CM grad Garbrick ready for start of season with Phillies Clearwater farm team
CLEARWATER, FLA – “Livin’ the dream,” that’s how former Phillies first baseman/turned announcer John Kruk has often described his career in baseball. And you get that same sense from talking to Alex Garbrick, the Central Mountain grad about to begin his first full season as a professional baseball player, this with the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies Single-A farm team in the Southeast League. Garbrick’s enthusiasm for his career pursuit was obvious when interviewed this week by The Record.
After five years of college ball the Mill Hall native was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 17th round of the Major League draft less than a year ago. He trained in Clearwater after that and returned on March 3 this year for spring training. Garbrick has been assigned to Clearwater and the Threshers start their season this Friday, hosting the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels at BayCare Ballpark, home field for the Phillies during spring training.
Garbrick said he would learn at mid-week whether the right-handed pitcher will be a starter or reliever. He said he has stretched out to three innings of work in four pre-season games against other minor league teams; three of them went great, he said, the other one okay.
So far, after his first full month as a pro, he likes it a lot: “I love it, it’s all baseball; no more school, no more classes.” It should be noted that Garbrick earned degrees from both Morehead State, a BA in business, where he started his college career and a BA in interdisciplinary studies from Upstate South Carolina.
But now it’s all baseball. He described a typical day: 7 a.m.to 3 p.m., starting with breakfast at the facility, then a meeting or two and throwing and lifting all mixed in. Garbrick indicated he was a bit in awe at the outset, but has now adjusted to the routine, saying it’s normal to see big league players and people like Phillies manager Joe Girardi and former manager Charlie Manual walking about.
Garbrick said the Threshers will have a roster of 30 to 35 players, about half of them pitchers. He said they range in age from 18 to 25. At the age of 23, Garbrick said, his experience at the college level has helped prepare for what will be a 140-game season. He also talked about his improvement on the mound, from his time at Upstate South Caroline to his time under the tutelage of the Phillies coaches. He said the staff has provided him with beneficial tweaks to his delivery. As someone who throws in the low to mid 90s, he needs to rely on his control and command. He talked about some adjustments he has made to his pitches, including his off-speed deliveries. Garbrick said he has “made some strides…that are paying off so far.”
Members of the Garbrick famiy are expected in Clearwater for the start of the Threshers’ season this Friday. His dad Bill Garbrick was the head coach on Alex’s 2011 Little League World Series team. And on another personal note, he became engaged in the off-season to his former Central Mountain classmate, Jamey Renninger; she is finishing her schooling in the Physicians’ Assistant program at Slippery Rock University and is to do her clinic work next year.
