Joe Wainhouse grew up in a baseball family.
He occasionally traveled on the road with his dad, Dave Wainhouse, a former big league pitcher in the 1990s for Seattle, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Colorado and St. Louis and now pitching coach at Seattle University.
Wainhouse – Kentridge High’s power-hitting first baseman and junior co-captain – has seen the ins and outs of what a baseball player’s life could be. And he has goals of a professional baseball career.
Wainhouse stopped playing basketball after his first two years at Kentridge to focus his efforts solely into baseball this year. To those around him, they certainly see how the changes Wainhouse has made this year make a difference in the weight room and on the field.
“He’s changed his routine in terms of lifting and hitting,” said his father. “(And) his footwork has gotten better at fielding.”
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Wainhouse is a leader on the field and a solid hitter, fulfilling the coveted role of driving in a lot of runs.
With all the experience from home and the time he’s putting on the field, Wainhouse is setting his hopes on a professional career sooner rather than later on in life.
“(I want to) either play (at a NCAA Division I college) or just go to the draft out of high school to get to the MLB (Major League Baseball),” Wainhouse said.
Wainhouse has his eyes on Ole Miss and Oregon State if he chooses to play in college, but for now, keeps his eyes on the prize for this season at Kentridge.
“I think we can go deep,” he said. “I think we can at least make it to the state championships or around there. It just depends on certain guys who will step up and how we play as a team.”
Wainhouse also hopes to break a couple school records. He’s only a handful of runs away from the school’s career home run record and about seven RBIs away from the career record.
And for a dad to see his son walking in familiar footsteps, he couldn’t be more proud.
“For me, I love the fact that he loves to play baseball,” said his father.
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