On the morning of April 9, 2016 I was in the crowd at Wilson Park, North Kingstown, RI for Wickford Little League Opening Day. I was in the crowd for several reasons – primarily as a parent of two players participating in the league and as the communications officer for Wickford Little League covering the event. My high school teammate, Sean Maloney, was the guest of honor and gave an impassioned speech about his baseball career – from North Kingstown High School to Georgetown University to professional baseball. Sean made it to the Bigs, pitched several years in the Major Leagues in fact, and lived every kids (and parents) dream listening to him on that cold April morning at Wilson Park. A local kid, who stood 6 foot 6 inches, could throw 90 MPH plus, worked hard, toiled a few years in the minor leagues to then reach the pinnacle of baseball dreams – the Major Leagues. Wow, great story and I was always so psyched for Sean and his family.
Interestingly though, the one part of Sean’s speech that still remains with me is his advice to the young players (and parents) in the audience. I’m paraphrasing a bit here because it’s been about 10 years since his speech and I didn’t have my notebook with me to jot down notes and tidbits but I believe he said something like “Figure out a life after baseball.” Figure out a life after baseball because it doesn’t last long, meaning your baseball career as a player in professional baseball. Maybe the subject matter was a bit over the heads of the lads and lasses in attendance, but it didn’t miss me. Sean was a college grad and had a bright future as a professional after baseball was over. He prepared for life after baseball, and as far as I could see, he was doing very well for himself and his family. Great speech, it was great for the kids to see a real life MLB alum in person, one that we saw at the grocery store every day or at games watching his kids play sports.
If I may, I’d like to pivot to a book I recently read, Odd Man Out, by Matt McCarthy. Odd Man Out is the first person account of Pitcher Matt McCarthy who travels from his home state of Florida, where he played and starred in baseball, to Yale University (Connecticut), where he played baseball and starred in the classroom and on the mound for the Yale Baseball Team, to the Anaheim Angels organization, where he was drafted in the 20th something round. McCarthy tells the tales of college recruiting, choosing Yale over Princeton, playing at Yale for a former MLB pitcher in John Stuper, navigating the Ivy League schedule with one Craig Breslow (a former Eli, successful MLB pitcher, now Chief Baseball Officer with the Boston Red Sox), the pre-draft prospect workouts, and the long wait to hear your name called on MLB Draft Day. McCarthy does an incredible job writing about the dramas of playing for a losing team, his draft stock rising and falling despite being a left handed pitching commodity, and the inevitable call from a Major League Baseball organization with those cherished words – the (insert MLB team) have selected you with their next pick. In McCarthy’s case, it was the Anaheim Angels who called.
Once drafted, McCarthy begins his professional baseball journey in Mesa, Arizona. Home of Tempe Diablo Stadium, Spring Training home of the Anaheim Angels. According to the book, players recently drafted report to Mesa, get their first taste of what it’s like to be a professional ball player – team schedule, media, lifting schedule, simulated games, assessments from higher ups, the next stop on their journey up to Anaheim, California and the big club. Some players jump to AA or AAA, some go to Single A, some even stay put in Mesa, Arizona and continue to work on their craft before promotion. McCarthy describes the process perfectly and puts you in that pressure cooker walking down that hallway, looking for the bulletin board where your name is and your next assignment is. A stay in Mesa is not desirable because it means you haven’t been promoted. A promotion to the next level, well, according to McCarthy, that’s progress. It means the organization is ready for you to take the next steps in your baseball journey.
The reality is you are taking those steps with tons of other players who were the best player at their high school, maybe on their college team, maybe their college conference – just like you. The competition to succeed is immense, and you are only in Single A of the Anaheim Angels organization. How can you progress? What do you need to make an impression on the organization? How do you blend in on a team of sharks just waiting to feed on your inadequacies and take your place on the depth chart? McCarthy details the struggles, his struggles, his failures, his successes on the Provo Angels. He chronicles his relationships with other players, the coaching staff, the team’s manager. He writes about the bus rides and the sleeping arrangements and the Mormon town of Provo, where the Angels resided. The writing is funny and humbling and interesting, I felt like I was riding those road trips with McCarthy and the Angels all the way up and into Canada.
Referring to Sean’s speech and comments for a moment, McCarthy graduated from Yale University and had a future goal of becoming a medical professional after his baseball career ended. A doctor, research scientist, a medical journalist – whatever the goal, he had it in the back of his mind that when baseball ended, his medical professional career would start. Odd Man Out is a wonderful reality check book written by a man who loved baseball, played it at a very high level, but realized in some part of his baseball spirit, mind, and body that he was not in fact going to make it all the way to the top. Unlike Breslow, who steadily progressed through the minor leagues and into Major League Baseball, McCarthy struggled in his first year of minor league baseball and inevitably got the dreaded “pink slip” in Year 2 of his professional baseball career. So, what did McCarthy do? Did he re-focus his efforts on another team? Maybe go to Independent Ball? Or go overseas and play in Korea, Japan, or some other foreign land? You will be very surprised to read just what Matt McCarthy did after being let go by the Anaheim Angels. His story is incredible and this book is an incredible baseball journey with a very happy ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed Odd Man Out, by Matt McCarthy. The lead up to college baseball choices, I remember those days. I remember playing college baseball and trying to go to classes and it was hard work. I remember taking road trips with my teammates and laughing all the way to and from the fields. I remember the day I said to myself, I can’t do this anymore, I need to focus on a career – and heck I didn’t even play professional baseball! Matt McCarthy’s tale of his baseball and life journey is a must read for any baseball player and their family. Read his journey to baseball glory, how he handled failure, how he pivoted to another path after baseball. It is must read material for the baseball fan!
The Baseball Storyteller 