From 2nd to short for Maple Grove's Hershey

It's heard so often from Major League Baseball teams that fans tend to believe it: Changing positions is a difficult transition, requiring months of practice, hours of hard work and a reacquainting with baseball's fundamentals.

Don't tell that to Logan Hershey, however.

After two years as the starting second baseman, the Maple Grove senior is moving to shortstop this spring.

Hershey said he doesn't anticipate many problems with the move.

"There's a little difference with the throws and getting your feet under you, but that's about it," Hershey said. "It's still just baseball."

Staff writer Jim Paulsen talked with Hershey about the upcoming season.

Q Let's get last season out of the way. Your team lost the Class 3A championship game when Burnsville rallied with six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Has it been tough putting that behind you?

Q What parts do you think about?

A We do talk about all the good things we did to get that far. We were one pitch, one out from winning a state championship. It's given us motivation this year to work harder.

Q The big issue this year is the restrictions on bats. Balls are not going to be jumping off them like they did before. What are your impressions?

A It's definitely a little harder. You can hit the ball on the sweet spot ,but it doesn't go as far.

Q Can you feel the difference?

Q How is that going to change the game?

A I think it's going to put a big emphasis on fielding. Making a lot of errors or walking a lot of batters is going to have a bigger impact on the game. It will be a lot different than last year, when you could hit your way out of things.

Q Will that change the way your team plays?

A No. Coach [Darby] Carlson has always stressed small ball. It's fun. Ask any team in our conference which team bunts the most, and they all would say "Maple Grove."

Q So you expect the team to adapt to the new rules pretty easily?

Q How about you? What do you expect from yourself this year?

A I really want to stress being a team leader. Last year we had three seniors who really helped get the younger guys focused and playing with confidence.

Q Who did that for you?

A Alex Naasz was our shortstop ,and he took me under his wing as a young guy. I hope I can do that for someone.

Q Baseball question: Would you rather have game-winning hit or make a game-saving catch?