When I wrote last week’s piece that featured
the inspirational pre-game speech given by San Francisco Giants’ outfielder
Hunter Pence, he signaled out teammate Ryan Vogelsong. I was intrigued by that
and wondered why? What was so important about this one teammate? So I dug
deeper and looked into Ryan’s background and came away stunned and with so much
admiration for this player and his wife as well! Vogelsong’s story could easily
become a “best seller” someday!
His career has spanned 14 years, 14 teams
and three continents; from the majors back down to the minors and even trips to
Japan and Venezuela to find himself, which makes his story hard to believe that
he would eventually become an everyday shut-down starter in Major League
Baseball let alone make an All-Star Team and capture a World Series ring? And
all of this came at the ages of 33 and 34! Amazing perseverance!
How many MLB clubs do you think
would have given a player a shot when they found out that this prospect went six
years in-between major-league wins and was in his early 30’s? Growing up from
little league to high school ball, Vogelsong never made an all-star team; in college, he
was a walk-on at a Division II school.
Yet he was drafted by San Francisco in 1998
and he got to the majors within two years and pitched for the Giants in a
limited capacity. His story could have stopped right there and I would have
tipped my cap to this person for achieving a Dream that many sometimes can’t
see through?
He was then traded to Pittsburgh
in 2001. In
his second start with the Pirates, he blew out his arm, requiring Tommy John
surgery. By 2006, Pittsburgh released him. With no nibbles from any MLB team’s,
Vogelsong opted to go to Japan in 2007, where he
spent three seasons before Philadelphia called to offer him a minor-league
contract.
No more eating fish guts as he did to bond with his Japanese
teammates. Despite his struggles in
Japan (posting an 11-14 W-L record), Vogelsong feels that his time spent in the
Orient was extremely valuable. He said: “I don’t
think Japan had much to do with improving me baseball-wise. But what it did was
make me grow up, made me mature a lot. Being away from home for that long and
being in a different culture, it forces you to be a patient person, which is
something I was never really good at. That part of Japan was a big part for me
in my life.”
Returning to the states at the
age of 32, his time spent with the Phillies’ AAA affiliate in Lehigh Valley came
to an end in July of the 2010 season after he could only compile a 2-5 W-L
record in 25 appearances. He packed his
gear and traveled west to Salt Lake City for another shot at recapturing his
dreams to pitch in the Majors. Similar results: he went 1-3 in seven starts and
was let go by the Los Angeles Angels’ organization.
By now, most players would have
given retirement a serious thought especially one with Vogelsong’s resume? Add
into the fact that Vogelsong’s wife, Nicole, just gave birth to the couple’s
first child, a son name Ryder. “It's been
hard on her. I mainly dragged her across the world," said Vogelsong.
"She's the optimist and I'm the realist. I was ready to talk about
(quitting). She wasn't. When we went to Japan, our biggest fights were because
she thought I was selling myself short."
With the help and inspirational push from his wife,
Vogelsong traveled to Venezuela in 2010 to play Winter Ball to possibly find
that spark. He wanted to prove to the baseball world that he could still pitch.
It was there that San Francisco Giants’ hitting coach, Hensley
Meulens, saw him while coaching another team. “I’m not a scout,” said Meulens,
“But I can tell when someone is pitching different than they used to. Ryan’s
matured and learned how to pitch. He’s worked hard and figured it out.”
In 2011, the Giants’ baseball brass decided to invite Vogelsong to their spring training camp despite an age many considered past prime for a non proven player. Now 33, Ryan performed well at camp but was assigned to San Francisco’s AAA affiliate in Fresno, CA. Vogelsong, with a renewed sense of confidence from his Winter Ball play, dominated the PCL hitters in his first two starts – striking out 17 in 11 innings and winning both games.
His sizzling start with Fresno combined with an injury to
Giants’ veteran pitcher Barry Zito led to his call-up to the Big Leagues. His
wife cried! Her husband’s Dreams and Prayers were finally answered! Giants’ Manager Bruce Bochy gave Vogelsong
the ball and after several wins back-to-back-to-back, he eventually locked in a
rotation spot and was seen now as a solid, reliable performer. He went on to
compile an impressive 13-7 W-L record and 2.71 ERA spread out over 28 starts. His amazing performance led him to being
selected to the 2011 National League All-Star Team! Who wants to be the author
of the Ryan Vogelsong book now? Maybe scriptwriter for a movie?
Coming back in 2012 at age 34, Vogelsong added to the
legend by remaining a mainstay in the Giants’ starting rotation. He compiled a
14-9 W-L record and 3.37 ERA in 31 outings. But it was his control and
dependability during the recently concluded playoffs and World Series that just
makes this a true Hollywood story. He won his two starts in the NLCS playoff
series against St. Louis with a 1.29 ERA (13 K’s in 14 innings) and then
pitched over five innings of shutout ball against Detroit during the Giants’
2-0 win in Game #3 of the World Series. During the 2012 post-season, Vogelsong
did not allow more than “one run” in any of his four starts for the Giants!
Who would have seen this all happening? Ryan
Vogelsong recording a 27-16 W-L record in the last two years with almost 300
strikeouts in 368 innings to go with a World Series Ring and a Major League
Baseball All-Star selection? To think, this all came after 2,412 consecutive days on a journey around the world
to find someone to believe in him – other than his wife - and give him a chance
to throw a baseball once more in the Big Leagues!
"When you're growing up and you
envision you want to be a major league player, you imagine it one way, that
you're having success. It's as simple as don't
ever give up," Vogelsong said when reflecting back on his career ups and
downs. "I came into this game and people told me that you don't stop
playing until they kick you out and take your uniform. That's what I was going
to do, and now here I sit."
Never give up on You no matter
what lies ahead in your career! Perseverance with Belief with a Positive
Mindset can take you anywhere in this world! Continue to pursue and capture
your Dreams!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
WISHES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
All the best my friend!
Jim Loria
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RYAN VOGELSONG’S FAVORITE MESSAGE GIVEN TO
HIM BY HIS FATHER, HAROLD, WHILE GROWING
UP: "Don't fail because you didn't work at it. Never think it's because
you didn't work hard enough."
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"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings
you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as
by the way your mind looks at what happens" – stated by Lewis L.
Dunnington
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“The good Lord
gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to
convince” – stated by legendary NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi
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“If you change the way you look at things,
the things you look at change” – stated by Dr Wayne Dyer
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“The highest reward for a person's toil is not what
they get for it, but what they become by it” - stated by John Ruskin
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“When
I wake up in the morning, I have to decide to either be an example or an
excuse" – stated by an unknown author
###
Jim Loria
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com
