Opening Opportunity’s Knock: An Interview with Ryan Dorow
Arguably, the best position player on the Hickory Crawdads team to this point of the 2018 season is a guy who was a 30th-round pick and played in only four of the team’s first 11 games.
Notice that I didn’t say the Crawdads position player who is the best prospect, or the Crawdads position player that has the most talented physical tools on the team.
When describing infielder Ryan Dorow, Crawdads manager Matt Hagen had this assessment.
“As a guy that you put in the lineup up against the wall, his physicality doesn’t jump out at you,” said Hagen. “But he’s got more baseball player inside of him than most guys do.”
After the demotion of outfielder Miguel Aparicio, the subsequent shift of players landed Dorow at third with Tyler Ratliff moving from there to right. Dorow went 1-for-4 that night, which put his slash line at that time to .239/.308/.394, the low point of the season. A two-hit night followed. The next night, he collected four more and a on-base streak grew to 20 games that ended on June 30. The slash line at that point grew to .302/.367/.456.
After Saturday’s game (7/21/18), Dorow ranks eighth in the South Atlantic League in batting avg. (.294), 11th in on-base percentage (.362), 15th in slugging (.455) and 13th in OPS (.817). After going homerless in his debut pro season, he is tied for the team lead with 10. Dorow is also the team leader in hits, RBI and total bases, as well as batting avg. and slugging. In the field, he’s been a steady presence at second, short and third with just seven errors over 83 games.
Ryan Dorow has committed just 7 errors in 83 games combined at second, short and third (photo courtesy of Tracy Proffitt)
At 22 years, 11 months old, Ryan Dorow is older than the 21.3 years league avg. for position players (baseballreference.com). As a 30th rounder from Division III Adrian (Mich.) College, he knows he’s not necessarily held in the highest regard as far as future major-league prospects go. For that matter, when he entered this season, he understood that he might not get a lot of playing time. But he’s doing what he is supposed to do: hit and play solid defense. In the minors, it’s about becoming necessary. Dorow has done that.
However, he knows as he moves up the ladder, he will have to compete and prove himself over and over again. Hagen thinks that is a situation that will bode well for Dorow.
“I think he knows that and I think he relishes that,” said Hagen. “He is in the position of an underdog. Some guys are really good in that role, when their backs are against the wall and they come out swinging. He’s probably had to prove himself at every level of baseball he’s ever played. This is no different, so if he wants to play, he has to go out and perform. That’s probably been a gift for him in the past, because some of the guys at this level, they’ve always been so good that they haven’t had to go out there and prove it every day.”
The ability to compete was certainly there for Dorow at Adrian, and especially the summer leagues, where he particularly got noticed. In the following interview done a couple of weeks ago, Dorow talked about the journey of realizing he could play pro ball, and how that drive has continued into a strong first full-season as a pro.
You’ve had quite a run here. What’s been the spark for you? You were up and down until you got to about the tenth of June and then you’ve hit a hot streak.
Dorow: I think just going in and having good at-bats is the best thing. I think being able to continue to have good at-bats for an extended period of time is kind of what takes out where the success comes from. Being able to be consistent through a long period of time sure is what we all aim to do. That’s kind of what I’ve been able to do for the past month, month-and-a-half.
When I talked with (Crawdads manager) Matt (Hagen) at the beginning of the season and was just sort of going through the list of players with Pedro and Miguel, this guy and this guy, I asked him to give me someone under the radar. Without hesitation he mentioned yourself and Justin (Jacobs). Sometimes guys will say that as sort of a window dressing, but you’ve made him look really good. What was your mind set coming into this season?
Dorow: I knew I wasn’t going to be in a starting role right away. That’s just for the position I’m in, and I’m very thankful to be in the position I’m in now. Going in, it was just to take every day and do what you can do every day. There’s no real pressure and there’s no set of expectations besides myself to go out there and play well. I just took it day by day, and whatever opportunity came upon me I was going to try my best to take advantage of it.
What did you think you brought to the field coming into the season? When you were put into the lineup, what was your expectation?
Dorow: No real expectation, just go on out there and just try to play to the best of my ability that day. Baseball is an up-and-down game and you can never go out there on a consistent basis, no matter how good you are, and be successful every day for 140 games, which is not realistic. I talked to myself and brought it upon myself to make sure that I was ready to play every game. If the opportunity presented itself to be on the field, then I’m going to be out there and take full advantage of it.
You pretty much put yourself into a starting role – a lot at shortstop and you’ll move around at second and third. How did you see that come about for you as things progressed into late-April and May, where you name is getting into the lineup every day?
