BELOIT — In a new age world where metrics like launch angle and exit velocity or acronyms like WAR, wOBA or FIP cloud the brains of baseball players at every level, the Beloit Sky Carp’s Josh Zamora is taking on the mindset of throwback players like Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb.
“At the end of the day, it’s just see ball, hit ball,” the second baseman said.
That philosophy seems to be working out just fine for Zamora, who currently leads the Sky Carp’s active roster with a .269 batting average and has the highest on-base percentage (.355) among players with more than 82 at-bats this season.
“Josh is just a professional hitter,” manager Billy Gardner Jr. said. “He prepares really, really well. If you follow his at bats, his hitting statistics are good. He's got some big hits for us as well, and he's been a huge part in helping our offensive lineup come through for us.”
Zamora was signed by the Miami Marlins following the conclusion of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Nevada, Reno.
“Being a fifth year at Nevada, I had it in the back of my head — it was always my dream to play pro ball,” the former Wolf said. “And I told myself that was my dream to get there, just get there and see what happens. Draft day came and I didn't get picked up in any of the three days. It stung a little bit, but then getting that call first thing the next morning, it was like, 'Hey, now we're all even, we're all just ballplayers putting on the same uniform and cleats and we're going to see what happens next and trust the Lord.”
Of course being a little overlooked is nothing new to Zamora. He lettered four years at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, California, a school brimming with baseball talent with major leaguers like Matt Chapman, Paul Skenes and Nolan Arenado coming through it.
Zamora was named all-league both his junior and senior season and helped the Chargers win the California Interscholastic Federation Division 1 championship. He was also a 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American and a California All-Region Second Teamer his second season.
Despite the accomplishments, Zamora’s lone offer came from Nevada.
“(Head coach) TJ Bruce did a great job with my recruitment there,” Zamora said. “He recently just got the job at Long Beach as the head coach, and congratulations to him, it's well deserved. He was all about the hard work. There's no rah rah, there's no flare or flash. We all play the same. It's catch the ball, throw the ball, hit the ball. And it's really as simple as that.”
That style worked perfectly for Zamora, who killed it in Nevada. He was named as the Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Year after leading the conference with a .427 batting average in conference play and smacked a team-high nine home runs.
“Playing with Nevada was awesome, I loved it,” Zamora said. “Coming from Southern California, throughout all of high school we faced plus arms. Three or four of them are in big league rotations right now. That prepared me for what was to come. Not to mention (my coaches) Bruce, Abe Alvarez, Kyle Hunt, Jake Silverman and Troy Buckley. They prepared me beyond belief for what was to come, for the peaks and the valleys and how to handle them and how to stay neutral.”
Zamora added that he learned one of his biggest life lessons while with the Wolfpack.
“A term that (Bruce) used was to stay under water,” Zamora said. “And don't come up until the job's done. I've really taken that and accepted that into my whole life. Stay under water, keep your head down and get to work. And then when the season's over, come above and look at what happened. Then you can start reminiscing and appreciate everything.”
Zamora was named second-team All-Mountain West after batting .320 in his sophomore season before his junior season was cut to just 13 games due to COVID-19. He returned in 2021 to hit .290 and make the second team once again before a stellar senior season saw him make the jump back to first team for the first time since he was a freshman. He paced the Wolfpack in batting (.362), hits (79), runs (60), RBIs (69), home runs (16), walks (40), slugging percentage (.674), and on-base percentage (.470) in his last season.
Zamora debuted in Minor League Baseball with the rookie-level FCL Marlins in August of 2022, where he had 16 at-bats. He then started his first full season as a professional ballplayer with the Sky Carp, playing 92 games with Beloit and seeing some strong growth from the plate.
Zamora was hitting just .198 on May 23 but worked his average up to .247 by July 27. He got better through the dog days of summer, hitting .223 in June and .282 in July.
“The first year is always interesting because you're playing every day,” he said. “To be able to play this game, you have to be able to not check in and check out. Being at the field and being able to practice, work on my breath and work on the mental side of baseball. That's huge. And then you step off the field and it's like, 'All right, I'm Josh Zamora now.' It's almost like an ego switch.”
Zamora was called up to the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos late in the season and hit .300 in 40 at-bats, but he found himself back in Beloit on opening day.
The second baseman was very open that his religion has really helped him deal with the rollercoaster that is Minor League Baseball.
“I know God’s got a plan,” he said. “He lays out the plan and my job is to walk it. And part of that is going day by day. I talk to Mike Marjama, our hitting coach, about that a lot. It's about consistency. If you can do it here for the whole week, you could do it there. You can do it anywhere. It's about staying with your routine and staying with yourself.”
Zamora credited his faith and keeping the game simple with helping him see so much success this season.
“I've been really trusting in God this year,” he said. “I took some time to really devote myself to get into the Bible and read more about Him. And He's taken me to places where I couldn't imagine.
“And baseball hasn't changed in 100-something years. I'm a big believer in competition. It brings out the best of you. And it's the same in the big leagues down to whatever level you go to. It's the same game. There's four bases. Pitchers got to throw it. You're trying to hit it.”
Zamora paces the team in home runs (12), doubles (10), hits (57) and RBI (44). He has struck out just 40 times this season compared to 28 walks, and he has struck out in less than 15% of his plate appearances since joining the Marlins.
“Josh has grown so much,” teammate Torin Montgomery said. “Just being here last year and in double A — he's getting an opportunity and he's making the most of it. He's one of those guys that you can trust. You can tell he loves everybody in the clubhouse, and that goes a long way.”
Zamora also has a tremendous glove in the infield. In 44 starts at second this season, he has committed just one error. He has a total fielding percentage of .991 in his minor league career.
“That comes from my college coach TJ Bruce,” Zamora said. “From the day I stepped on campus to the last day I left, he was a workhorse with me. He stayed on me every single day. He really taught me all the details and how the details of defense matter. It's not about the defender. It's about the pitcher, about the team and pride. It's how well you can defend the ball from the other team.”
And while Zamora’s call up to Pensacola shouldn’t be too far off, good times are abundant with the Sky Carp at the moment.
As Beloit travels to play a six-game series in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels, it carries an eight-game win streak with it. The Sky Carp will look to keep it going when the series kicks off on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
Beloit returns to ABC Supply Stadium for a three-game series with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on July 1st.
“You have to realize you have to take your blows,” Zamora said. “You can't let yourself get too high or too low. My parents, shot out to them, taught me that when I was really young. It's never as good as it seems and it's never as bad as it seems. I’ll take it day by day.”
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