Center Moriches' Max Rayburn wins the Blue Chip Silver Slugger Award
Center Moriches' Max Rayburn, left, and coach Paul Gibson III, pose for a photo after Rayburn wins the Silver Slugger Award at the Suffolk high school baseball All-Star banquet at East Wind Long Island in Wading River on Wednesday. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Max Rayburn was ahead in the count. Paul Gibson gave his lefty-hitting senior first baseman a green light in this game at Bayport-Blue Point, and there was a swing and a drive.
“Their school is beyond the rightfield fence by maybe 100 feet, and I really think he got close to where their building was,” said Gibson, the eight-year Center Moriches coach. “He can easily hit a ball 400-plus, and he has on a couple of occasions this year for sure.”
Estimated distance this time: “Probably in the 390-ish range,” Gibson said. “… That certainly was a shot.”
Rayburn slugged eight homers for a 20-4 Red Devils team that reached the state Class B semis this season. That total went with a .496 average, .650 on-base percentage, 1.630 OPS, 35 RBIs, 39 runs, 22 walks and 17 steals.
The Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association voted him as the Blue Chip Silver Slugger winner, recognizing the county’s top hitter. The five-year varsity starter received the honor at an awards banquet Wednesday night in Wading River.
“He sees the ball exceptionally well,” Gibson said. “He’s been a great hitter for us since eighth grade. This year, he took it to a little bit of another level. He’s just an exceptional hitter, and he works exceptionally hard at his craft, and he has a great knowledge of the strike zone, and he has tremendous power.”
This coach and player go back a long way. Rayburn grew up four houses down the road from Gibson. They began having catches on Gibson’s front lawn. Rayburn was 9 or 10 then.
“As the varsity coach, (I recognized) this kid is pretty good; I’m going to take a look at what we we’ve got going on here,” Gibson said. “So we started to throw and build a relationship. He’s really very special to me … He’s just a kid that can put a smile on your face.”
The plan is for Rayburn to try to walk on at D-II Bentley. But Gibson is trying to find a guaranteed spot elsewhere for him, saying, “He really deserves the opportunity to play in school.”