Dorow: That sure does help me. Being able to play three positions does help me. That’s my role. That’s what I bring to the team, is you can put me at short, second, third and you know what you’re going to get out of me. I knew that was going to be a possibility. I had played short at school and I had played second in the AZL (Arizona Rookie League) last year, so I knew going in that was a possibility. I worked to make sure that I was good at each position and knew everything I needed to do on a daily basis to be successful at any point in time.
Is there a higher confidence level at this point of the season than there was at the start, that you were going to get the playing time needed to show what you could do?
Dorow: I had confidence. I mean, I know that I can play. That’s not really a downfall, by any means. I just think I was able to get into a groove. That’s what happens, being able to play in an every day lineup and get in a groove and get continuous at-bats. I think that was the biggest thing for me.
I knew coming in that I may not be an everyday guy and I was fine with not being an everyday guy. I enjoy being here, and if that was my role, if I was playing every day and that was my role I’m fine, and if I was playing every third day and that’s my role, I was fine. If that’s what the team needs and that’s what we need to do to be successful, then I’m willing to do anything.
It’s not a confidence level, I think. I have pretty much the same confidence level now than I had when I got in. We didn’t know what my role was going to be at the beginning. Now, it’s kind of fitting into place a little bit, and I’m just trying to go out there and play my best every day and help the team win.
Do you get the younger guys coming up to you and Justin and the other college guys and seeing you in a mentor role? You’ve been through the four years of college, where you’ve had to muck and grind and all of that. Do you see yourself more in that leadership role being in the lineup every day?
Dorow: I would like to think of it like that. I think that us four, or however many of the college guys that are here in the rotation or position players, I think we do a pretty good job of leading by example. Leading by example is probably one of the most important things when you have a young team. We had talked about it all the time, when you don’t have leaders on a young team, it’s very hard to sustain success. I think leading by example and finding the time to be a vocal leader, and sometimes finding the time to step back and take a breath and just let things roll, is kind of the way we’ve been doing it.
Yeah, I would like to think of myself as a leader on the team. If I’m not out there playing, I lead by example on the bench.
You went to Adrian (Mich.) College?
Dorow: Yeah.
Not many Division III products come out and even get to this level. At what point did you think, I’ve got a shot at getting drafted, or at least getting an opportunity?
Dorow: When I came in, that was probably the last thing on my mind, to be honest. I kind of blossomed my freshman year and kind of grew into the baseball player that I came to be. Like you said, not many people get the opportunity to play professional baseball. Every year, there’s a very small group of people that come from a Division III level to play pro baseball. It’s a blessing to get the opportunity.
I started figuring out probably halfway through my sophomore year that it could be a possibility. I mean, I wasn’t throwing all my cookies in the let’s-get-drafted jar, by any means, but I knew that could be something in the future that was going to happen. I’m blessed enough to be here today.
Was there a moment or a series of moments in that sophomore year where you thought, “this could blossom into something”?
Dorow: Going out and playing in the summer leagues that I played in sure helped me realize that I could compete at a higher level. Being around the people that I was at Adrian College, the coaching staff and players, they all helped me. My sophomore year really was the time when they were like, “Wow, he can play at the next level. There’s something special here.” Me being the humble guy that I am, I was kicking it to the side. I was like, “Hopefully, you never know. We’ll see what happens.” So, it was the sophomore or junior year where I was like, “This could be a realization, or it could not be.” Like I said, I wasn’t putting all the cookies in the let’s-get-drafted jar, but at the same time, that was my goal: to work as hard as I could to be in this position I am now.
Where did you play in Summer League?
Dorow: Northwoods League, my junior summer, and then out in New York in the Perfect Game League my sophomore summer.
Who were some players you played against that made you think, “I can match up here”?
Dorow: (Tyler) Ratliff played in the same league I played in a year later than me. I really don’t know names that I played with off that top of my head. Ro Coleman from Vanderbilt, I played against him my junior year. I’m not really comparing myself to anybody, but I was able to see that I could compete at that level. That was the biggest thing for me. I wasn’t going out there and saying, “Wow, I’m better than this guy.” I was just going out there and setting my skills up to anybody else’s. I could play at that level.
That was the biggest thing for me, was realizing that I could play at that level and had the confidence in myself to play at that level. I think the summer leagues did a lot for me.
