By Joe Mason
For the Times
Dave Mullen will have a lot of memories about his recent trip to Florida.
Mullen, a senior second baseman on the George Washington High School baseball team, remembers the plane ride. He remembers going to Disney World, riding the rides and goofing around. He also remembers having fun with his friends.
But more than anything, he remembers the baseball aspect of the trip. He remembers playing it on the field and he remembers talking about the game with his teammates.
"Florida was great because I really feel we went down there as a team and we came back as a family, a cohesive group," Mullen said. "We played baseball down there and that was fun, it was too cold to play around here. But we also hung out, talked a lot about the game and learned a lot about each other."
The Eagles still have some work ahead of them.
After the first week of the season, Washington is 2-1, with wins over Saul and a dramatic come-from-behind triumph over Central, the defending Public League champion. In that one, which was both teams’ Public League A Division openers, the Eagles recovered from an 11-4 deficit to score eight runs in the final inning to pick up the win.
That’s the type of win that can really help a team, especially a team like Washington.
Last year, the Eagles were good, but they weren’t as dominant as they usually are. The team failed to make the Public League quarterfinals, and some of their losses were quite lopsided.
"I think last year was pretty good because we learned a lot about ourselves," said Mullen, now in his second year as a varsity player. "We learned what it was like to lose together. We lost a lot, but we also won a few games together and we knew how good that felt.
"I think that helped us. I think the trip to Florida really helped because we all got to know each other well," he continued. "Then the win against Central was great. This has been a pretty good year so far."
Mullen was talking moments after the Eagles suffered a 17-7 loss to Northeast.
Mullen, who rapped a two-run double in the defeat, wasn’t too pleased about the outcome. Of course, he would have preferred a Washington win, but he wasn’t too down.
In fact, as a senior and as a leader, he realizes that a loss now and then can teach a team something, and you’d figure that Washington learned a lot last year.
"We’re a good team, a really good team," he said. "But we have to win because we work harder than other teams. This was a tough game . . . they’re good and they got us today. We have to work harder if we want to do well.
"I honestly think that we’re as good as any team in the league if we play well," he said. "Today, we didn’t play well at all. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of stupid mistakes, but that happens. We have to remember how we won those other games and we have to come out playing like that."
Mullen knows he has plenty of baseball in his future.
This summer, he plans to play once again for Bustleton’s American Legion team. Next year he’ll attend Penn State’s Abington campus, where he’d like to continue his baseball career and study business administration.
But Mullen doesn’t plan on starting his Legion season until after the Eagles hang a blue and yellow championship banner in their gym.
"I really want to win the Public League championship this year, I really think we have what it takes to do that, too," he said. "If you look at this team, we have a lot of experience and a lot of guys who can play. We’re probably a little underrated because we had a bad year last year, but we have talent, we have great coaches and we’re determined to play well this year."
Mullen is also eyeing a successful future off the diamond.
This spring, he is committed to helping the Eagles win. But after he graduates from college, he’s committed to having a fat wallet.
"I definitely know I want to be rich . . . I want to have a whole lot of money," he said. "I think I want to start by opening up my own business, and then after that I want to open up a bunch of businesses. I’m not sure what I want those businesses to be, but I know I want to make good money doing it.
"I’ll learn all about that in college, what type of business is for me," he said. "Right now, I’m more worried about how we’re going to play." ••
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com