He may not have been a player from our Northwest Corner, but I was very pleased to read that former Danbury Westerner and UConn standout Mike Olt had been called up to the Texas Rangers.
In just his second game in the big leagues, Olt drove in two runs for the Rangers on Aug. 4 in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
When I covered the Torrington Twisters in their final season in 2008, Olt played for the Danbury Westerners. Olt was just a freshman, but he was an impressive player. In the NECBL All-Star Game at Fuessenich Park, Olt launched a two-run home run into the Naugatuck River in his team's victory. Olt, who was participating with the Southern Division team in the All-Star festivities, also won the home run derby that day. Olt led the Westerners with six home runs and 31 RBI that year, according to statistics posted on the NECBL's web site.
Olt, a Branford High graduate, was lighting up pitchers in 'AA' before being called up to the Rangers. In 95 games, he hit .288 with 28 homers and 85 RBI, according to statistics posted on the Rangers' web site.
Olt may be a familiar name to Torrington P38 fans. Olt played for Branford's 2005 American Legion state championship team. That team beat a great Torrington team twice in a row to take the state title. In the first game, a 6-3 Branford win, Olt had a single and started a key double play that killed a P38 rally.
Of note, Mike Tamsin, Olt's teammate on Branford Legion and at Branford High, went on to win the NECBL batting title in 2008 with a .417 average.