I remember having a lot of this same sort of conversation with Ryan Rua when he was here. For his case, at Lake Erie nobody necessarily knew him, but he got to this summer league team versus somebody from Vanderbilt or Virginia, or wherever. Did the summer leagues become an equalizer for you?
Dorow: There was definitely a lot more eyes, pro scout wise, in those leagues. There’s scouts all over the place every game. The biggest thing at Adrian was getting people to come out and watch. That was the biggest thing. I’d get a ton of emails and letters and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, I don’t think those translated into coming out and watching all that time. You’re playing in those leagues and getting out of your comfort zone and maybe traveling a little bit, or getting into a position where you don’t know if you’re going to be successful, especially coming out of a small school, kind of lets you know where you’re at. I think those were a huge, huge time in my life to help me get where I am today.
After the summer leagues, did you start getting some visits to Adrian?
Dorow: There was some people my sophomore year that came around to watch, but I wasn’t really in contact with many people. Everything started to roll when I came back for my senior year and a lot of them said, “Hey, I saw you play with the Battle Creek Bombers (Northwoods League)” So, a lot of that did stem from playing in the summer leagues. A lot of the contacts and eye-opening experiences were coming from those leagues.
Was there anybody at Adrian, or anywhere else you played – you’re competing against player B – was there somebody that you had a conversation with, a coach or somebody, that furthered your interest in playing pro ball? It’s nice to have feedback from somebody else that helps you say, I can do this?
Dorow: Absolutely. Competing wise, there’s a bunch of kids that I competed against that are awesome baseball players, even at the D-3 level. Going back and talking about school and stuff, I think the biggest part was understanding what could be. Sometimes, you sit back, and you come from a small school, and there’s a long shot and it’s never going to happen.
I think with coach Craig Rainey – he’s been there for 25 years – and he knows when he sees good talent. My dad and him actually were actually roommates at Adrian together, so he’s been a family friend for a while. He always used to come up to me and was the most positive, and he’d try to explain to me how good I was at the time. I didn’t know. I was 18, 19-years-old just kind of going through the motions my first year at school, like a lot of freshman are just trying to get their feet wet.
I think the coaching staff and the people around me really implemented in my mental side how good I could be. That’s all kudos for that.
What was the first pro moment you that said, “Ok, this is a different game, now”?
Dorow: I think going back to the AZL, the speed game was a little. It wasn’t crazy to get used to, but obviously it was a little quicker than Division III baseball. That’s just the honest opinion. Going down there, and playing, and having people that could really run, that could get to the ball fast, that could really hit, the pace of the game was quicker than I was used to.
That was the biggest thing, where I was like, “Ok, I’ve got to really focus in and get everything that I do right, so mistakes don’t happen, or just not being ready to play, or not being ready to be able to catch up to the pace of play, which I think was my biggest eye opener.
And the young talent, too, is the best. I realized how much young talent is out there compared to a lot of 20, 21, 22-year-olds that I played against. They were good, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot of 17, 18-year-olds that can play the game, as well.
Who was the first 17, 18-year-old that impressed you?
Dorow: I actually went around with Chris Seise. He’s really impressed me a lot. The maturity level, the baseball IQ, it was very impressive to see a kid that was just playing high school baseball 15 days ago come in and be very competitive at a professional level right away.
What are you looking forward to going up to High-A at some point?
Dorow: Just looking forward to continue to go up the ladder. I want to win, that’s the biggest thing. Winning is a big part of why I play the game. I want to continue to win at every level that I’m at. I think we’re off to a good start here in the second half, and really could make some runs and get some things to fall into place. I want to continue to build that culture throughout and bring people with me that don’t already have that onto levels to build that success as we go up.
Looking forward to competing again when you get to High-A?
Dorow: Absolutely. Always.
What’s the next step for you development wise?
Dorow: I think just being consistent. Everybody can say they can get better at something. Those things might not be at the top of your head, and you may not even know those things at that moment in time. I think the biggest thing for me is consistency. Being able to think, I’ve gotten better this year than I was last year at being consistent and coming out ready to play every day. I think that’s something I can continue to work on. Playing 140 games, you have to be consistent. You have to be able to wash things away.
You get the call to the major leagues, what does that mean for you and who do you call?
Dorow: A dream come true. First, I’ll probably call my dad and my family back home. My dad’s been there. He’s coached me since I was one-year-old until I was 17 before I went to college. That’d be an amazing call to have. And then probably my fiancée. She’s been unreal to me support wise – traveling and all the miles that she’s put on her vehicle to come watch me play. I couldn’t ask for anything more from her. Then probably my college coach, Craig Rainey at Adrian College. He was very good to me at schoo,l and very good to me to put me in a spot to be successful, and I owe everything to him for putting me into the position I’m at right now.
