Arizona Diamondbacks: One long shot with a dream that never died
Righthander Ryan Atkinson of the Arizona Diamondbacks is on a mission, and that includes a ring.
With only a few days into camp, one thing is pretty certain for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The starting rotation of Zack Greinke, Zack Godley, Patrick Corbin, Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray is pretty much set in stone.
Those on the bubble, like Matt Koch, the starter in the Cactus League opener Friday, Braden Shipley and Anthony Banda, until he traded earlier this week, were considered longshots at best to even creep into the thinking of decision-makers.
To those with the slightest chance to make the 25-man roster, which will break camp late next month, right-hander Ryan Atkinson perhaps has the longest odds. Despite a slim to no chance of making the club on opening day, Atkinson’s story, nonetheless, is both enlightening and inspirational.
For those who ever thought of giving up their dream, failed to inspire and lacked motivation, speak with Atkinson. With an ever-present smile and warm hand-shake, the 24-year-old native of Cincinnati leaves the impression of an athlete not quite ready to flip on a desk lamp at a 9-5, Monday through Friday exercise in drudgery.
Just two years ago, that was the situation faced.
A fantastic collegiate career
Following a career at the University of Cincinnati, and by-passed by all 30 clubs, Atkinson went to work in the medical field dealing with patient services. While the prospect of playing baseball again danced in his head, Atkinson told Call to the Pen that his co-workers at University Medical Center in Cincinnati encouraged him not to let the dream evaporate.
“I did that job for over six months,” he said the other day in the Diamondbacks’ Salt River clubhouse. “The people with whom I worked kept telling me, ‘don’t give it up.’ Keep moving forward because not everyone gets this chance. So, I kept that in mind over time. After about six months, I was getting tired of this and started looking for a new job.”
That’s when Atkinson e-mailed the independent Frontier League and asked if there were any tryouts. The following day, Atkinson received an email, asked that he showed up for a tryout and indicated several teams from the league would be present.
That was on a Wednesday and tryout was the following Monday, Atkinson recalled. That give him five days to prepare and the first time he picked up a ball since his last college game in May 2015. Fast forward to June 2016, and Atkinson began to practice what he hoped was a rendezvous with destiny.
“So, I went to the tryout and did really well,” he told Call to the Pen. “Faced four batters and struck out all four. Then, all the scouts and coaches there asked me to step aside.”
At that point, Max Peterson of the Evansville Otters said the club wanted to sign Atkinson, but had to check with club officials. While Peterson made his contract, the Diamondbacks jumped forward. After the tryout, Arizona scout Chris Carminucci pulled Peterson aside and said, “let me know when he’s ready.”
“I overheard that,” Atkinson told Call to the Pen. “So, I thought, ‘wow,’ he must really like me. I walked away excited. Drove four hours to get there and four hours back that day. Just excited as I could be for another chance at baseball.”
When Atkinson arrived back in Cincinnati, Peterson called and said Evansville would like to offer a contract. Meeting the Otters in Illinois five days later, Atkinson spent a week with the team and managed to get into two games out of the bullpen. At that point, the Diamondbacks called, bought his contract, and he signed with Arizona.
Living the dream, once again
Within a two-week period, Atkinson was back living the dream, and his patience and belief paid astonishing dividends.
Assigned to Rookie League Missoula in June 2016, Atkinson appeared in seven games, started six but dropped four of five decisions. For last season, he turned in a 3-3 season at Visalia and a respectable 3.33 ERA for nine starts.
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More impressive, he fanned 66 hitters in 48.2 innings. Atkinson started the season with Kane Country and went 2-5 and a 3.34 ERA for 10 starts. That included striking out 60 hitters in 56 1/3 innings.
Following participation in the prestigious Arizona Fall for the Salt River Rafters, Atkinson is in the Diamondbacks camp as a non-roster invitee.
As quickly as the pre-season slate began, manager Torey Lovullo wanted to get a quick look at Atkinson. Pinching behind starter Taylor Clarke and Yuhei Nakaushiro in the opener against Arizona State last Wednesday, Atkinson needed but 11 pitches to retire the sides in order with two strikeouts and a grounder.
Afterward, he told Call to the Pen that he is keenly aware of the log-jam in front of him.
“I tell everybody that I can only control what can control, and make the best of what I can do,” he said. “I know what’s here and have to earn everything. My mentality was to come in here and earn spot regardless of the situation. I have to have that mentality to make a name for myself and to open up a door for myself. I just want to get better every day and, down the road, help this team win a World Series.”
Atkinson gets another opportunity open eyes on Sunday against the Brewers; He is slated to follow starter Zack Greinke to the mound and get into this one with relievers Kris Medlen and T. J. McFarland.
This weekend …
Coming off a 7-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies in 10 innings Friday in their spring opener, the Diamondbacks remain at Salt River for the weekend.
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On Saturday, Zack Godley will start against the Cleveland Indians, and Zack Greinke gets his first start of the spring against Milwaukee on Sunday.
On Monday, the Diamondbacks split their squad — half remain at Salt River to take on the Rockies and the other half will bus to Goodyear and a date with the Cincinnati Reds.