May 15 2008 06:30 AM
Batboy marketing baseball invention:
Cammie's site: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepw5qe/
BEST AND BRIGHTEST: Bat boy’s invention is ready for big leagues
BY ANSLEE WILLETT
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
TO OUR READERS: This is one in a series of stories about members of The Gazette's Best & Brightest Class of 2008.Little did Cameron Kruse know that becoming a bat boy would lead to an invention that has gained national attention.
One of his bat boy duties for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox was rubbing mud on baseballs before they could be used in games. One day last year, a player joked that Kruse should build a machine to do the job.
So he did. Two weeks later, he brought in his machine, which he made out of Legos.
"Using sensors, microcomputers and wheels from a Legos robotics set, my invention applied an even layer of mud across the ball," Kruse said. "The result was a ball that appeared and played more consistently than a handmudded ball."
Now in its fourth edition, the industrial-grade Baseball Deglosser simulates the baseball-rubbing process that is required for professional baseball. The shiny gloss on new balls must be removed with special mud because scuffing the surface helps pitchers grip the ball. Umpires won't use a ball that is too light or too dark.
His invention, which has a patent pending, has won several awards, including third in electrical/mechanical engineering at the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and second place this month in engineering at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.
Baseballs mudded with the deglosser have been used in many Sky Sox games and in one Colorado Rockies game. The machine has garnered approval from the commissioner of the Pacific Coast League, numerous professional baseball players and 12 men on the 2007 World Series roster, Kruse said. His next step is trying to find a company to bring it into wide-scale use.
"I've received word the Mets are interested in using it this summer," he said.
Local and national media, including NBC Nightly News and ESPN, have interviewed Kruse about the Baseball Deglosser. His Web site, www.dirt onbaseball.com, tells his story.
The invention has motivated others, his dad Gary Kruse said.
"(Cameron) received e-mails from students around the nation citing his success as a primary reason they had the confidence to pursue their dreams," he said.
The 18-year-old Kruse, who is home-schooled, has spoken to hundreds of children before and after Sky Sox games about the Baseball Deglosser.
"Did I know that building a machine out of Legos would take me to the International Science Fair? Did I know being a bat boy would give me the opportunity to motivate kids? Certainly, the answer is no," he said.
"I did not know any of the stops or even the destination of this journey. What I do know is what my parents wove into me and my seven siblings: Learning does not stop at schoolwork."
CAMERON KRUSE, Home-schooled
Parents: Gary and Tami Kruse
What's next: Harvard University or Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., with plans to pursue a medical career
What is a common misconception adults have about teenagers? "That we're just that - teenagers. Teens are really young adults and we should be held to the same standards as adults."
Other details: Intern with Sandia National Laboratories, volunteer with Memorial Health System Learning Link Program, teacher's assistant with Colorado Springs Early Colleges, cofounder of the Innovator Factor Foundation, intern with Agilent Technologies, placed in several regional and state science fairs.
