Just got an update on Nkosi’s performance from his dad he wrote:

Nkosi played really well and I wanted again to keep you in the loop.  Here were his stats as well as a San Jose Mercury news article published today.

Nkosi Djehuti-Mes

Final stats from The Latin American Baseball Classic

Three starts right field. DH one game. One start in centerfield. USA team record was 4-1.

Batting avg: .500

Slugging: 1.250

OBP: .714

Stats are from 5 game tournament. 3 strikeouts, 3 doubles, 4 RBI’s, 4 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 1 home run,  1 pop up out, 7 stolen bases.

Highlights:

Nkosi had Walk off steal to win the first game.

Nkosi had a walk off home run to win game two.

Awarded honors for base running.

Oakland teen playing for Team USA

By Steve R. Waterhouse

This has been quite the busy summer for Oakland resident Nkosi Djehuti-Mes.

The 14-year-old has played on five different baseball teams — the most notable is representing the USA on a 14-under team in the Latin American Baseball Classic held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Aug. 4-10.

Djehuti-Mes, a right-handed outfielder, earned one of the 13 spots when he beat out hundreds of players from across the country to make the team.

“When I found out I made the team, I was excited,” Djehuti-Mes wrote in an email from Santo Domingo. “The first person I told was my 2-year-old brother Osaze, who I was babysitting. My mom had just given birth four days earlier to my youngest brother, Ayele.”

Half of the teams Djehuti-Mes has played on this year have been showcase teams, which are formed to play in various competitive tournaments in California and Arizona. He played on two 14-under teams, a 15-under team, a 16-under team and a collegiate team filled with 19-under players.

Based on his physical stature, it’s easy to forget that Djehuti-Mes is someone who just finished his freshman year at St. Ignatius in San Francisco. He is 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds.

“When I was put into the game (on the 19-under team), my baseball instincts took over and it became like any other game,” Djehuti-Mes wrote.

But the most exciting team he’s played on has been this USA team playing in the Dominican Republic. His team took third place and he batted .500 with a home run, three doubles, four RBIs and four walks for an on-base percentage of .714.

“The baseball players I have faced are some of the best I have ever seen,” Djehuti-Mes wrote of the Dominican players. “They want to beat the USA team, to prove that one day they can play Major League Baseball.

“Baseball in the Dominican Republic is a way of life. I play two sports in high school, baseball and football. The players that play baseball in the Dominican Republic are young kids to adults and they play year round … nothing else but baseball. The players I have been able to talk with have the same dream I have and that’s to one day play Major League Baseball.”

When this summer began, Djehuti-Mes wanted to get 85 at-bats. After his time in the Dominican, he will have garnered around 125 at-bats. He hopes that helps his development enough to play varsity baseball in the spring. As is customary with teams that play in the West Catholic Athletic League, most freshmen play on the freshmen team.

“I feel confident that I can compete for a starting position and make a contribution that will benefit our team and school,” wrote Djehuti-Mes, who has also done some pitching and has been clocked in the 80 mph range. “I don’t care which position I play as long as I continue to compete at a high level.”