of playing pro ball,” Escala said. “But if I go back to school, I won’t mind at all.

“The whole reason I transferred to Barry was to showcase my skills and have fun playing baseball.”