Johnny Decker (Stony Brook) Named Week Five Player of the Week Sponsored by CDSF
Johnny Decker (Stony Brook) has been named the Player of the Week Sponsored by CDSF. Decker had an outstanding week, carrying an average of .455 (5-11) with a double, triple, and 2 RBIs to help the Dutchmen go 6-0 on the week ending on 7/10. Decker is now batting .412 (7-17) with three extra base hits and 2 RBIs on the year. Decker was a late addition to the 2021 Dutchmen but that hasn’t stopped him from contributing to the offense.
“It was best for me to be close to home, I fractured a couple bones in my hand at the end of my school season, Coach Davey allowed me to come a little later and worked me in perfectly and it’s been great to play for him,” Decker said.
Decker has come back extremely well since injuring his hand, and he attributes his summer success to both his work as well as the Dutchmen coaching staff.
“My success has been a mixture of putting in work and the coaches, they know a lot about the game and I have fun, play loose and they let me be myself on the field and play my type of game to help the team win,” Decker said.
On top of the coaching staff, Decker says his Dutchmen teammates have helped make him comfortable despite being a late addition.
“I love every one of the kids on this team, there’s not a bad seed anywhere, we’ve all formed together and we’ve only been together for a couple weeks, it’s a special feeling to know we’ll only be together for a couple weeks but feel like you’ve been together for a couple of years, these are friends I’ll keep for the rest of my life,” Decker said.
The sum of all these parts this past week has been an abundance of wins, as the Dutchmen are currently on a six game win streak.
“Once you get that taste of winning in your mouth you don’t want to let it go, everybody’s pulling their weight, pitchers doing a phenomenal job keeping games close and the hitters are doing a great job putting runs on the board, I’m excited to see what happens in the next couple weeks,” Decker said.
Decker is a selfless person, as he wants to do the little things to help the team win and not be seen as an individual on the field.
“I want to do everything I can, whether it’s stealing bases or hitting a sac fly, whatever it’s going to take to win, just buying into that mentality is going to help us in the end and when we get all nine guys to buy in it’s a dangerous combination,” Decker said.
Decker has been very successful at the plate this summer for the Dutchmen, but his preparation for a game starts long before he arrives to the field.
“I do my own work at home before I go to a game, I’ll do tee work, soft toss, front toss, backside one handed swings, and then when I get to the field I’ll go through the team routine, but I just want to help the team win as many games as we can,” Decker said.
Decker’s pregame work was noticed by Dutchmen Head Coach Nick Davey, who saw great things from Decker early in the week.
“Johnny set the tone with a great batting practice early in the week at Glens Falls and really played well the rest of the week for us. His athleticism is just a gift and when he stays in the middle of the field he’s really good,” Davey said.
Albany currently sits 4.5 games out of a playoff spot heading into the final two and a half weeks, and Decker would love nothing more than to watch his team succeed.
“My only real goal is just looking to help coach and the team win in any way I can, as far as a team standpoint I would love to see us get to the playoffs for Coach and for all he’s done for us,” Decker said.
Johnny Decker and the Albany Dutchmen look to expand the team’s win streak to seven, when the Dutchmen travel to Oneonta for a 7:05 first pitch on Monday, July 12th.
