The Bo Plagge Story: Part 2
A non conventional way through college baseball into the pros.
The Bo Plagge Story: Part 2
Baseball as a teacher continues to be part of my story, and it taught me to take advantage of an incredible opportunity to focus on pitching full time, an aspect of baseball that I’ve only done part time up to this point. During the summer of the spring season that was cut short from the pandemic, I decided to look elsewhere to find a path to get drafted or signed by a professional team. I reached out to several of my former college coaches and summer collegiate league coaches to see if they had ideas on how I could transfer and play at another college, or play for a team where players routinely get drafted, such as the Draft League. I had these thoughts because there were so many uncertainties such as if the pandemic would cancel another season. I emailed, called, and I even sent film of me pitching with my fastball clocked at 94 mph, but as helpful as they tried to be, not one real opportunity came my way. Humbling to say the least. Did I play my very last year of organized baseball? Does anyone in professional baseball know I have what it takes? Do I stay at my current school and baseball program? What options do I have? Those questions and more flooded my mind every day.
Summer was coming to an end, and as motivated as anyone can be about playing baseball, I made my decision to put playing behind me and focus on a different future that included academics, fitness, and tradition. Now there’s something you have to understand about me before you can appreciate why I made my decision to attend Auburn University. I grew up knowing only Auburn. I love Auburn, my family loves Auburn, I have pictures with Aubie, the mascot, when I was two years old all decked out head to toe in orange and blue Auburn gear. Tradition-wise, it goes back four generations. Since I could walk, think, and throw a ball, all I ever knew was one day attending the school my parents graduated from, and playing baseball at Auburn. I applied, was accepted, and attended Auburn University as a regular student. Very humbling for me to walk around campus seeing all the student athletes head to practice, while I was heading to one of my three jobs I had on campus. I definitely learned the value of the dollar and appreciated every cent I earned. I seriously considered walking onto Auburn’s baseball team, but teams like those fill their rosters early. Not to mention, my eligibility at the time was questionable since the pandemic impacted all athletes’ eligibility in some form or another (hindsight the NCAA was generous and gave all players an extra year, but that was still in flux during this time). Even so, I still put my baseball career on hold until I could find another way to play again. Everything happens for a reason, and attending Auburn was part of how I got to where I am today.
Spring arrived, and sure enough, baseball, like football in the fall, figured out how to start over and it felt like everything was normal again. Everything except I was not involved. Being a regular student created this insatiable need to play because I missed every aspect of the game. Key word is need, not want. I needed to find a way to play. The next day, I found out Auburn had a club ball team, and I called up the club baseball president and asked when tryouts were planned. I showed up for tryouts in March, and I pitched, threw, hit, stole bases- did everything I missed and loved about baseball. Pitching wise, I sat low 90’s on the mound, batting wise, I routinely hit several out of the park during batting practice. After tryouts I was offered a roster spot to play both outfield and pitch, and the officers even asked me if I would help coach. I happily agreed, paid my player dues for the season, and I got my Auburn baseball uniform. Somehow I had found a way back to playing baseball. This club baseball team didn’t have coaches, but certain officers were players/coaches, including me. But this also meant that I had no access to any pitching guidance from an experienced pitching coach. During my college playing days, my training program helped me hit 94 mph. What now?
It was clear that I had to find someone who could not only help me improve on the mound, but could also help showcase my talents for a professional opportunity. I always envisioned myself having a future career as a baseball coach when my playing days were over, and baseball as a teacher was giving me the opportunity and discipline to play and coach for the club ball team. However, I needed additional professional resources if I was to achieve my dream of one day playing professionally.That is when I researched coaching opportunities, and found the remote coaching services that Tread Athletics offers. I gave them a call, and they accepted me as a client. After a few more calls to figure out what I needed, they asked me if I would be interested to work for them in sales. That way, I could help pay for the training they offered with the earnings as an employee. I accepted the position, and was assigned to my Tread coach. He immediately got to work on establishing a routine as a pitcher and improving my velocity. That spring, I used the training from Tread to improve my abilities during every club ball practice, and during the inter-squad games during the week, with an occasional series on the weekend. I noticed incremental strides in my training, and the improvements I was making on the mound from the film I provided to Tread. A few weeks later, I agreed with the Tread staff that it was in my best interest to prioritize training as a client only, and I had a productive conversation that ended with me focusing on my training to pursue a career in professional baseball. I respected their decision, but this created a new problem with my finances, and I needed to get a job to help pay for their services and all my other expenses. Baseball was trying to teach me more lessons on humility and that this change was happening for some good reason.
