It’s not a coincidence that in any given year, roughly half the major-league managers spent their playing careers as catchers. For one thing, catchers tend to be smart. They have to think for the pitcher and sometimes even must play the role of shrink.

The catcher is the only player who sees the entire game unfold in front of him, peering through his mask. Even if Free State High senior Andy Petz didn’t have the sort of thick build that makes him ideally equipped to wear the tools of ignorance to work, he’d be a player the coach would want to put behind the dish because of his smarts and his toughness.

Quarterbacks, running backs, baseballs, books. Petz hits them all hard.

A hard-hitting linebacker in the fall and a hard-hitting catcher in the spring, Petz is a 4.0 student for all seasons. He received a books-and-tuition baseball scholarship to attend Cowley Community College in Arkansas City. He said he wants to study engineering.

A thick, right-handed hitter, Petz smacked a grand slam Tuesday evening off the scoreboard beyond the fence in right-center during the Firebirds’ 12-2 rout of Olathe North at surprisingly dry Ice Field. He drove in six runs.

Given that Petz is playing against rival Lawrence High today and Thursday, a question seemed the perfect litmus test for just how smart he is: Have you ever hit a Lawrence High football player as hard as you hit that grand slam?

He took the pitch.

“No comment,” he said, smiling while biting his tongue. “It hurts too much to think about football. I had a great time. It hurts to think I’m not going to play again. We had a great season. It was the time of my life.”

Another passing grade for the personable student-athlete who is bound to be a hit at Cowley CC.

Before thinking about college, he wants to beat LHS on consecutive days. The Lions’ roster is loaded with friends with whom he played American Legion ball for the Lawrence Raiders.

Is there anything more enjoyable than beating friends?

“Winning a state championship,” he said, speaking from experience. “It goes state championship, beating Lawrence High. It’s a big game. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s not. It definitely is.”

Today’s game is scheduled to be played at the Free State High diamond, which was too soupy Tuesday, forcing the switch to Ice Field.

“Our tarp almost makes things worse because all the water goes to the holes and seeps down into one spot,” he said. “Home is a mess, and there are places at short and first base that need a lot of work.”

The players have been raking the field regularly, Petz said, when they aren’t on the Internet checking weather reports.

“Once you graduate from Free State, you’re a qualified groundsman,” Petz said.

Dry fields will be needed at Free State today, a huge day in town for high school sports. First, both the city’s public high schools will participate in the Lawrence Invitational golf tournament at Alvamar. It tees off at 8 a.m. Then Free State and perennial power Olathe East begin a softball doubleheader at 4 at Free State. First pitch of the intracity baseball rivalry is scheduled for 5 p.m.

No rain is in the forecast. Can you believe it?