Upper Perkiomen's Tim Mayza getting his shot in big leagues
Tim Mayza, a 25-year-old lefthanded relief pitcher from Upper Perkiomen, was called up recently by the Toronto Blue Jays and is trying to find his way as he lives out his childhood dream.
In case anyone was wondering how many baseball players from Upper Perkiomen High had made it to the major leagues, the answer had been zero.
The operative words are had been, because 25-year-old lefthanded relief pitcher Tim Mayza changed changed that when the Toronto Blue Jays called him up two weeks ago.
Even he didn't know the historical significance until somebody told him.
"I kind of haven't thought about that," he conceded. "I was on the phone with another person from Upper Perk, and he said, 'Do you realize what this means?' I had no idea. It's hard to put those things into perspective right now. I'm living in the moment."
And why not? This was his childhood dream.
"It's crazy that it became reality," Mayza said. "I definitely went to my share of Phillies games growing up. It would be surreal to pitch in that ballpark. I know a bunch of people are coming to Baltimore this weekend (where the Jays are playing a four-game series starting Thursday), friends and family. I'm looking forward to that."
When he made his debut at home against Tampa Bay on Aug. 14, he threw a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-4 loss. The team flew his father, Jerry; mother, Marlene; and younger siblings Bridget and Zach up to share the experience. His other sister, Deanna, had just left for Denmark to begin a professional basketball career.
"It was pretty special," Mayza said. "I just wanted to make sure everything was OK with Deanna, because they were with her and her flight got delayed. So I waited until after that to tell them.
"I don't know exactly what was going through their minds."
He had to keep the news a secret for a while after finding out what was happening during a bus ride from Toledo to Buffalo, home to Toronto's Triple-A affiliate.
Bisons pitching coach Bob Stanley was the messenger.
"It did catch me a little by surprise, since I wasn't on the 40-man roster," said Mayza, who signed in June 2013 after spending three years at Millersville University. "More pieces had to be moved around to make room. I thought they were messing with me. I wanted to call my parents, but I couldn't yet. Then people started figuring it out.
"When we got back I was kind of running around packing. Probably the toughest part was not being able to tell some close friends."
Mayza got in 29 games this season for Double-A New Hampshire of the Eastern League. In 19 innings with the Bisons, who play in the International League, he had an 0.93 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19 innings.
Heading into Tuesday night's game against visiting Boston his ERA is 6.14 in 7 1/3 innings. He has fanned 13 and walked one.
"He's got a great arm," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, whose club, which was expected to be a playoff contender, is in last place in the American League East with a 61-70 record. "He was kind of on the map last year, and we saw some good things in spring training."
And here he is.
"I felt prepared for this," Mayza said. "It wasn't so much nerves. There was a lot of adrenaline and excitement to go out and compete. Once the (first) batter (former Phillie Peter Bourjos) stepped in, you put the emotions aside and get to work."
He struck Bourjos out swinging.
"At some point there is a little bit of relief," he continued. "Hey, this is what it's like. You belong. It wasn't spring training. It was in season. So it gives you some more confidence that you can do it.
"I think I'm a little harder on myself that really anybody else is. They keep telling me to just go about my business. I played with some of these guys coming up through the system, so that made it easier to walk into the clubhouse.
"I think I've held my own. I don't know what grade I would give myself, but I need to get better."
It's all about steps. Maybe the biggest one is already behind him.