The MLB is one of the hardest pro sports leagues to get into. You would be lucky enough to make it to Single A, then you have to go through Double A, and Triple A, and finally have a shot at even being on a roster in the MLB. But hometown kid, Eddie McCabe was on path to enter the MLB Draft, and have a shot at living out his dream. Unfortunately, life had other plans. In March of 2020, the world shut down. The Coronavirus swept not only America, but the whole planet. Eddie was disappointed that he would not be able to finish out his college career at Georgetown University, but knew that as long as he kept his training going, he would be able to get drafted in July. Scouts had him somewhere between the 7th and 15th round, most saying 8th. But as we will come to find out, it didn’t quite go that way.
But how did we get to this point? Eddie grew up in Norwalk, and at a young age realized his passion. He wanted to pursue a career in baseball. Eddie would go on to play short stop at Norwalk High, and he was coached by legendary coach Pete Tucci. He was also coached under current varsity head coach, then varsity assistant, Ryan Mitchell. One day, Coach Tucci pulled Eddie aside, and told him that if he wanted to make a life out of baseball he had a shot at being able to, but would need to put in the work in order to make it to that level. Eddie began going to tournaments and playing for travel ball programs, and at one camp he met with the coaches of Georgetown University. From there, the seeds were laid on where Eddie would go to play college baseball.
Eddie, after touring many college campuses and speaking to hundreds of coaches, landed on Georgetown as his new home. He got the chance to start at short stop as a freshman, and switched to third base for his sophomore and junior year. But in 2020, things changed. Eddie remembers where he was when the world went silent. While on a trip in Florida, the news broke and it seemed like the world was ending. He remembers watching a press conference with Rudy Gobert jokingly touching all the microphones saying he had covid the day before we went into lockdown. Eddie was of course worried about his family and friends, but thought nothing of his odds at being drafted that summer. He thought as long as he continued training any chance he got, scouts would recognize that he was still worth a draft pick in the first 10 rounds.
May 8th, 2020. Eddie wakes up to multiple missed calls from his advisor, and a text reading “Call me.”. Eddie is excited, wondering if there is news about where he might be going in the draft. But on the phone, his advisor is apologizing, saying that he heard about the news. What news? He informs Eddie that the MLB Draft has been cut from 40 rounds, to just 5. Eddie is shellshocked. Over 1,000 people, now out of a chance at the MLB. He didn’t know what to think. But in this dark moment, Eddie didn’t decide to just lay down and move on. He sought out for teams in need of someone like him, and eventually he landed in the Pioneer league.
Eddie would go onto play for 3 teams in the Pioneer league, the Great Falls Voyagers, Glacier Range Riders and the Rocky Mountain Vibes. Eddie speaks highly of his time in the Pioneer League, as he met lifelong friends and got to see parts of the country he never would have got to see. But before all that, he wanted a place where he could practice his craft, and he knew just the place. Eddie called up Coach Mitchell, and asked if he could join the Norwalk practices to get some ground balls and batting practice in. Coach agreed and let Eddie practice with the Norwalk team. But while practicing, Eddie got an itch, that slowly and slowly grew. An itch to coach. Eddie had a meeting with Coach Mitchell, in which he asked to join the staff. He would have to leave in May to go play in the Pioneer league, but he wanted to do more than just participate in practice, he wanted to help teach the kids. Coach yet again agreed, and let Eddie help coach the Bears.
Eddie soon realized that, as much as he loved playing baseball, he loved coaching it even more. Eddie decided to make the call, and officially become the JV Coach for Norwalk High. Eddie even plans on going back to Georgetown in the fall, to help coach the same school he used to call home. Eddie’s career in the MLB was cut short before it even got started, but he persevered. Eddie’s coaching career has officially begun, and even though it wasn’t where he imagined he would be right about now, he’s now living a different dream, in the same ballpark.
