Today Mauldin Honors One of Its Own in Scott Wingo

Everybody loves a winner. While this somewhat cynical adage may be true, there are exceptions to the rule. Take Scott Wingo. He was beloved by the city of Mauldin long before he led South Carolina to two consecutive NCAA baseball championships and was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series last month. The true depth of that affection will be shown today when Wingo, who is just 22, will have his high school jersey number retired and be presented the key to the city.

Mauldin Through and Through

Scott’s relationship with Mauldin predates his own existence. His parents Bill and Nancy moved to the city after Bill graduated from Clemson in the late 1970s and quickly established roots in the community that have only gotten stronger in the succeeding decades.

“We moved to Mauldin a long time ago and we’re happy we did,” Bill said. If Bill has a fondness for Mauldin, the feeling is mutual. Last year, after his family came back from Omaha after watching Scott score the winning run in the College World Series championship game, there were 75 fans waiting for them at their home.

This is not unusual. Despite the growth in recent years Mauldin still retains its small-town feel; the type of place where, when drivers see Nancy Wingo out for a walk, they honk their horns and wave.

The Wingos wouldn’t have it any other way. “All of our boys went to Mauldin Elementary and Mauldin High School. They got their hair cut in Mauldin. We’re Mauldin people,” Bill said.

One of the best features of Mauldin is its Recreation Program which was headed up by Jerry Frye when the Wingo boys were playing T-ball.

“We decided we were going to make Mauldin the best program around,” said Frye who is now retired. “We created an atmosphere that made the kids feel special to be part of the program.”

Critical to that atmosphere was the construction of first-rate facilities, which, at its peak made it possible for 1600 kids to participate in the program in a given year. Frye also said he took a no-nonsense approach with coaches.

Like Father, Like Son(s)

One of those coaches was Bill Wingo, who coached all of three of his sons (Brad, Gaston and Scott, the youngest) for several years at various leagues and various levels. It’s clear that Bill passed his love—and talent—for baseball on down to his sons, which is not surprising since that was one of the two sports he starred in at Clemson.

John Mitchell, a longtime baseball coach at Mauldin High, said Bill Wingo was a dedicated coach to his sons. “I wish I had a dime for every ground ball he hit and for every batting practice pitch he threw.”

While Scott may have looked like every other boy in his uniform, he stood out once he took the field. “You could tell Scott was going to be something special even at a young age,” Frye said. “All of the brothers were very competitive, but Scott had a little extra.”

When asked where he might have got that little extra from, Frye didn’t hesitate and said with a laugh, ”Well, Bill was pretty fiery, too. Every once in a while I had to calm him down. But, the whole Wingo family was just fun to be around. You liked being around people who were having that much fun.”

Frye believes Scott developed his skills quicker than other boys his age due to his older brothers. “They helped him a lot,” Frye said. “He was used to playing with kids older than him so he had to get better just to keep up.”

Billy Wingo agreed. “I never really had to coach Scott,” he said. “95 percent of the time he knew where to throw the ball when it was hit to him.”

Talent Plus Competitive Fire

As he was making his way through the system, the Mauldin High School baseball coaches were well aware of Scott’s advanced abilities. In part, this was due to his older brothers, who were excellent athletes as well, but also because Scott was so skilled.

“I’ve never seen anybody who could pick it and throw it like Scott,” Mitchell said.

Scott was undersized back then, not that he’s hulking now at 5’10” and 175 pounds. He was playing shortstop and hadn’t quite filled out. Scott Freeman was the head coach at Mauldin High for three of Scott’s high school years. “He got better every day he was out there,” Freeman said. “Eventually his strength caught up with his skill level.”

And the skill level was considerable. “He never got a bad hop on a ground ball.,” Freeman said. “A lot of that is footwork and being able to flow to the ball, but a lot of that can’t really be taught either.”

According to Freeman, Scott’s biggest gift is his quickness. “He is quick about everything. Quick with the bat, quick with his hands and a quick decision-maker.”

If Scott got people’s attention with his talent, he kept it with his will to win. He wasn’t above leaving his arm in the strike zone to get a hit by a pitch if that was what his team needed. “He got hit by more pitches than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Freeman said.

Scott’s dad noticed this trait very early on also. “He was just born like that I guess,” Bill Wingo said. “Whether it was Ping Pong or Horseshoes or Cornhole, he wanted to win.”

Decision Time

In the middle of a senior year when he made All-State, Scott had to make a decision about where he would go to college. Given that his Dad is in the Clemson Sports Hall of Fame, it was pretty obvious where family preferences lay.

But when the time came, it was older brother Brad who informed his father of Scott’s decision to attend South Carolina. Bill Wingo picks up the story from there:

“We were sitting at the kitchen table and Brad and Scott had just got done running the steps at the football stadium and Brad said, ‘Dad, Scotty called Coach (Ray) Tanner and told him he’s going to be a Gamecock.’ Well, I asked him to repeat that, and he did. Now, usually when I get a little nervous energy I go to the racquet club and work it off in about 30 or 45 minutes. That night I was at the club for about two hours. But when I got home, I told Scotty, “I support you all the way.”

It wasn’t always smooth sailing in Columbia, however. The first change came when Scott was switched from shortstop to second base. But that wasn’t all.

Veteran Coach Ray Tanner was of the mind that freshmen were to be seen and not heard. Which was not the kind of coaching to which Scott was accustomed.

“Scott was a strong-willed boy and Coach Tanner is strong-willed too,” Bill Wingo explained. “Sometimes they clashed, but Coach Tanner always won and that was a good learning experience for Scott.”

“Coach Tanner did a great job molding Scott,” Bill Wingo said. “The more Scott played for Coach Tanner the more I respected Coach Tanner.”

Frye, who is also a USC grad, said that Mauldin fans didn’t hold Scott’s choice to go to become a Gamecock against him. Quite the opposite in fact, as he followed in the footsteps of previous local stars David Marchbanks and Ryan Bordenick who played for South Carolina.

Two straight national championships and a Most Outstanding Player award later, it appears Scott chose wisely. As if he needed conformation, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers last month.

“It’s been pretty amazing these last few weeks,” Bill Wingo said.

A Whole New Ballgame

Last Tuesday, Scott signed a contract with the Dodgers and will report to the Ogden Raptors, a Pioneer League team, on July 20. It will be a stark contrast from what he’s experienced the past four years. He’ll go from being the star of a high-profile college team that was featured regularly on ESPN, to playing on the lowest minor league level in an organization that just filed for bankruptcy.

Billy wants Scott to enjoy the ceremony today and all that’s happened, but he also has tried to prepare him for what’s ahead. “He’s going to have guys fighting for his job and fighting for other guys' job. It’s a business.”

Freeman thinks Scott’s biggest challenge will be adjusting to the daily grind of playing baseball where his team could lose as many games in a month as USC did in a season.

Scott’s growing fan base won’t be able to hop in a car and head down to Columbia to see him; they’ll have to settle for following Scott’s progress as a professional from afar. But the change will be tempered by the knowledge that Mauldin could not possibly send out a better ambassador to the world.

Mitchell thinks Scott will be just fine. Better than fine actually. “He’ll do great there. He never meets a stranger. He signs all the kids’ hats and gloves. If you know Scotty, you love Scotty.”

If the fans in Ogden are sure to warm quickly to Scott’s clutch hitting and adept glove work, it’s his personality that will them over.

As one of his former coaches said, “He’ll be out there a week and they’ll love him just like we do.”