More than 100 starts. Thousands of dazzling putouts. A record four East-West All-Star Games. A region championship. A state playoff appearance.
Scott McGough's American Legion baseball career couldn't have been much better. But that much-talked-about career came to a close last Friday after a 12-9 loss to Bradford in the Pennsylvania State Tournament in Boyertown.
Like his Post 980 team, McGough left an indelible mark on Pennsylvania Legion baseball.
"It will be a long time before we see another player like him," Plum manager Bill Holmes said. "He has an incredible arm. He is one great kid and it was a pleasure to coach him. The kids will look back one day and realize how lucky they were to have him on their team."
McGough, a Pirates' draft pick, played six seasons at the Legion level, starting as a 13-year-old who would play Pony games during the day and Legion games at night.
Before long, he was a fixture at short and an dominant closer.
He turned down chances to play for "elite" traveling teams, staying true to Legion and his hometown baseball family.
"It's kind of a loyalty thing," McGough said. "But I had fun playing with my friends and the guys I grew up with. I give a lot of credit to the Legion baseball program. I think that's what transformed me into a better player. It helped me get exposure."
Holmes said McGough was as fun to watch as he was to coach.
"No matter where we played, even in the state tournament, people marveled at how he made plays at short," Holmes said. "Even the plays he didn't make, he still made exciting. It was like watching Jack Wilson at PNC Park. Scotty gets it across the infield at 90 mph."
McGough and two Legion teammates -- Brad Beckett and Zane Wallace -- will be too old to play for the team next season.
With those three doing their part, Plum Legion won more than 90 games the past three seasons and made the Region 6 finals in all three.
This summer, Plum went 33-7, won the Allegheny County title and captured its first Region 6 championship since 1989.
"All three players helped the team tremendously in their own way," Plum Legion manager Bill Holmes said. "We hate to see them go. Hopefully, if everyone else comes back next year, we can make another run."
Beckett may try to walk on to the Slippery Rock team next year, while Wallace could do the same at Penn State-Behrend.
Both players are 19. Both played Legion for three years.
Wallace, a key pitcher throughout the postseason, finished 8-0 this season. Beckett was a top outfielder.
McGough, who hit .462 this season, will soon know where he'll be playing next season.
If he can't come to terms with the Pirates by Friday -- the MLB signing deadline -- he will board a plane for Oregon on Sunday and begin his college career.
Oregon will field its Division I baseball program for the first time since 1981, and McGough hopes to be part of a resurgence.
"I'm staying in contact (with the Pirates)," McGough said. "But it's still a wait-and-see situation. Right now, I need to get my mind wrapped around (going to college), but you never know."
Holmes thinks McGough should go to college.
"He should go to school and make himself a better, stronger player," Holmes said. "Then, maybe by his junior year, he'll be a sixth-round pick instead of a 46th.
"I told Scott, 'Good luck with everything,' " Holmes said. "I said, 'All I ask is that when you make it big, send me a ticket so I can come watch you play.' "
