It is the dream of every little boy who ever picked up a baseball, to step on a major league field, gaze around you and feel everything you ever worked for come together in one moment.
The moment when all the sacrifices, the wins and losses, the missed family events, the late nights and early mornings come together in one amazing crescendo of baseball greatness. Josh Rogers will have that moment tonight as he toes the rubber at beautifully historic, Orioles Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.
It wasn’t always an easy road, but it is a bit ironic that the 333rd pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft will make his Major League debut at 333 W. Camden Street. Rogers grew up just across the Ohio River in New Albany, Indiana and was a University of Louisville fan growing up. He was blessed with genetic size and the ability to pitch from the left side and so by the time he was in high school he had become a sought after pitching prospect and had offers from schools like Vanderbilt and Arizona State.
His love for Louisville won out and after recovering from an arm injury his senior year of high school he was pitching for the Cardinals in the 2014 Men’s College World Series. Ever since he was a little kid the New York Yankees were always Rogers’ favorite professional baseball team and after 2 great seasons in Cardinal red, his boyhood team called his number in the 11th round. Despite a few injury setbacks in the last couple of seasons, Rogers shot up through the Yankees farm system and has been knocking on the door to the Major Leagues this season.
On July 24th the New York Yankees traded Rogers and a few other players to the Baltimore Orioles for bullpen stalwart Zach Britton. Rogers dream of pitching for the Pinstripes will have to wait.
Tonight will be a big moment for the southpaw but big time moments are nothing new for Rogers. In fact, he has been pitching in big time games since he was young. At 13 he pitched in a game on ESPN when the New Albany Little League team squared off against a team from Ohio for a trip to the Little League World Series. As a freshman in college he pitched in the NCAA Tournament multiple times, as well as the prestigious Cape Cod League. Tonight, making his Major League Debut will be a whole new animal for him but it is the big moment the ultra competitive lefty has been dreaming of since he first picked up a baseball.
If you are interested in checking in on Rogers, the Orioles play the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at 7:05 EDT.
