The Bo Plagge Story: Part 1

A non conventional way through college baseball into the pros.

I met Bo last year at the Pro day we both pitched in and after telling me his story I was shocked top hear that this sort of thing even happened.

So many youth players ask me “how do I make it D1” or assume that if they don’t get the chance to play D1 they wont be able to play professionally. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are an infinite number of paths to professional baseball, this is just 1 of them.

The Bo Plagge Story:

I wake up every day excited that I am a professional baseball player, and how is this even possible?  Looking through the lens that I am a student and baseball is my teacher, I’ve embraced the idea that the game has taught me humility, confidence, discipline, and how to learn that everything happens for a reason. Now keep in mind, there is nothing traditional about my path. I played a LOT of sports, I swam on swim teams, played soccer, football, basketball, lacrosse, but when I found baseball, nothing compared. I was excited to practice, I loved playing with my friends. I loved what it felt like to win as a team, and detested what it felt like to lose. Little League and travel ball became my home away from home, because it was pure fun and completely absent of pressure and politics. 

Baseball, as a teacher, introduced several obstacles and challenges for me to overcome. I got my first taste of humility when I went from crushing the game as a Little League and travel ball player, to squeaking out a spot on the high school JV team as a freshman in high school. Selected to play on the Junior Varsity team felt humiliating at the time, but I was smart enough to listen to what Baseball was trying to teach me: to use this time to build enough confidence to crush it and be the best. Two years at JV gave me the playing time I would not have seen if I was on varsity, and I became the best outfielder, hitter, and closing pitcher. As a junior, my arrival on varsity for my high school was incredible. It took discipline for me to accept being a JV player for two years and leverage my skills and confidence to earn a taste of success at this level. The results surprised everyone, most of all me: All Conference, 2^nd Team All State, and Honorable Mention Washington Post All-Met. As great as that was, it wasn’t enough for me; I was hungry and wanted more, and it took me believing in myself to achieve more. I wanted my full-color picture in the Washington Post with the 1^st Team players. 

I knew I had what it takes to be at the very top of high school baseball in  Maryland, Virginia, and DC. My senior season gave me the opportunity, and I took it. The culmination of all my hard work coming together. I reached my goal of earning 1^st Team All metro honors and my full-color picture in the Washington Post. Also got to meet Brooks Robinson, Orioles Hall of Famer at the All-Star game where I played at Camden Yards. What an incredible experience. 

My desire to play professional baseball was brought to life playing on that field, and I felt like I was on top of the world at the press conference that prefaced the game. While I was enjoying one of the greatest moments in my life, baseball taught me another lesson in humility. I was the only player who was uncommitted at the All Star game. Nearly every other player was either going to be drafted by the MLB or was committed to a DI or DII college to play baseball. For whatever reason, the word “uncommitted” next to my name caught the eye of a Towson University baseball coach who was at the All Star games and came up to me after the series and offered a D1 roster spot at Towson. Without hesitation, I enthusiastically accepted and headed to Towson to begin my college baseball career.

My work was cut out from me starting on day one, but I never took one second for granted. I wanted to prove to myself that I was a Division One baseball player. My hard work and discipline paid off when I was given an opportunity to play as a two-way player. I was laser focused to make myself valuable and jumped at every chance to perform when I was in the field. I played the outfield and hit during the week and pitched out of the bullpen on the weekend. I had a solid freshman season with my head coach debriefing me during the spring exit meeting to expect more playing time next season on both sides of the ball. Not a week later, Towson released the head coach who recruited me, believed in me, and had big plans for me for my sophomore year. Instead, the school hired a new head coach, and I had to start over again knowing I was essentially back at square one to prove to the new coaching staff that I belonged on this team and could play at this level. 

That fall, the new head coach cut several players from the previous roster, and brought several new players with him to fill the vacancies on the roster. I was made the 4^th outfielder and had limited playing time offensively. However, I was valued more as a relief pitcher even though I had limited experience in that role. Midway through my sophomore season, the head coach decided to make me focus more on pitching, even though I was one of the top hitters on the team, and turned me into one of the starting pitchers in the weekend rotation moving forward. Putting the team first, while still trying to prove I belong at this level, I humbly accepted the role and did my best to find success exclusively on the mound. 

My whole life as a baseball player was centered on hitting, earning runs, stealing, sliding, and walk-off home runs. Now I have a new job that required me to recalibrate my abilities and baseball was teaching me a new lesson: that everything happens for a reason. I dug in deep to learn all I could about pitching, but this was new to me and I had a hard time learning how to be a good pitcher. I felt like a fish out of water without my bat. I hit for therapy, I spent endless hours in the batting cages. Hitting was my home, my comfort zone, it was baseball as I knew it. Not being able to hit shook my love for baseball, especially when the DH that hit for me struck out or we would lose by one run game after game. I wanted to hit and I needed a change. I decided to talk with the new head coach about the possibilities of my returning to the outfield and it boiled down to an ultimatum: I could remain a pitcher and never see another at bat again while he was the head coach, or I could find another school.

Believing that I was a better hitter than pitcher, I opted to find a new place to play baseball that valued me and my abilities. I transferred to St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a Division III school near my home town. The head coach welcomed me and allowed me to play outfield, catch, and pitch, my first role as a utility player in every sense of the word! I was always in the lineup, and I had an incredible season hitting over .400 with the most home runs of my career and garnering All-Conference accolades. The head coach was impressed, and wanted to give me every opportunity in the summer to put myself on the map with professional teams. The most important decision I’ve made in my journey was the decision to think, act, and play like a professional. I went to New York to play in the Perfect Game Summer Collegiate League where I performed well and got the attention of a few scouts (Tigers, Brewers, and Rockies) with my hitting and pitching performances. The scouts I met were interested in following my next season and committed to stay in touch. 

The winter off season leading up to my senior year, I set a series of goals to help me get drafted or sign a pro contract. I was closing in on my dream to play professionally when baseball had more to teach me about patience. My senior season was cut short from the pandemic, along with every other college player in America. The MLB Draft went from the typical forty rounds to five, and my name was not called despite scouts sharing with me that I had rounds 17-20 potential leading up to the Draft. Following the abbreviated draft, all the scouts I spoke with told me that I had a better chance of getting a pro opportunity as a pitcher than as a hitter, so I recalibrated my thinking, and I decided to humbly pursue training as a pitcher coming out of the pandemic.

More to follow in part 2