By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… Not Found. Earned!

The 1987 Scottsdale Community College Artichokes would make a legendary series. Since this is a family show, we will celebrate the unbelievable things we can discuss.

The 1987 Scottsdale Community College Artichokes at the NJCAA World Series
The ’87 Chokes at the NJCAA World Series. A team full of talent, standards, personality, and stories.
Fighting Artichokes logo
THE ’87 CHOKESScottsdale Community College · NJCAA World Series

That ballclub, led by Jim Coveney and John Kazanas, was not only good. We had fun. And we won—a lot.

Over the next few months, this series will cover the people, the standards, the stories, and the many factors that made that group what it was. Here is only a teaser: Division I All-Americans were sitting on our bench. We had a left-hander who probably pitched in half the games. We had a Texan who came to Arizona and eventually became a Cane in Miami.

Being really good is really darn sweet.

On a team loaded with draft picks, I felt honored to serve as a captain alongside two very different kinds of special: one of the best pure baseball players I have ever known, Dave Brennan, and a modern-day human transformer, Eddie Beuerlein.

Then there was our best player, outfielder Kevin Long. There was Vinny Makil, our Native American teammate. And there were so many other characters—players, coaches, and friends—who made the year more than a collection of wins and box scores.

1. This is not just a nostalgia tour.

Yes, the stories will be fun. Some will be hard to believe. But the reason to tell them is bigger than that. Great teams do not happen because one player is talented or because a roster gets lucky. They grow from preparation, coaching, accountability, confidence, roles, chemistry, and a whole lot of people doing their jobs when it matters.

The ’87 Chokes had plenty of all of it.

What sport can do when people share a standard, compete for one another, and enjoy the ride is powerful.

Every young player should understand this: winning is never one thing. It is talent, preparation, coaching, accountability, confidence, roles, chemistry, and a whole lot of people doing their jobs when it matters.

2. Coming in this series

  • Jim Coveney and John Kazanas: the leaders and the standard.
  • The loaded roster: draft picks, All-Americans, and real competition for playing time.
  • The left-hander who kept taking the ball.
  • Texas to Arizona to Miami: one player’s remarkable path.
  • The captains, Kevin Long, Vinny Makil, and the characters: why a clubhouse matters.
  • What young hitters and teams can learn from the ’87 Chokes.

What a year. What a team.