Baseball:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Mikey Kane left quite a mark athletically at St. Francis.

Kane contributed the last two years for the Golden Knights’ football program and he was a three-year starter in baseball.

If you ask his teammates and coaches, though, Mikey Kane is a far better young man and student than anything he does on a baseball or football field.

And that says a lot.

Just 10 games into the 2020 baseball season and Kane had already tallied 15 hits, while batting at a .455 clip.

His 15 base hits was just one shy of tying Ben Grable (Flintridge Prep) for the San Gabriel Valley area’s most hits through the first few weeks of 2020.

Kane led St. Francis in average (.455), hits (15), on-base percentage (.500), slugging (.545), OPS (1.045) and he tied Luke Crawshaw with a team-best three doubles.

But his stardom didn’t come overnight.

In 2019, Mikey Kane had team highs in average (.398), hits (43) and his 20 RBIs tied Tommy Italia as tops for the Golden Knights.

The next closest hits leader was nine back, and that player’s name is Doyle Kane.

Doyle is one year older than Mikey and is his only sibling.

Over the past two-plus years, Mikey Kane is hitting approximately .391, with 88 career hits, 46 runs, 34 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples and one home run.

St. Francis’ baseball program plays in the ever brutal Mission League, which includes powers like Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and Chaminade.

Many would shy away from playing in a league in which every game you’d be an underdog, but Kane and his teammates loved it and used the competition to better themselves, both individually and collectively.

His impact in football wasn’t as dramatic as it was at shortstop and hitting No. 3 in the lineup for Aaron Dorlarque, but make no mistake about it, Mikey Kane did his part and then some in helping Jim Bonds’ program knock off Cathedral to win a share of the Angelus League championship.

Kane tallied 36 tackles and picked off two passes this past season.

His 36 tackles tied Matthew Buntich for third most, behind Matthew Cortes (71 tackles) and St. Francis captain Tanner Tomko, who totaled 57 tackles, despite missing time to injury.

And his two picks tied Kane with Mayze Bryant for the team lead.

One year prior, Kane caught 12 passes for 170 yards, rushed for 40 yards on nine carries and collected 39 tackles.

The highlight of his football career was obviously the 38-0 thumping they put on Cathedral on November 1.

But a close second was catching two passes from his brother Doyle back in 2018, when Doyle Kane was filling in for Darius Perrantes in the Damien game.

As much as he loved playing in front of the large and partisan crowd on Friday nights, Kane said baseball has always been his No. 1 love.

And that’s what made the news of his senior season ending after just 10 games such a kick in the gut.

These days, Mikey plays endless video games against Doyle Kane in what he calls their ‘man cave’ at home in Valencia, but he’s also staying in shape just in case he’s able to play summer ball this season.

But he also said playing football made him a better baseball player and vice versa.

Other than working out and video games, his one interesting viewing on Netflix was the popular series, ‘Tiger King.’

Kane will finish with a 3.6 GPA and he’s yet to commit to any school to play baseball.

He’ll wait to see who gets drafted and what holes that eventually opens for him to play ball at the collegiate level in 2021.

One of the many cool things about Mikey Kane is his lack of ego.

Unlike many baseball stars who think it’s either D-1 or bust, Kane said point blank that “whatever path I need to take to reach my goal of one day playing in ‘the league,’ I’ll take it.”

And that includes JC ball.

His days at St. Francis are through, but it was destiny that he not only went to the La Canada school, but that Kane thrived there as well.

His father is a member of the St. Francis athletics Hall of Fame.

Mikey Kane said his parents, Mike and Lindie Kane, are his heroes and that “there are no words to describe how much their love, guidance and support have meant to my brother and me. We owe everything we have to them and we both love them so much.”

Lastly, we asked Kane what he hoped his younger teammates would remember about his time as a Golden Knights’ shortstop and star hitter.

“I hope they remember me as a team-first guy, who worked hard for his success. I also hope they embrace the league we play in, and while it’s tough, it will make them and St. Francis better for having competed against the Harvard-Westlake’s and other teams in our league. I want them to know how much I enjoyed going to battle with them and that if you compete and believe in each other, you will be successful.”

Quotable:

St. Francis baseball coach, Aaron Dorlarque: “Mikey is a ferocious competitor and plays the game right. He wants to win! And, he wants to do it with class and dignity. You combine that with his tremendous ability, you have something special. He will make an immediate impact at the next level and beyond. He has a bright future in front of him! Like many players, Mikey matured physically and emotionally over his time at St. Francis. He really became a professional hitter with his situational hitting, pitch selection and power. With that said, Mikey made his biggest strides as a leader his junior and senior years. Mikey and this group of seniors is special in that they were my first four-year guys and had really helped redefine the culture and values of the program. Mikey was instrumental in this effort.”

Loyola baseball coach, Sean Buller: “Mikey Kane was always a difficult out at the plate and he definitely anchored the Golden Knights’ defense. He was also a true competitor on the field. His leadership will definitely be missed next year.”

St. Francis senior football captain, Tanner Tomko: “Mikey is a great person on and off the field. He’s always there to back you up in any situation. He’s very kind and caring to anyone. He’s a very natural athlete with a ton of skills.”

St. Francis senior, Colin Noble: “Mikey is one of the most talented and hard working athletes that I’ve ever played with. This guy would constantly make some of the smoothest plays at shortstop I have ever seen. Not only extremely gifted on the field, but off the field he was an outstanding captain and leader for our team. You could always count on him and he was always a fun guy to be around during practices and games.”

St. Francis senior, Stephen Castro: “Mikey was the teammate that everyone wanted to be around. Not only was he a great player, he was a great leader. He would always lead by example as well as get on our teammates when he needed to. He would always bring the intensity to games. You always knew he was going to do something good and influence the game in a positive way. You could always count on him to get things going when we were struggling. Also, beyond being a great leader on the field, he was a great person off the field. He was a really fun person to be around during school hours. He is the epitome of what a true leader is.”

Mikey Kane’s Career Baseball Stats:

2020: .455, with 15 hits, 11 runs, four RBIs, three doubles, .500 OBP

2019: .398, 43 hits, 21 runs, 20 RBIs, four doubles, two triples, home run, .444 OBP

2018: .330, 30 hits, 14 runs, 10 RBIs, three doubles, triple, .379 OBP

Career totals: .391 batting average, with 88 hits, 46 runs, 34 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples, one home run

Kane’s Football Stats:

2019: 36 tackles, two sacks

2018: 12 catches, 170 yards, nine rushes for 40 yards, 39 tackles