In Control: An Interview with Tyler Phillips
When Tyler Phillips was a member of the 2017 Hickory Crawdads, the outings were painful to watch. A 6.39 ERA over 25.1 innings and a .280 OBA quickly showed that Phillips was not ready for class Low-A. The five hit batters and 9 walks over that stretch showed he didn’t trust the stuff he had.
A demotion to the Texas Rangers extended spring was an awakening for the then-19-year-old from Pennsauken, N.J. Dealing with the anger over the demotion, Phillips, who was 18-0 during his high school career, was also dealing with the reality that he was experiencing failure and needed to make mental changes.
The start of the short-season Northwestern League at Spokane (Wash.) had its ups and downs, including a three-walk over a four-inning start on June 23. Since then, Phillips has made 26 pro starts. He’s walked more than one in a start just once. That came on opening night 2018 to back-to-back hitters at Greensboro.
Over his last eight starts with Spokane, the right-hander in 49 innings allowed 47 hits, 13 earned runs (2.39 ERA), one hit batter, 5 walks with 55 strikeouts.
For much of the season, Phillips has been the Crawdads most consistent starter. Following the opening-night loss to the Grasshoppers, Phillips has gone five innings in his remaining 14 starts. All 14 has seen 0 or 1 in the walk column. He has 85 strikeouts to just 10 walks over 88 innings (through July 9).
His fastball is around 91-92 mph consistently, but it’s the changeup that is often his money-maker. In a July 2 start vs. Greensboro, Phillips had, by my count, 16 missed bats out of 54 strikes, 12 of those on changeups.
However good Phillips’ control has been over the last 12 months, that has come, in many ways, through the ability to control some of the fiery emotion he battled on the mound, and to control some self-doubts, regaining his confidence.
The following interview took place the day after the Greensboro start on 7/2/18 and it starts with the outcome of that outing and then weaves through the events of his career over the past year.
First of all, last night’s start, I don’t know how you felt about it but it seemed like once you got through the first inning you seemed to find a groove. What was the key for you?
Phillips: To be honest, in that first inning I was pretty gassed. I was down there in the bullpen warming up and the humidity was getting to me and I was sweating, and I couldn’t catch my breath. And there was a little bit of miscommunication in the dugout, so I went out there earlier than I wanted to. That’s kind of the whole reason the first inning seemed a little longer than it should’ve been.
After that, me and (Yohel) Pozo – I told him the plan before the game, they’re an aggressive team and they swing a lot. You don’t really see many adjustments made, so I’m just going to keep pitching to my strengths. I said, “Hey, I’ve been watching them and we’re just going to keep them mixed up and let them get themselves out.” As hitters, they’re hitting .250 for a reason and they’re not going to hit it every time. So, I just kept it mixed up and kept making them uncomfortable. That’s why I fell into that groove there. We just stuck to our plan. I just kept making pitches and he was blocking pitches in the dirt. That was a big help from him.
A lot of changeups last night. Has that pitch come along for you over the last year?
Phillips: I mean, the changeup is a feel pitch. I guess it was two years ago I started working on it, because it was always too hard. I got it and then I started to lose it a little bit, then I got it back last year when I went back to extended after getting sent down from here. I just practiced that because that’s the last pitch a hitter is going to learn to hit, and it looks just like a fastball, if you throw it right. I just practiced it every single day.
My last three, four outings, it hasn’t really been there. So, like I said, it’s a feel pitch and every day for the past two weeks I’ve been out here every day just tweaking my grip and messing around with different things until I got it back. I was playing catch with A.J. (Alexy) and he was throwing his hard, so I just started throwing mine hard and that’s kind of how I got it to come back. You’ve just got to trust it. That’s been the big pitch for me.
Is that the hardest pitch for a starter to learn?
Phillips: I picked it up pretty quickly, but it’s different for every guy. Some guys have more feel than others. It’s just something that I put a lot of time into it. I kind of take pride in that pitch a lot. I know (Alex) Eubanks is working on one right now. Some things will click for some guys and some things won’t. I tried telling him things that I do with mine, but that might not click for him. So, you’ve just got to talk to teammates and talk to coaches, and eventually it’ll come. It’s a tough pitch to come along with.
Tyler Phillips from a 2017 start (Crystal Lin/ Hickory Crawdads)
Who have you seen either on the major league level, or even at this level, that has a changeup that you have looked to, or were impressed by?
