Being wrong can be great

Sometimes it’s great to be wrong.
Josh Ludy was without question one of the best baseball players, if not the best, in Jay County High School history.
He stepped into the batter’s box for his first career game as a freshman and hit a home run in his first at bat. That was just the start.
Ludy hit 33 more home runs in his career, shattering the school record of 23 set by 1991 graduate Shannon Stigleman. He was part of one of the most prolific home-run hitting teams in Indiana history as the Patriots hit 65 blasts, third on the state’s all-time list, during his senior season.
He also holds JCHS career records for batting average (.452), hits (132), runs (126), on-base percentage (.620) and walks (85). He hit .539 during his senior season, and reached base in more than two-thirds of his plate appearances.
Even with those gaudy numbers, I had my doubts when Josh signed to play baseball at Baylor University.
Josh is not a kid who was blessed with a 6-foot-4-inch frame on which he could easily add 20 to 30 pounds of muscle in a college lifting program. He didn’t have incredible speed or an incredible throwing arm.
He became a great high school player by putting in an incredible amount of work.
Given that fact, I wondered if there was still room for improvement. Because he had put in so much effort, I thought he may have already peaked.
I was wrong.
Josh was not only able to play at Baylor, but he has made himself into one of the best college players in the nation.
He ranks ninth in the country in RBIs (69 in 60 games) and is among the top 30 in home runs, slugging percentage and total bases. He was voted Big 12 Player of the Year, leading the conference in all four of those categories.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper selected Josh as a third-team All-American, and he was also the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week for April 9 through 15. He is also in the running for the Dick Howser Trophy, college baseball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, and the Johnny Bench Award that honors the best catcher in college baseball.
So not only was I wrong, I was wrong on an epic scale. And I’m thrilled that I was.
I’m thrilled for the success Josh has had in his senior season at Baylor. I’m rooting for him to fulfill his childhood dream of playing in the College World Series. And I’m hoping that he’ll pick up a few more awards before his career is done.
I’m also looking forward to following Josh’s career as he progresses through Minor League Baseball.
JCHS coach Lea Selvey remembers that, like me, many doubted Josh could hack being a Division I player. And he said he’s sure there will continue to be doubters.
“He keeps proving them wrong,” Selvey said. “I’m putting my money on him making it. ... All the way he’s had to work on it and make adjustments, and when his time has come he’s been lights out.”
It was a mistake to doubt Josh before, and I won’t do that again.
It’s impossible to know whether he’ll make it all the way to Major League Baseball. But I do know he’ll work as hard as he can to make the most of his opportunity in the professional ranks.
I won’t be wrong about that.

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