For a lot of players, being selected to an all-star game doesn’t mean a whole lot.

Sure, it’s nice to have one last game in their high school uniform, and the contest itself is fun, but overall it usually means a lost week of work and a Saturday on the diamond that could be spent fishing.

For Zach Balthrop, being picked to play in the Class 4A/5A game on Saturday wasn’t just a way to wrap up a stellar prep career. To Balthrop, a former Warren Central standout, it means earning his place among the all-time greats in Warren County.

“I’m pretty excited about it. Just being on the team with all the guys like you saw in Hoover, it means a lot to me,” Balthrop said, referring to last week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover, Ala. A host of former Mississippi all-stars led Ole Miss and Mississippi State to the championship game.

“Just coming up in the shadow of guys like Brian Pettway, John Morgan Mims, Joey Lieberman, guys like that, for me to have the same accomplishment it really means a lot.”

Balthrop meant a lot to Warren Central over the course of his career. A pitcher and third baseman, he hit .307 with five home runs, 16 doubles and 50 RBIs in two full seasons as a starter and a third as a part-time player. He also posted a 10-7 record with a 4.81 ERA on the hill.

The fiery Balthrop was also a team leader, coach Randy Broome said.

“That was one of the things coach (Robert) Morgan had talked about in football. He wasn’t a big guy on the line, but he was a smart guy who had a lot of those leadership qualities,” Broome said. Balthrop was also a starting defensive lineman for WC’s football team. “He was usually the first one we went to when we needed to get them going, to get a little fire in them.”

The 2005 season was Balthrop’s best. After helping WC to the South State finals the previous spring, the senior helped the Vikings reach the second round of the playoffs this year and earned Class 5A all-state honors.

He hit .415 with four home runs, 10 doubles and 27 RBIs, and also threw 40 2/3 innings for the Vikings.

“Every player sets that goal at the beginning of the year,” Balthrop said of being picked for the all-state team. “My dad called me one morning and woke me up to tell me I made it, so I was a little surprised.”

One individual goal Balthrop didn’t reach was the one he wanted most.

He would often talk baseball with Johnny Mims, who starred for WC in the 1970s and is now president of the Mississippi Association of Coaches. Balthrop dated Mims’ daughter for several years, and the two became close.

During their talks, Mims would often mention how he only struck out three times his senior year. Balthrop took that achievement on as his own mission, but came up short – he struck out seven times in 127 plate appearances.

“I struck out a little more than I wanted, but did just about everything else,” Balthrop said.

Including earn an offer to play college ball.

Balthrop has an offer from Pearl River Community College and said he “just needs to sign the papers,” and will probably do so next week.

“I’m pretty excited about getting the opportunity to play down there,” Balthrop said, adding that few offers from four-year schools could sway him at this point. “I’m not looking to improve it any. You go down there and have two good years, and you’re set.”