Phillips: Probably Cole Ragans. Unfortunately, he got hurt in spring training; I would’ve loved to have had him here. He’s another guy, we’d sit there and we both have similar swing-and-miss changeups. I love watching it because it’s a fun pitch to watch come out of his hand.
I know he models his after Cole Hamels, which – I’m a Phillies fan because I’m from New Jersey, and I’m a Cole Hamels fan, too. Those are the two guys that come to mind when I think about a changeup. Obviously, there’s Pedro Payano, he’s got a good one. There’s a lot of guys, but both of the Coles, they come to mind when you talk about changeups.
You mentioned Cole Hamels, have you been able to talk to him any?
Phillips: He talked to us just about routines and stuff, like all of the pitchers. But whenever I see him, we talk about the Eagles basically. I wish I could have a little bit more time with him, just to talk about pitching and all the different aspects to it. He’s a smart guy, obviously. He’s been in the league for a long time and he’s had success. I wish I could talk to him more about it.
Is that an awe thing for you? Like, dude, this is Cole Hamels.
Phillips: This was weird how that came about. My assistant high school baseball coach, his brother’s friend sent him these selfies with Cole Hamels, so apparently, they’re friends. Cole came up to me and my heart was pounding, and I was like, “Oh my God, this is Cole Hamels.” It is a little weird, but he’s just another guy, just like us. He just has a little bit more experience.
Tyler Phillips warming up for a 2018 start (Hickory Crawdads)
You have a real calm presence on the mound, or at least it looks like that to me sitting up in the press box. I get the impression that you have this cool demeanor on the mound. Is that important for you as a starter? Where did you gather that?
Phillips: That’s another thing that just comes along just talking to older guys and talking to all kinds of people that have been through it.
I know in high school I was successful. I was 18-0 and I didn’t really experience failure. I went to Spokane my first year and struggled there, and there were errors and stuff. I wasn’t really liking that and I was getting fired up on the mound. Then I sat down with Rags (Corey Ragsdale) and he was like, “Hey, man, they’re not perfect and you’re not perfect. You’ve just got to trust it, man. You’re working. You can’t sit there and deny that stuff and you can’t control it. You need to work harder and get better yourself.”
That’s kind of where it started, that and all the peak-performance classes we have with Josiah (Igono), who’s our big-league, peak-performance guy now. He was just like “You don’t want to waste energy out there and it’s not going to do anything by getting upset.”
When I walk guys – I don’t like walking guy, when I walk guys, I get angry – you’ve just got to step off, regather yourself and make your pitches. I try to do that and I try to have a little fire in my eye. It’s just a big confidence thing and it’s what’s making my season better now. I go out there and I walk out there and I think I’m the best one here and no one’s better than me. It’s not true, but you’ve got to fake it until you make it. There are plenty of pitchers out there better than me, but it’s all up in the mind.
Did you grow up a lot from when you were here last year?
Phillips: A whole lot (laughing). Maturity, I feel like. A lot of guys and a lot of coaches have said that I’ve become much more mature. I guess I do see it and it’s just like, you just learn things.
My offseason throwing partner (Scott Oberg) – he’s in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies right now. He talks to me a lot right now about philosophies and Chinese proverbs, and I’m just sitting there just taking it in. I know that he’s in the big leagues, so why not listen to him and take advantage of your resources. And the whole thing with Josiah, just listening to him.
I’m getting older and if I want to move, I’ve got to get mature. Just like Spanish players, you’ve got to learn English. They don’t have to, but it makes a big impact in the game. I feel like it makes me a better person on the field and off the field. It makes it easier to be a pitcher if you’re not worried about that other stuff.
I know you saw my tweet about your last 25 starts (Tyler Phillips walked 3 in a start with @spokaneindians on 6/23/17. In the 25 starts since, he’s walked more than 1 batter once – back-2-back on opening night 2018. Since then: 144.2 IP 16 walks, 147 Ks), Was there a point where you began to trust your stuff? I know you went down from here last year and learned some things, but there comes a moment where you’ve got to trust what you do. For some guys there’s a moment or a conversation that gets you to trust your stuff.
Phillips: It’s just a big confidence thing. At instructs, Rags asked me, “What’s different?” I came from here and got moved down, and obviously, I’m not going to be happy. Josiah said, “You should take this week to be pissed off. I know you’re going to be angry and you’re going to be upset, but none of these younger guys here in Arizona, they don’t feel bad for you. They see it as an opportunity for them to move up and they’re going to take advantage of that, if they can.”
