Pandemic leaving draft hopeful wondering about baseball future
By: AARON JAMES
AJames@LockHaven.com
Last June, Alex Garbrick of Mill Hall got to live out his childhood dream when he was selected in the 40th round of the MLB draft by his favorite team, the New York Yankees. Garbrick experienced a moment millions of young baseball players dream of and for the summer of 2019, he got to experience his first taste of the semi-professional baseball.
It was during that summer the Central Mountain grad played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts.
“It was really cool getting to go up there and experience that lifestyle. The Cape is known to be one of the best summer leagues there is. I’m playing against guys that are getting drafted,” Garbrick said. ”There’s like 20 first round draft picks up there every year. Getting to play with guys that experienced that and are that good, it was cool to put my talents up against what’s up there.”
Playing against such touted talent and ability Garbrick was motivated even more coming out of the summer.
“I go up there and kind of feel like an underdog going against all the guys from the big schools across the country. It was a really cool experience and hopefully it’s something I get to do again this summer.” he said.
Following the summer of semi-pro ball, Garbrick ultimately had a decision to make on whether to sign with the Yankees or return to Morehead State University to continue his athletic and academic career. Garbrick chose to head back to school, in turn re-entering his name into the 2020 draft pool following what he hoped would be a stellar season back at Morehead.
“I thought going back for a year and my degree was worth it,” Garbrick, a general business major, said about his decision after he wasn’t able to agree on a number he was hoping for to ink the deal with the Yankees.
Garbrick began his season back in college getting four starts in before the season was shut down due to the current global pandemic.
“I had a really good first two weekends, overall I was feeling good about the start of the year,” he said.
Garbrick now waits along with most citizens, questioning career futures amid the unimaginable reality we currently sit in thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Major League Baseball’s season has been indefinitely postponed and many semi-pro summer leagues have already begun making decisions to cancel seasons. In addition, the draft Garbrick hoped to hear his name called again in, is up in the air with the harsh reality of the draft being shortened by a substantial number of rounds.
“I think it’s gonna end up affecting a lot of guys, normally the draft is 40 rounds and from the talks of it, they could shorten it to either five or 10. So it’s gonna be a lot of players that would normally get drafted won’t get drafted this year,” Garbrick said. “They haven’t made any final decisions, so I’m kind of just still waiting around and hearing what’s gonna happen.
“I don’t really know anything yet, some summer leagues have already canceled. You need host families and people don’t want other people living in their house right now, which I understand.”
Garbrick, along with thousands of other draft hopefuls, sit and wait to see the unforeseeable while trying to continue to improve their craft and sharpen their skill should the opportunity still arise. Garbrick is trying to remain in shape and ready to go for the summer regardless of the circumstances as he’s back at home in Mill Hall.
“Working out every day, I didn’t throw when they canceled the season until last week just to give my arm a little rest, but I just started throwing again last week,” Garbrick said. “I’m feeling good so far and just trying to keep my arm in shape.”
Since the Central Mountain grad didn’t sign with the Yankees, he’s been trying to stay as informed as possible via his agent advisor on what the potential future looks like or what the next step will be.
“I’ve talked to him a few times since the season has been canceled but he still doesn’t know much. He updates me and told me when they started talking about shortening it,” Garbrick said. “We’ve been in touch a few times but he doesn’t know much more. We stay in contact but there’s not too much to know right now.”
Semi-pro baseball may not be the most glorious of professional sports, but for many like Garbrick, it’s a dream that they’d kill to live out. As he sits and waits, the fire and desire only grows stronger so come June, whether his name is called or not, he’ll be prepared to get back to the grind to finish what he started.