St. Francis de Sales graduate Zach McClellan lived his own unique version of baseball's American dream.
McClellan experienced the thrill of being a fifth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals out of Indiana University. He touched every level of the minor leagues, battling injuries and switching organizations before making his big-league debut at 28 years old with the Colorado Rockies.
His MLB experience was fleeting, with 12 relief appearances with Colorado in 2007 with a win to his credit before injuries abruptly ended his big league dreams.
But McClellan, now the athletic director at Indiana University Columbus, would do it all over again in the exact same way if he had to. He even got a National League championship ring for his one year of service time as the Rockies advanced to the World Series in 2007 before falling to the Boston Red Sox.
McClellan’s journey began as a multi-sport standout for St. Francis and a baseball star under coach Don Kober. McClellan will be inducted into the St. Francis athletics hall of fame in October.
McClellan looked back on his journey with The Blade in an interview last week.
The Blade : How did your baseball experience at St. Francis help you later on in your career?
McClellan : What St. Francis taught me was that nothing gets handed to you and you have to work for everything that you want to achieve. I didn't have the easiest path at St. Francis baseball because I feel like those coaches were teachers and they were teaching me things I needed to do to handle business the right way. I look back at my time at St. Francis and it was very difficult. There were times I wasn't sure I was going to make it with the baseball program. Ultimately what I went through at St. Francis led to many more successes later on.
The Blade : How did you end up playing baseball for Indiana?
McClellan : That was kind of a cool story. Coach Kober helped me get into a camp in Kentucky called Team One and I went down there and Indiana saw me there. I was already being recruited for basketball, and the baseball recruiting kind of took off from there. Coach Kober knew me very well. He was my psychology teacher and he knew how to motivate me. So the first time he came to me with the IU letter, he said, 'I'm not really sure if you are good enough to play here, but here's a letter from Indiana'. He knew what he was doing and knew I needed that discipline from myself to get to where I needed to be. That was his way of motivating me to think outside the box, which I appreciated.
The Blade : With the MLB draft coming up, what do you remember about your draft experience?
McClellan: I had some good insight into where I might go in the draft. All season long my junior year, there were scouts who were radar-gunning my pitches in the bullpen and on the mound. I had to kind of explain what rounds I would consider leaving college for because I still had a year of eligibility left. I had a decent idea I would be drafted but I didn't know what round. It seemed like it would be top 10 if not top five rounds because of who was talking to me and the questions they were asking me. The day of the draft, it was very different back then — there was no draft room and it really wasn't on TV or anything. You just sat at home and waited for a phone call, which is stressful and exciting and all kinds of things. I actually fell asleep for a little bit and then I got the call from the Royals saying they had drafted me in the fifth round.
The Blade : How would you describe your professional career?
McClellan : I wouldn't change anything about it but it was a grind. I hit every minor league stage you could hit and one of them I hit twice. I even played in Mexico at one point. I wouldn't change anything about the experience, but it was extremely difficult. There were times when the temptation to quit would come into your mind. Then it's just like maybe if I just keep going for another year, I'll get a shot. Eventually, it got to the point where I had a minor league director who was willing to have some frank discussions with me about my mindset and what it would take to get to the big leagues. He basically said the more I think about my next stage in life, the chances are that it is sooner to happen. He said to focus on the dream if that is still the dream and give it everything you've got and let the chips fall where they may. That was great advice because it eliminated distractions and stress and I was able to focus on getting better at my game. It was a grind but I go back to my time at St. Francis and nothing was easy. I was highly prepared to grind when I needed to.”
The Blade : You made the big leagues at age 28. What was that initial thrill like?
McClellan : You can't describe it. It's like all your dreams come true. It's something that no one can take away from you. Even in my limited appearances, I got one year of service time because I got injured in the major leagues. The only year I was in the major leagues, I got an NLCS ring. So, how do you write a story like that?”
The Blade : How would you relate your journey to younger kids in letting them know what it takes to get to the big leagues?
McClellan : My advice to them would be if you love something enough, you should be willing to do everything within the rules to achieve your goals and make it last as long as it can. In any uniform that you have, no matter what name is written across your chest — it could be high school, college, travel program, or professional — make sure you are thankful you have it because there will be a time when it goes away.
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