That kind of really hit home for me and I really starting to get worried, like “What am I doing? Yeah, I’m going to be pissed off, but I’ve got to get back there and I’ve got to keep moving up and keep getting better.” So, I went out there every single day and just worked hard. That’s really all you can do. It just clicked for me there and that’s the big thing. I went out there and started to throw better and started to pitch better and my confidence started to come back up. I realized, “Hey, this is what’s going to make me better than everyone else.” I’ve been there, and I wasn’t confident, and you saw what happened last year at the beginning of the season. That was just a big thing for me.
Was the all-star selection a big moment for you?
Phillips: Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it. My last outing wasn’t the best and I was looking at my stats on the milb thing and thought, “Oh man.” But it happened. That was one of my goals for the season.
I told them in my individual meeting, “Yeah, I want to make an all-star game. I want to move up halfway through the season.” Hopefully, that happens, but if it doesn’t, as long as I progress in my pitching and just keep getting better, that’s what I want. But, the All-Star Game was big for me. I was happy about that.
Good experience for you?
Phillips: Yeah, it was a really good experience. It was weird being in the clubhouse with all the other teams. Like, you’re trying to beat them as a pitcher and I’m trying to strike them out and I’m trying to get them out. Like I told you, I had that little fire in my eye and I’m thinking of staring guys down. It’s just a mental thing, but I get in the clubhouse with them and I feel like nobody liked me. Like, this is weird. But, it was definitely fun to meet some of those guys and hear some of their stories of the things they’ve done. It was all a good time.
What does your path to the major leagues look like? You probably don’t see the whole journey, but you guys are always looking at the next thing, the next step.
Phillips: I mean, I’m still young. I’m only 20-years-old right now. I’m hoping I move up every year from here on out, kind of just keep a steady track. That’s what my goal is. If anything happens before that, great, but I don’t need to rush myself, I don’t think. Because, what’s the point of going up too soon and you risk not having a good season and you just go back to square one? Hopefully that doesn’t happen to where I’ll lose some confidence. I just want to move steadily.
Who have you met from the Rangers – I know you mentioned Cole Hamels – but who you’ve met that you’ve gravitated towards?
Phillips: I mentioned Rags. I mentioned Josiah, and I try to talk to him as much as I can. It’s a little different now because he’s pretty busy with the major leaguers. That’s the main one, Josiah.
Everyone says that baseball is 90 percent mental and the other 90 percent is physical, but it’s all mental, I think. This is a grind. I like talking to teammates just to see what they have to say. I try to go towards older guys and put myself out of my comfort zone. I used to be really shy and I didn’t really want to talk to anyone. You’ve just got to force yourself to do some things.
I talked to Kyle Cody last year before I got sent down. I talked to him the short time I was here to get some input from him and his thoughts. I talked to guys my age just to see what they think and compare things and see what works for people. I’m a big observer. I like to watch and not talk as much.
And there’s a time where you can let some stuff out, because you’ve experienced it. I like to experience things through other people’s experiences. That’s really what I do; I don’t really have a set person. I just try to watch people and see what they’ve got going on. There’s a lot of smart guys and I’m not going to get to talk to all of them.
You call the call to the major leagues, what do you think that will be like for you? Who do you call?
Phillips: Both of my parents, obviously. My girlfriend, she’d definitely be pretty excited about that.
I wish I had my grandpa around to tell him that. So, I try to pitch for him every time I go out there. If you ever see me behind the mound just staring up, I pick out a cloud out there, a tree or something and just try to talk to him a little bit right before I pitch. That always settles me down. I wish I can call him, but I know he’s watching. That’s one guy, but my parents will tell everyone else and reach out. I’ve got my two best friends that I’d call.
What’s your grandpa’s name?
Phillips: Frank Phillips.
What did he mean to you?
Phillips: I was young when he passed, probably 9 or 10 years old, but he was one of my heroes. He was in wars, he was in all the wars. He has a purple heart and just had some great stories and just took care of me, whenever my dad would bring me over there. We had fun and he showed me how to pitch and play checkers and do all the things that you teach younger kids how to do. I just loved being around him and he was really a great guy. He was awesome, and I was pretty close to him. I like to try to model myself after him, I think he was a good guy. He taught my dad everything that my dad knows and my dad tries to teach me everything that my grandpa knew. I know he would’ve loved to be there. He’s never seen me pitch. That’s something I wish he could’ve done, but I know he’s up there watching.
