Gage Canning selected all state baseball

By Bill Tamburrino

Gage Canning was one of only five San Diego area baseball players to be named to the 2013 Cal-Hi Sports All State Baseball teams.

Canning was named to the second team underclass team as an outfielder. He is the first Ramona High School sophomore to be named all state.

“Canning is a ‘five tool’ player who hits for average, hits with power, has speed, has an arm and can field his position,” said one local scout. “He is on everybody’s radar and he will have to decide between a major college scholarship and signing a professional contract his senior year.”

During the 2013 spring season, Canning hit .406, scored 34 runs, drove in 41 runs, hit 14 doubles, three triples and blasted 9 home runs. He drew 13 walks and slugged an impressive .871 with an on base percentage of .478. He stole 10 bases and had a fielding average of .961.

Canning has yet to take a week off of baseball this summer. He played in the Junior Olympics in Arizona two weeks ago. He also had a tryout for the Area Code Games and is playing for the San Diego Dirtbags. One of the coaches on the Dirtbags is Neil Jamison who was an All American for the Long Beach State Dirtbags and coached the CIF champions, Mission Hills Grizzlies, this past season.

When asked if baseball was interfering with his summer vacation, Canning responded, “Playing baseball is a vacation. On the days that I don’t have a practice or a game, I play golf.”

Canning is a left-handed hitter in baseball but hits the dimpled ball from the right side.