Fall arrived, and it was my final semester in college. I don’t know how I did it. Somehow I studied for my classes, worked as a personal trainer at the campus recreation center, was a Tiger’s Unlimited Ambassador (student job paid to work at football games), and I worked at Performance 360, a local baseball training facility owned by former Auburn baseball player and professional pitcher, Mark Fuller. And when I could, I found time to eat, sleep, and breathe baseball more than ever before. Some might say I was obsessed. With all the jobs and studying, I found it challenging to manage my schedule to also play with the Auburn club baseball program. So I became more disciplined. I found online tools to help me manage my time down to the minute. By getting myself organized, I found the time to commit to baseball and my training. While on the club ball team, I was able to play free and loose without the pressure and politics. This is how baseball should be. I hit over .500 in the cleanup spot with more extra base hits than games played. On the mound, I pitched as a starter and sat around 93-94 mph with (what I thought was) a decent curveball. As both a player and coach, I helped the Auburn Club program go 10-0 that fall. Baseball was teaching me confidence and discipline. I learned a lot during that season, and I was thankful for the help I received from the club ball catchers and getting to work in Mark’s facility when the weather was bad to help me train.
Graduation was upon me in December, and my Tread coach offered the very last spot in the “Pro-Day” that Tread was hosting during the winter offseason. The staff based their decision on how my training was going up to that point. After graduating from Auburn with my Bachelor’s degree, Summa Cum Laude, I went home to Maryland proud of my academic and work ethic accomplishments. Yes, I worked damn hard for that degree, I worked hard at multiple jobs, I worked hard to keep my relationship with my girlfriend and family strong, and worked hard training for an uncertain future in baseball. Once I arrived in Maryland in the middle of winter, I immediately continued training for the Pro Day set in January. It is COLD outside in Maryland. I trained in freezing weather in non-heated barns or nearby parks. If I can throw well in shitty freezing weather, I know I will be able to throw well in a climate-controlled building during the Pro Day. A week prior to the Pro Day, Tread asked me to come down to their facility and throw a bullpen to see where I was velocity-wise. I made the 7-hour drive to Charlotte, NC, and threw on a Trackman for the first time at the facility. Velocity was up to 90-93, and I was naturally cutting my fastball. My coach had me try a new (to me) sinker grip, and I immediately felt comfortable throwing it, and a few 93-95 mph sinkers with 18-21 inches of horizontal movement later, I found my confidence was building.
Three days later, it was the Pro Day. I made the list and was scheduled to pitch second to last, so naturally I got there early and watched every pitcher I could before I warmed up. I glanced over to the weight room section, and it looked like there were about 30 or more scouts (or they looked like scouts) holding clipboards. First few pitchers were throwing in the low 90’s. I felt better about my abilities, and I convinced myself that I belonged there. But when my turn to throw was just one spot away, I felt my nerves rev up to an all-time high. All kinds of thoughts raced through my head. Was I ready to showcase my skills? I just learned a new pitch just before my big day, how could I possibly be ready? Well, days like this come along- like never, or in my case, once in a lifetime…so baseball was teaching me to have confidence in myself. I’ve worked hard to get here, I’ve earned this moment. When it was my turn, I got on the mound, threw my sinker in the low 90s getting up to 94, and I decided to put together my curve with the new pitch I learned three days before, and it was a rendition of the Slurve (an attempt to make my curveball move like a slider). I threw it in the low 80s, getting up to about 84 with that pitch. After the pro day, everyone at Tread congratulated me on my performance, and they told me to keep my phone nearby.
The next day, I drove back to Auburn for an interview for a job to manage a local gym, preparing for the very real possibility of not hearing from a scout. Right about that time, the texts and emails started to come in when a few MLB teams started to reach out. Wow, I was thankful and happy that playing professionally is becoming a real possibility. When the White Sox contacted me, everything felt right, and it sounded like the organization understood where I’ve been, what I have done, and they were willing to give me a shot to develop me as a pitcher. The contract arrived, and I signed it using my iPad. After I sent the contract back, I sat in my chair, looked around the room, and I was in complete disbelief. I have no words to describe the feeling of making it to this point in my life. Every hour on the ball field from Little league to today, I finally was able to reach out and physically hold my dream.
Baseball as a teacher wasn’t done when I signed the contract. Many more lessons in humility, confidence, and discipline were just around the corner, and I know my work is cut out for me to earn the next set of goals, because everything happens for a reason.
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