BWAL Top 15 — No. 3: Grant Conway

There are stars who dominate the action.

Then there are players who understand where the game is going before everyone else does.

Grant Conway is both.

The countdown has officially reached its top three, a place reserved for the BWAL's true franchise-changing players. Conway earned his spot by combining intelligence, contact, patience, timely power and championship leadership into one of the league's most complete packages.

At No. 3 on the BWAL Season 4 Top 15 is Conway—the Titans' version of Chase Utley and one of the central minds behind the league's new champions.

Johnny Besecker wears the captain's title.

But when the Titans need to make a decision, he turns to Grant.

"I'm the captain, but I openly rely on Grant for decisions," Besecker said. "He understands situations, he knows what everybody on the team needs and he usually sees things before the rest of us do. Having him beside me makes my job much easier."

That may be the clearest explanation of Conway's value.

His Season 3 numbers were strong: 12 hits, 20 walks, 16 runs, nine RBIs and two home runs in eight games. But Conway's real impact existed in the spaces between those numbers. It was knowing when to attack, when to take a pitch, where to position a teammate and what adjustment the Titans needed before an opponent could make its next move.

He was not merely part of the Titans' championship roster.

He was one of the brains behind it.

"Grant is always thinking about the game," Titans star Willie Burger said. "You can come back to the dugout after an at-bat and he already knows what happened. He knows what you should look for next time. That kind of teammate makes everybody better."

Conway's Season 3 rankings show why he belongs among the league's three best players:

• Second in runs: 16
• Fourth in walks: 20
• Tied for fifth in home runs: 2
• Tied for sixth in games played: 8
• Tied for fourth in triples: 1
• Tied for eighth in at-bats: 40
• 11th in hits: 12
• Tied for 11th in RBIs: 9
• 12th in on-base percentage: .533

Conway finished in approximately the league's top seven percent in runs, top 13 percent in walks and top 16 percent in home runs. He reached base 32 times and scored on exactly half of those trips.

That is the profile of a winning player.

He makes contact. He accepts the walk. He brings enough power to punish mistakes. Most importantly, once he reaches base, he finds a way to become a run.

That is where the Chase Utley comparison fits.

Conway is not built around one overwhelming skill. His game comes from combining several of them. He can work a long plate appearance, produce a timely hit, drive a ball out of the park and then help organize the team between innings. There is an edge to the way he plays, but there is also control.

"Grant never looks rushed," former champion Bubba Brezina said. "Even when everyone else is reacting to the moment, he looks like he already planned for it. Those are the guys you want when you're trying to win a championship."

His defining regular-season performance came against the Cherrypickers.

Conway recorded five hits, including a home run, drew four walks, drove in three runs and scored three times. He reached base nine times in one game, combining the contact, patience and power that make him one of the league's most complete offensive players.

It was the Grant Conway experience in its purest form.

Pitch around him, and he takes the walk.

Challenge him, and he finds grass.

Make a mistake, and he has enough power to send it over the fence.

"He's frustrating because there isn't one easy way to approach him," Cherrypickers star Dylan Atkinson said. "He'll take his walks, but he can also jump on a pitch and hit it out. Then you add how smart he is, and every at-bat feels like a chess match."

Conway also delivered when the Titans' season reached its most important stage.

In the playoff victory over the Dragons, he collected three hits, drew two walks, drove in a run and scored once. After an uneven regular-season finish, Conway reached base five times when the Titans needed to secure their place in the championship.

Then, against the 8 Balls in the final, Conway went hitless—but he still found a way to matter.

He drew two walks, drove in a run and scored twice.

That championship performance summarizes Conway's game better than a multi-home-run night ever could. Even without a hit, he contributed directly to three runs and helped the Titans finish the job.

Grant Conway entered the night as one of the smartest players in the league.

He left it as a champion.

"He didn't need to be the loudest guy or have the biggest stat line," 8 Balls captain Cam Barto said. "He kept getting involved, and that is what championship players do. Grant always finds a way into the game."

Conway's defense deserves equal respect.

He is an elite fielder with quick reactions and an advanced understanding of positioning. The Titans simply did not need to showcase that part of his game as often because Willie Burger handled so much responsibility around him. With Burger producing an extraordinary season and the Titans functioning as a complete unit, Conway could fill whatever role the moment required.

That should not be confused with defensive limitations.

Give Conway more opportunities in the field and his instincts become obvious. Like Utley, he anticipates where the ball is going, prepares before the play develops and rarely looks surprised.

"Willie handled a lot for us, but everybody on our team knows how good Grant is in the field," Besecker said. "If the ball is hit toward him, I trust him. If I need somebody moved, I ask Grant what he sees. His glove and his brain are both elite."

His career rankings reinforce the idea that Season 3 was not a one-year breakthrough:

• Tied for fourth all-time in walks: 41
• Tied for fourth all-time in runs: 34
• Seventh all-time in doubles: 4
• Tied for eighth all-time in home runs: 5
• Tied for ninth all-time in triples: 2
• 12th all-time in games played: 16
• 13th all-time in catches: 23
• Tied for 15th all-time in hits: 26

Through only 16 career games, Conway has already moved into the league's all-time top four in both walks and runs. That combination captures his offensive identity: get on base, understand the situation and find a way home.

There is a case that No. 3 is too high.

Conway batted .300 in Season 3, and several players finished ahead of him in hits, RBIs and on-base percentage. His defensive ability did not produce a massive statistical total, and he was surrounded by championship-level talent that included Besecker and Burger.

But once a ranking reaches the top three, the evaluation has to extend beyond a stat sheet.

Conway finished second in runs, fourth in walks and tied for fifth in home runs. He reached base five times in the playoffs, contributed to three runs in the championship and served as the trusted tactical voice for the league's title-winning captain.

Plenty of players can compile numbers.

Far fewer can help steer an entire team.

Besecker may be the captain of the Titans, but Conway is the player the captain turns toward when the game demands an answer. His fingerprints are on the lineup decisions, the adjustments and the small moments that eventually became a championship season.

Now he has the ring to prove it.

"I've always trusted Grant, but winning the championship together takes it to another level," Besecker said. "We reached the top, and now we want to stay there. I know Grant is already thinking about how we do it again."

That is Grant Conway entering Season 4: a champion, an elite baseball mind and a complete player who brings contact, patience, power and defense to the league's strongest core.

The first championship confirmed that the Titans' formula works.

Grant Conway intends to make sure it keeps working.