GREENFIELD — He knew the moment was coming, but that didn’t make it any less surreal.
Zach Spears was huddled up with friends and family next to the TV in the living room when they saw his name pop up on the screen. The world stood still for a moment, he said.
He was headed to Pittsburgh.
The Mt. Vernon grad, coming off the 2017 season as a starting left-handed pitcher for the Miami University of Ohio Redhawks, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the MLB draft. He was listed as 234th overall, he said.
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Come short season A-ball, Spears will be headed to play for the West Virginia Black Bears, a minor league team down south affiliated with Pittsburgh.
Spears came out of 2017 with a 3-8 record with an ERA of 5.85. At 6 foot 7 inches tall, the left-handed pitcher snagged a team-best 69 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. A starter for all three years he played in college, Spears was named Academic All-MAC his senior year.
Spears threw 82 innings, with a .264 BAA and an 88:39 SO/BB ratio.
It took a lot of failure to get to where he is today, Spears said. Discipline gained after learning from his mistakes accounts for his recent success.
“I always knew my potential and how good I was able to be,” Spears said. “I always knew my tools and my work ethic would carry me.”
“It was within my reach, so I took full advantage of that to make sure I got there,” he added.
Spears is eager to start competing at a high level, pitching against the best players the country has to offer, he said. That’s what he’s most excited for.
Spears’ getting drafted by the Pirates in the first 10 rounds was an unbelievable moment, said his father, Pat Spears.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Pat Spears said. “I knew it was coming, but you just kind of pinch yourself.”
Zach’s father vividly remembers a moment when his son was 14, pitching for the Bandits, an Indiana travel team. Discouraged by his lack of progress, Zach called his father and told him somberly, “Dad, I’m done with baseball.”
No, you’re not, Pat Spears remembers replying promptly.
“I told him just because it was one team and one bad experience, you don’t give up,” Pat Spears said.
So Zach kept trying, and with the help of his coach, Dan Turner, he turned his game around, he said.
“I will say one thing, it’s went real quick,” Pat Spears said. “Real quick. It’s been a journey.”
Spears and his father both credited Turner for helping Zach find himself. Pat Spears credits Turner with resurrecting Zach’s outlook on the whole sport, he said.
Turner said that Spears was a player who was always asking questions, always looking for ways to improve his game. He learned to become more comfortable on the pitcher’s mound, and started taking a more careful approach to his training.
It made a noticeable change in his game, Turner said.
Baseball is a portion of every player’s life, and for some it’s more than others, Turner said. For Zach, he always knew baseball wasn’t just a temporary place; the game became what he loved to do most.
“He deserves all this credit,” Turner said. “He came in and worked hard, and sucked in as much information as he could.”
“It was great to see a shy, somewhat awkward kid come into a leadership position,” Turner added. “He exceeded our expectations and he started loving the game more.”
Zach Spears traveled to Pittsburgh on Monday to officially sign his contract. The unending support of his family and friends has been an enormous factor in stoking his motivation to finally get started on his professional career, he said.
“The chance to play baseball and travel across the country is unbelievable, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” Spears said.
Signing with an MLB team is a completely different lifestyle, he said. Spears is preparing to adjust to his circumstances and continue pushing until he’s ready to walk onto a major league field for the first time, he said.
Spears and his family recently flipped through some old photo albums, reminiscing on his little league years, he said. They stumbled across a photo of him at 7 years old, wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat and jersey.
Fast forward 13, and he was drafted by the same team.
Maybe it was destiny after all, Spears joked.
