In a crowd of middle school and younger high schoolers you’d think a Major League baseball player would stand out. A stand out on the playing field, Cedric Mullins is an MLB All-Star who won the Silver Slugger award in 2021, but is only about 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds.
Mullins was in Statesboro this week as he helped put on a clinic and spoke with middle and high school baseball players at Georgia Premier Academy. Mullins' agent has ties to the area and he has trained at Georgia Premier a few times over the past four years.
“I first came here back in 2020,” Mullins said. “I had just dropped switch hitting and was going full time to hitting lefthanded. I had never been here before and it reminded me of some of the facilities I was used to back in the minor leagues. It’s kind of the mentality of clocking in and clocking out and going about things on your pace. I really felt at home here. It's nice to have a chance to pass on some knowledge and experience to the kids in this area.”
Gene Reynolds, the director of baseball at Georgia Premier, knew Mullins was coming to town and felt like it was a great opportunity for him to share his talent and story with some of his own players, as well as other youngsters in the area serious about baseball.
“One of the luxuries of being in the Academy is some of our former players are in the big leagues," Reynolds said. "Cedric comes down to hit with our guys sometimes during the off season. We asked him if we could do something with some of the local players who may not be in our Academy, but would still love to learn some things from a Major League player.”
Mullins shared some tips, as well as his story, with the 15 or so players on hand. Mullins went to high school in Snellville where he played at Brookwood. Not heavily recruited, Mullins went to Louisburg College and went on to play at Campbell University. A 13th round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, Mullins was quickly promoted to the major leagues in August of 2018.
After a solid start to his career, Mullins struggled in 2019 and ended up falling all the way back to Double-A in Bowie, MD.
“I started 2019 in Triple-A and I struggled and they sent me down to Double-A,” Mullins said. “I was able to figure some things out in a place I was pretty comfortable with. I had to make some adjustments in my swing as well as trying to go strictly batting lefthanded. When I made those adjustments, things finally started clicking and I moved up quickly.”
The adjustments Mullins made helped him become the first Orioles player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases. He won the 2021 MLB Silver Slugger award and played in his first All-Star game. More important than the individual goals he has been able to achieve, Mullins is excited about the path the Baltimore Orioles are on, having made the postseason the past two seasons.
“I had an incredible season individually in 2021, but it was one of the worst seasons for our team,” Mullins said. “Our organization made some big moves promoting some younger guys in 2022 and it is really paying off for us. We have now made the playoffs in back-to-back years and I think we have learned a lot and are ready to take that next step.”
The Baltimore Orioles start spring training with pitchers and catchers reporting Feb. 13. The first full-squad workouts are set for Feb. 18 in Sarasota, Fla.
