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Chris Heisey is one of seven former D-III players on
2012 opening day rosters. |
By Nathan Woelfel, D3sports.com
When he takes the field for the Cincinnati Reds, Chris Heisey looks much like any other ball player. But his journey to get there was very unique.
Out of 750 players, the 27 year-old outfielder is one of just seven former Division III players to be featured on the 25-man roster for a Major League team.
Not too long ago, such a distinction seemed unlikely. As his high school career came to a close, there were few options on the table.
“Obviously I wanted to keep playing, but out of high school when you don’t get any scholarship offers or even any Division I programs looking at you, I guess you kind of put two and two together and realize you probably aren’t good enough,” Heisey said.
So, the Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania native decided to play baseball while pursuing a degree at nearby Messiah College in Grantham. A self-admitted late bloomer, Heisey began to become accustom to his body.
“I matured a lot later than most of my friends did growing up,” Heisey said. “It wasn’t until my junior, senior year of high school that I started getting taller and getting stronger. That kind of hurt me in the sense that I didn’t get a chance to play varsity baseball and basketball until I was a junior. Most of the guys that get drafted out of high school are four year starters on varsity.”
A larger build coupled with hard work lead to the increased quickness that may very well have opened some doors for the young Heisey.
“I went from running a seven second 60-yard dash my senior year of high school to running 6.4, 6.5 by my junior year of college,” Heisey said. “That’s one single attribute that got me drafted, I believe.”
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The rest of the six former D-III players on MLB opening day rosters. Anthony Recker (Alvernia): Recker, who was a selected by the Oakland A’s in the 18th round of the 2005 MLB draft, made his Major League debut for Oakland on August 25, 2011. This season, Recker made the Opening Day roster as a backup to catcher Kurt Suzuki. Currently, he is htting .143 in 28 at-bats. Chris Denorfia (Wheaton, Mass.): The outfielder from Connecticut was a 19th round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2002 draft. He broke into the Majors with the Reds just over three years later. Today, he is in his third season with the San Diego Padres. Over the course of his seven year career, he has hit 18 homeruns and driven in 80 runs. Joe Nathan (Stony Brook): The 37-year-old closer is best known for his extended stint with the Minnesota Twins. During his seven seasons in the Twin Cities, Nathan recorded a 24-13 record and 260 saves. The lanky right hander who is now with the Texas Rangers, boasts a career 2.87 ERA. Cole Kimball (Centenary, N.J.): Kimball spent the 2011 campaign with the Washington Nationals before falling victim to a shoulder injury. He appeared in 12 contests and posted a 1-0 record with a 1.93 ERA. He remains on the shelf for the time being, but he is expected to return at some point in the latter half of the season. Jordan Zimmermann (UW-Stevens Point): Though he may not have the star power of Stephen Strasburg, Zimmermann is quickly becoming a staple in the Washington Nationals rotation. In three-plus seasons in Washington, Zimmermann is 14-22 with a 3.64 ERA. Joe Paterson (Linfield): Originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2007, the reliever, who transferred from Linfield to Oregon State, is in his second season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 68 career appearances, he is 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA. |
Heisey began to feel even more confident about his future after joining one of his best friends and former teammates, Robert Revercomb, at several Major League tryout camps the summer after his sophomore year at Messiah.
“I started realizing that, after we would run the 60-yard dash and throw from our positions, they would invite a couple of guys to hit batting practice after, after they weeded out a few guys they thought would have a chance,” Heisey said. “Every place I went, they invited me to hit extra batting practice. So I kind of started gathering that I had the tools that they were looking for.”
Following his junior season, where he lead the team in batting average (.428) and homeruns (5), Heisey was selected by the Reds in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB draft. The young man who once went unnoticed by Division I scouts was now a pick in the draft.
Heisey acknowledged that his transition from Division III into the minor leagues was a bit different than those of many of his teammates who played at larger institutions.
“I may have faced one or two guys my whole three years at Messiah that their fastball velocity was on the low end of what it is in pro ball at any level,” Heisey said. “The guys that are coming out of Texas and Cal State-Fullerton and those kind of schools…every weekend they were facing one or two guys that had gotten drafted.”
It did not take long to find his stride.
“Fortunately enough for me, I had gotten really hot out of the gate somehow,” Heisey said. “I remember through maybe 100 at-bats I was hitting .380 at rookie ball. So that kind of helped me know that, although I went to a small school, I could definitely compete with the guys who had went to bigger schools.”
In fact, looking back on it, Heisey prefers the route that led him to where he wanted to be.
“After talking to some of my buddies who played in major programs and hearing how hard they had to work, how early they had to get up, and how they weren’t able to focus on school, I’m glad I chose to go Messiah and I ended up in the Big Leagues anyway.”
Heisey spent parts of four seasons working his way through the minor leagues. He hit .314 with 27 HR and 77 RBIs in his final full season in the minors.
He made his debut with the Reds on May 3, 2010 and got his first three Major League hits just eight days later.
Now, he has played in 250 Major League games. In that time frame he has recorded a .257 batting average, belted 26 homeruns and driven in 78 RBIs.
While he continues to try to establish himself as a full-time Major League player, Heisey continues to savor all of the joys that his job brings.
“Just the fact that I get paid to play a game,” Heisey said. “I look at a a lot of my buddies who I played with in school and they are sitting behind a desk or looking out a window every day. I get to be out on the field, running around in the sunshine and breathing in the fresh air. I can’t complain about what I do for a living, that’s for sure.”