Not your Typical Professional Ballplayer

by Joseph Kuykendall

While highly touted Division 1 baseball players and highs school studs were getting all the hype prior to the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft, not many baseball fans had heard of Nathan Minnich, yet. It’s not that Minnich doesn’t have the skill set like the other players, its that he comes from Shepherd University, a small Division 2 Institution on the eastern side of West Virginia (WV/Maryland Border), so he doesn’t receive the publicity like them.

Minnich made the most of his four years at Shepherd hitting at least .376 with 11 HR in all four seasons there, including hitting .425 or greater in his final three seasons and clubbing 21 HR his Senior season. For the outstanding numbers he put up his senior season, Minnich was awarded the Tino Martinez award as the best baseball player in Division 2. Minnich was very honored to be given the award, “It’s THE Player of the Year for Division 2; it’s like the Heisman. It’s an honor, especially--the first person to tell you is Tino Martinez himself,” said the third ever winner of the award, “It’s a pretty surreal experience and I’m honored to be one of the winners of that award.”

Courtesy of John Courneau/Lowell Spinners

In the end it all worked out for Minnich but he did admit being a little nervous early-on in his collegiate career because he did not attend a Division 1 school, “At first I [was worried], like my freshman year. I was kind of like ‘Maybe I didn’t make the best decision coming here.’ But I was reinforced by talking to people at school and outside of the school—that I’ve known who’ve played professional baseball—they’re like, ‘If you’re good enough, the scouts will find you.’ And that’s why I decided to stay [at Shepherd,” said the Waynesboro, PA native, ““I wouldn’t change it for the world. Yea, I mean sometimes I wish I went somewhere bigger and better but it got me where I wanted.”

Minnich’s astronomical collegiate stats didn’t exactly translate to the professional playing surface. Through just 12 games and 44 at-bats with Lowell, Minnich hit a dismal .136 with 3 RBI. This is what ultimately had him sent down to the Gulf Coast League Sox. There, he has begun to turn things around and approach the numbers he put up in college. In 5 games with the Rookie Sox, he’s already matched his hit total from Lowell (6) and is hitting .333.

With a month of professional baseball under his belt and a few more to go, Minnich has his eyes set on some goals to close out his first year, “Skill set wise, I just want to get better.  I want to get better every year here. Numbers wise, once I get in there, get in the swing of things, I’d like to hit, I said yesterday, .220-.250. I feel like that’s a solid first year.”

When asked about what major league team he followed growing up Minnich simply replied, “I really wasn’t a fan of any team. It was all Ken Griffey, Jr.”

If Minnich can begin to get into a groove like he did in college, he may one day make it to the Bigs and become the player kids look up to just like he did with Griffey.

Kuykendall can be followed on Twitter @JoeKBSU18 and contacted at JKuykendall@BostonSportsU18.com