NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The outfield wall at New Braunfels High School’s baseball field has four plaques representing the players who have made it to the MLB from their program.
Jordan Westburg’s plaque will need some editing after the former Unicorn made his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
“There’s a lot of talent around here, a lot of guys that have come out of here and so I’m just trying to keep that tradition going,” said New Braunfels High School Head Baseball Coach Bobby Alford.
The humble head coach was beaming with pride when we met him.
Alford shared what it means to see a player he’s helped develop since Westburg’s junior year at New Braunfels High School now honored as one of the best baseball players alive today.
“(It’s) really cool, really special,” he said. “I talked to Jordan a couple (of) days ago, and he’s excited. We probably voted about a thousand times between me and my son, and he didn’t get in as a starter, but we felt like he had a chance to get in as a reserve, and then Devers got hurt from Boston, and he got in. So I sent him a text right after that, and like five minutes later, he sent a response. He’s excited.”
Knowing that Westerburg won’t start means that Alford and the New Braunfels community will have to wait for him to possibly be put in later in the game, and they’ll be more than ready for that moment.
“I got a buddy that’s mad at me right now that I’m not bowling tonight, and so I said, man, I’m gonna be glued to the TV; this is a pretty special moment,” Alford said. “We’re gonna watch it, watch the introductions, watch all the stuff going on, just take it all in and I know he’s gonna be doing the same thing. I can tell he’s just excited about it but I guarantee you when the game starts, I know it’s a fun game it’s kinda the midseason deal but he’s gonna be competitive. He’s, again, probably one of the most competitive kids I’ve ever been around, too, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch.”