Senior Tyler Aron is the team’s most versatile player, and the ace of the Vikings staff.
Bugs Bunny has nothing on Tyler Aron.
Remember those cartoons where Bugs would play baseball? He would play every position on the field. Aron, a senior at Northeast High School, isn’t far behind.
The Fox Chase native is the ace of the Vikings staff. And he’s also a middle infielder by trade. But this year, he has played all over the diamond.
“I’ve played shortstop, second base, third base and every position in the outfield,” Aron said. “I haven’t played first or catcher. Before I got here, I was a middle infielder, but this year coach (Tom Juhas) wanted to see me play the outfield and when I did it, he said I had good instinct for it.
“I don’t think I’m any position. Coach tells me where to go and I go out and do it. I like every position. As long as we’re winning and I’m doing something to help the team, I’m happy. That’s all I want to do, it doesn’t matter where I’m doing it.”
Aron is doing it well for Northeast, and it doesn’t matter where he sets up. Despite pitching in the biggest games for the Vikings, Aron has a 4–3 record as the Vikings are 10–9 on the year, which is good enough to get them into the Public League playoffs.
Now that the biggest games are upon us, Aron is confident he and his teammates are ready to make a run.
It helps that the team, which came into the season with little experience, now has a full season under its belt.
“This team is really young, but they’re such a good group,” Aron said. “We have a lot of pitchers so whenever someone pitches, I usually go play their position. That’s good because it allows us to stay fresh and use a lot of pitchers.
“We only have five seniors and one junor, so most of the team is either freshmen or sophomores. You don’t usually think the team is going to be that good when everyone is so young, but these young guys can play. They’re really good.”
Aron might have some talented teammates, but he realizes that younger players need a little leadership and since the season began, he was ready to supply it.
But he is also impressed with the way his underclassmen teammates adjusted well to the varsity squad.
“The five seniors we have are all kind of the leaders,” Aron said. “I try and lead because this is my second year, really, of being one of the top pitchers, so I try and show people the way if they need it. But really, everyone on this team knows what to do.
“I don’t think anyone really needs a good leader. Every day, it’s someone else doing what needs to be done. We don’t win because we have a few good players, when we win it’s because everyone is doing it together.”
Aron hopes the success continues this year, and he’s optimistic the Vikings can be an elite team in the Public League for years to come.
While the underclassmen will return to the mix next year, Aron has college baseball on his mind.
This summer, he’ll play for Torresdale’s Babe Ruth team, and next year he hopes to be a member of the Penn State Abington team.
“I don’t think you could ask for much more than getting a chance to play college baseball,” said Aron, who plans to walk on the team next year. “They’re a good team. I would just want to get on the team and do whatever I can to help. A lot like I did at Northeast.”
Northeast and the baseball team have also set him up for what he plans on studying at Penn State.
Though he’s unsure about which particular topic he’ll study, he knows he wants to be involved in sports.
“I have a sports management class at Northeast and I love everything about it,” Aron said. “There’s so many different things you can do with it. Sports management, player management, there are so many different directions you can go in. I hope to narrow it down soon, but I really enjoy it.”
And while Aron is sure he’ll enjoy his future, he knows he’ll always miss his past.
It’s always fun to be an ace pitcher, but that’s not what Aron will miss the most. It won’t even be the actual baseball. It will be his baseball buddies.
“This team is something special, it has been since I started,” Aron said. “Everyone from the coaches, the players, the fans, the school, everyone is so supportive of each other. I think that’s what I’m going to miss the most.
“Everyone on this team wants to see the other guy succeed. We all want to have fun and do well together. It’s really a team, and that’s what I’m going to miss the most about playing here. I’ll just miss the people.”
