Amanda Hopkins

Everything revolves around baseball, Redbirds Softball, K S U (and my kiddos) ! ! !

[the Sports ON Tap @thesportsontap]

Garrett Mitchell hit the home run that sent the Milwaukee Brewers to the World Series.

Their first one in 44 years.

He hit it with an insulin pump in his back left pocket.

Here is the whole thing.

It was a solo home run in the sixth off Tanner Scott. It put Milwaukee ahead 5 to 4 and they did not give the lead back.

Final was 6 to 4. Four straight over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The same team that swept them out of this round last year.

Now here is what is in that pocket.

Mitchell has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed in the third grade.

He told his mother he did not feel well. He was going to the bathroom about once an hour and his stomach hurt.

Shannon Van Dyke had her son's blood sugar tested. A healthy number is around 80. The meter would not give her a number at all. It just read HIGH.

The real figure was over 600.

"I remember my heart dropping, being afraid, and not knowing what to do or what our future looked like."

He got the pump at 10. She started setting an alarm for 2 or 3 in the morning to test him while he slept.

He kept playing. He carried a bag everywhere with snacks, insulin and sugar in it.

Here is what it cost him.

Coming out of Orange Lutheran High School in California, scouts had him going in the first three rounds.

He went in the 14th.

His coach at UCLA, John Savage, said the diabetes hurt his draft value. There were, in his words, lingering questions about it.

His agent Scott Boras later said that without the condition, Mitchell could have been a top 5 pick.

So he turned the Oakland Athletics down and went to UCLA.

He hit .327 there. He hit 15 triples, the second most in the history of that program.

Milwaukee took him 20th overall in the first round and signed him for 3.2 million dollars.

"My hands were shaking."

Now here is the part that tells you what this still costs him.

Last month, Milwaukee pulled him out of a game in the middle of the afternoon. He was not injured.

His manager Pat Murphy explained it afterward.

"We took him out precautionary. He had high blood sugar."

Murphy said it happens a lot going from a night game to a day game, and that the team keeps working on it.

That was about a month ago.

Now the honest part. He is not the best player on this team and this is not the only reason Milwaukee is going. They got here on pitching and on a lineup that would not go away.

But the man who fell 11 rounds because of what is in his pocket hit the home run that put them in front for good.

His mother once described it like this.

"You will notice it in his back left pocket. It never leaves his body, even when he's playing."

[Natural Baseball Academy @naturalbaseball]

The Ban Johnson All Star game had 4 of the NBA players displaying their skills last night. Hunter Baker, Sterling Thornton, Cameron Blachowicz, and Kian Hopkins. Cameron walked away with game MVP after driving in the winning run with an 8th inning RBI triple!

[Prep Baseball Scouting @pbtscouting]

2026 | IF | Kian Hopkins | @KianHops27 , @PrepBaseballKS , @FortScottCC Commit |

Hopkins rips a pitch above his belt the other way for a line - drive single.

#KCWorldSeries #PBKC22

[BanJohnsonBSB @BanJohnsonBSB]

Congratulations to our All-Stars!

They will compete in the annual #BJCL All-Star Game hosted by the Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, July 27 at 7 p.m. Free admission and parking.

[Kansas Sports Central @KSSCentral]

WILDCATS ARE STATE BOUND 🐾⚾

De Soto takes down Blue Valley Southwest to advance to 5A State Baseball.

[Prep Baseball Kansas @PrepBaseballKS]

‘26 | INF | Kian Hopkins (@BaseballDHS17; @fsccbaseball)

Has consistently delivered this spring for the Wildcats, posting another multi hit day in this one out of the three hole.

Comes through in a huge spot here, driving an RBI 1B back through the middle to tie the game at 1 apiece.

[Amyosport KS HS Baseball @AmyosportKS]

⚾️Kansas HS Baseball
⚡️5A Stat Leaders
🎯Hits ~ RBI ~ Total Bases ~ Strikeouts

[Prep Baseball Kansas @PrepBaseballKS]

‘26 | INF | Kian Hopkins (@BaseballDHS17; @fsccbaseball)

Was on the barrel several times in this one, hammering a ball to the RCF gap for a go ahead RBI 2B.

High level, all-around athlete. Also added 3 hits and a HR earlier in game one.

[Natural Baseball Academy @naturalbaseball]

‘26 Senior Dinner! Thank you Gentlemen for your efforts this winter and looking forward to what you accomplish this spring! Good Luck!

[Amanda Hopkins @ahopkins22]

@RedbirdsSB Happy Birthday, Ella🥳

[Daymond John @TheSharkDaymond]

I learned this a long time ago. And once I did. Things changed for the better 💪🏾

[Natural Baseball Academy @naturalbaseball]

First camp day for the little guys in the books! Great job players and big Thank You to all of the coaches and players that helped today! @BCbaseballtoday @homefieldkc

[Amanda Hopkins @ahopkins22]

@Coach_HCole @Coach_Norgren Congratulations Coach! Just beautiful!

[DiaperDiplomacy @DiaperDiplomacy]

“We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.” — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declares war on beards 👀

[Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11]

It’s all about Jesus.

[Amanda Hopkins @ahopkins22]

@ColeCarmody52 @AerLingus Have fun Coach! Say hi to Kian if you happen to see him over there!

[Amanda Hopkins @ahopkins22]

@LoveladyLindsay So happy for your family!

[Steve Trimper @Steve_Trimper]

Hatter Family:
I am BEYOND excited to welcome Coach @CoachLovelady23 and his family to the 🎩’s for the 2026 campaign!!Coach “Love” brings a Wealth of experience to our program and will certainly make us better! Welcome Greg, Lindsay, Noah and Gavin. #GoHats @StetsonBaseball

[Big Fire Baseball @BigFireBaseball]

🚨Solo Spotlight🚨 @KianHops27
Kian Hopkins #27 SS/2B 2026 | De Soto HS | NBA 17U Blue

#bigfire #solospotlight

[Amanda Hopkins @ahopkins22]

What a day, today! Way to go kid!

[Big Fire Baseball @BigFireBaseball]

.@KianHops27 crushes this ball to left center for the 2 run jack🔥

Kian Hopkins #27 SS/2B 2026 | De Soto HS | NBA 17U Blue

#bigfire #swingit