What is a Hitting Guru? Why is the Guru named Judy? How did a former major leaguer become buddies with my 11 year old son? And why do they keep saying "She Gone!"
Let me explain.....
Jeff Frye was a popular baseball player because he worked his tail off and beat the odds to become a 2nd baseman for several major league teams like the Rangers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. He inspired a lot of people because he was one of the smallest players in the league!
Jeff has retired from playing professional baseball, but he inspired me when I saw a video that he posted. This was about March of 2020. I started following him on social media, and he continued to produce funny videos about so-called "certified hitting gurus". His satirical baseball instructional videos became more and more popular in the following months.
One day, I happened to notice that he was on a podcast, being interviewed along with another guest, who claimed to be a successful certified hitting instructor. It actually made me mad when the other guest became very unprofessional, and started calling Jeff Frye "Judy". He was referring to the way this former major leaguer hit the baseball during his long career. Baseball people call players that don't try to hit home runs every time, as a "punch and judy" hitter. Mr. Punch and his wife Judy were a puppet show that originated back in the 16th century.
Jeff told a story during this interview that touched home with me. He was told early in his career to keep the ball out of the air. He did pretty damn good, hitting .290 for his nine year career. I was told the same thing in college. I was small, and my coach got mad at me early in my career, when I hit a home run!
Not long after the podcast, my 10 year old son, Jacob, volunteered to help me produce a video that would imitate Jeff Frye. We thought it would be funny for Jacob to introduce himself as a junior certified hitting guru. We placed a sign behind him that said "Judy the Hitting Guru", simply because it sounded good, and it made us laugh. Jacob practiced his performance and nailed it on the first try. He was a natural! We sent it to Jeff and he decided to post it on his twitter account. That's when we officially joined the "shegone" movement.
You see, Jeff Frye ends all his videos with a hard hit ball off the tee. He yells "shegone!"....because....well, that's what baseball players do.
His message is similar to mine. He's asking everyone to join the fight. The #shegone movement's goal is to fix our National Pastime before it's too late. Fix the madness that adults have created in the culture of youth baseball. Innocent families are being taken advantage of, by unprofessional adults who will do anything to make money.
All things considered, 2020 has not been so bad a year for Fowlkes Baseball. My youngest son has developed a lasting friendship with a former major leaguer, my local community has responded positively to several sandlot baseball games we have organized, and we are starting a campaign to help equip families in need.
"Judy the Hitting Guru" has now become a symbol of our fight to stop the madness! To help the cause, Jacob and I have created a mascot. The signature leg kick makes it obvious that he is a young Jeff Frye. The "J" on his jersey could stand for either Jeff, Judy, or Jacob. But most importantly, the pink represents cancer awareness, which is very dear to the Fowlkes family. I lost my sister Lynne and my middle brother Eddie to cancer, and my mom was a long time cancer survivor.
With the help of Jeff Frye and a supportive community here in Kennesaw, Georgia, 2021 is going to be a great year! Updates on fundraisers involving our new mascot will be announced soon.
The 100 year tradition of the Fowlkes family, and the #shegone Nation are a natural fit, and we feel blessed to be a part of it. Stay tuned!
