Zack Gelof has spent most of his Major League career playing 3,000 miles from Delaware.
So getting the chance to play anywhere near his Rehoboth Beach home is special for the former Cape Henlopen High baseball standout.
But considering the Phillies were also his favorite team growing up, the Oakland A’s three-game series in Philadelphia last weekend was pretty exciting stuff.
It was the second-year second baseman’s first chance to play as a pro in Citizens Bank Park. The fact that Gelof hit a couple home runs and the A’s won two of the three contests was the icing on the cake.
Gelof’s dad, Adam , posted a photo of the eight-year-old Zack cheering in the stadium when the Phils won the 2008 World Series.
“Hitting a home run was pretty cool,” Gelof was quoted in a story on MLB.com. “The place was rocking. Hearing the boos was pretty cool, too. It means you’re doing something right.”
Cape Henlopen coach Ben Evick made it to two of the games in Philadelphia. He knows it meant a lot to Gelof to have family and friends see him play in person.
“Now he’s played in Washington, he’s played in Baltimore,” said Evick. “That (Philadelphia) was kind of the last ‘hometown’ stadium, so to speak, for him to get to. So that was cool.
“He was excited to be up there. He knows how the fans are. It was a sellout all three games. He was like, it was just electric there.”
Gelof’s sophomore season has seen its share of ups and downs.
Not that long ago, he was hitting under .200 as he dealt with an oblique injury and continued to adjust to being an everyday player. He missed 19 games due to the injury.
But, in his last 15 games, Gelof is batting .241 with four homers, 13 RBI and three stolen bases. For the season, he’s hitting .204 with 12 homers and 34 RBI.
One of Gelof’s homers earlier this season was the 9,000th in A’s history.
“You lose a little confidence in the trust of your process,” Gelof said on MLB.com. “Not necessarily my talent, but what I’m doing behind the scenes and if it’s conducive to success or not.
“You have to look back at what you’re doing. Now, I just believe in what I do so that when I go out there, I’m just competing.”
Henderson in the pros
Nolan Henderson, the former Smyrna High and Delaware standout quarterback, got his chance to play in the pros in the spring.
Playing for the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks, showed what he could do by the end of the season in June.
The 26-year-old appeared in six games, completing 43-of-74 passes for 529 yards with a pair of touchdown throws and only one interception. He also ran for 142 yards and a TD on 22 carries.
Henderson said it was an interesting experience as he moved up and down the depth chart.
“I had no shortage of emotions felt during all that whole process,” he said in a story on Bluehens.com “Going into camp with the chance to start. Now you’re the three, then you start playing a little bit more.
“Now you’re the two. And then eventually at the end of the season, ended up getting some starts. But I was glad at the end of the season, I was able to get an opportunity to play and put some good things on tape.”
Earlier in the summer, Henderson was back in Delaware working with high school quarterbacks.
Whitehead gets a chance, too
Another former Blue Hen, safety Kedrick Whitehead , also got his chance in the UFL, playing for the Michigan Panthers.
The Middletown High grad finished with 30 tackles in 10 games. He also blocked a punt and caught a pass out of punt formation.
Whitehead had done some good things in preseason with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Bucs last year after signing as a free agent. He was sidelined with an injury, though, before camp ended and was released.
Whitehead said he felt good about what he did with Panthers.
“Football is football,” he said on Bluehens.com. “In terms of level of play, there wasn’t much of a difference from Delaware.
“Of course, you are going to have one or two guys who are extremely fast or extremely strong. But if you are there, you’re good at football. If you’re in that room, then you can compete with those guys as well.”
Extra points
•Former Smyrna High basketball player Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, now with the New York Liberty, is in her eighth season in the WNBA. She’s averaging 33 minutes per game, while collecting 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals.
• Mason Fluharty might be the next Cape Henlopen baseball player to make it to the Majors. A fifth-round draft pick of the Blue Jays in ‘22 after playing at Liberty, the relief pitcher is currently at Class AAA Buffalo.
In 44.1 innings, Fluharty has a 4-2 record, two saves and a 3.05 ERA with 48 strikeouts against only 16 walks.
•Receiver Vinny Papale , who also went from Delaware to the UFL, had five touchdown catches for the Memphis Showboats.
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