Around the League

THE ATHLETIC: 'Did you hear about Tim?' From barbecue back to baseball, longshot Tim Melville pitched the game of his life

By: Nick Groke
 

(Phoenix, Ariz., Aug. 22, 2019) - Little Miss BBQ sits a straight shot up 7th Street about nine miles north of Chase Field, but to get the smoked pastrami from the spot in Sunnyslope to their shack shop south near the airport, Little Miss needs a refrigerated truck. And the delivery driver in charge Wednesday afternoon was delayed.

Something was afoot and he stopped inside to gossip.

“Did you hear about Tim?” he asked. “He’s the talk of the baseball world.”

Word was spreading quickly. Last fall, Tim Melville had appeared at Little Miss for a job fair, standing in line with his application and a smile. Nobody thought twice about him, other than his size. He’s 6-foot-2, 225 pounds. He waited for his turn with the manager and sat down.

“I know this is going to sound strange,” he said. “I play baseball and I want to learn about barbecue. I’m willing to work for free if you want.”

By late October, Melville had a job. The law says they had to pay him, so he earned the minimum. He worked the line at Little Miss, a cashier one day, the next piling sides of slaw and chatting up messy customers. He ran errands with the truck drivers and bussed tables. But not meat duty. You have to graduate to meat.

He became quick friends with folks at the shop, but they knew little about this baseball player, only because of his size, and because he would eat like a horse, wolfing protein by the pound.

They did not know his specifics or his sacrifices, that Melville was once the top high school pitcher in the country in 2008, an All-American at Holt High in Missouri. They did not know the Royals drafted him in the fourth round, then lured him away from a college commitment with a $1.25 million bonus.

They did not know Melville had a metal rod surgically implanted in his chest as a kid to correct a curved posture that made it difficult for him to breathe. They did not know he crashed out of the Double-A Texas League while trying to come back from Tommy John surgery in 2012.

Or that he slipped between farm systems, from the Royals to the Tigers, Reds, Twins and Padres, then finally had a minor-league deal cut off by the Orioles in November, right around the time he showed up for the job fair.

“He was just everybody’s big brother,” said Celeste Neumann, who helped hire Melville at Little Miss. “Everybody loves Tim. He just cares about everybody.”

And they did not know Melville, now a 29-year-old rookie, pitched the game of his life Wednesday afternoon, a seven-inning effort that capped the Diamondbacks at two hits and a run in the Rockies’ 7-2 victory. Not until the delivery guy told the shop about it.

“He always fit right in here,” Neumann said. “Maybe because he’s so exact. Maybe that’s how pitchers are? It’s like smoking a pork butt. If it’s not perfect, we’re not serving it.”

The Rockies on Tuesday discovered that right-hander Jon Gray had a fractured left foot and that he would likely need surgery, so they quickly juggled their pitching and catching rotations. They called Melville in Sacramento, where the Isotopes were set to play the River Cats that night. He was still in bed when the phone rang.

He flew quickly to Phoenix and the Rockies swapped catchers, starting Tony Wolters on Tuesday night, even though he was scheduled for a day off. They saved rookie Dom Nuñez for Wednesday because he had caught Melville in Albuquerque for most of this season.

Melville’s 10-5 record and 5.42 over 96 1/3 innings in Triple-A this year didn’t scream for a promotion. His 89-90 mph fastball did not land him on any prospect lists, not that a 29-year-old gets a lot of attention in those rankings anyway. But the Rockies liked how he controlled his body and threw strikes.

That was apparent against Arizona. Melville threw sliders, for the most part, late-breaking pitches pointed at batter’s back toes. When they caught on to that plan, he painted fastballs on the corners or hooked a slow curve, like the first pitch that buckled Eduardo Escobar’s knees to lead off the fourth inning.

“That’s a throwback game,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “He could have pitched in the ’20s or the ’50s, ’70s, ’80s. Not the ’90s, it gets a little different in this day and age, with the velocity and everything. But he did his thing. It was beautiful.”

Melville struck out four and walked two, with 101 pitches over his seven innings. Escobar doubled in the first inning and Ketel Marte homered in the sixth. That was the Diamondbacks’ hit total against him.

“You always have dreams of doing things,” Melville said. “But when it all comes together like it did today, it’s pretty awesome.

“You’re always looking for advantages,” he said. “Any way to get hitters out quickly, three pitches or less. Just win a game. And to win a game, you have to get the little things to work for you. And over the years, I developed some little things here and there.”

In April, Melville watched a Diamondbacks game from the cheap seats at Chase Field, wondering what he had left in his arm.

“Seeing them play,” he said, “I could see myself out here too.”

No team wanted to sign him, though, so Melville told his friends at Little Miss he was leaving to play independent ball for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.

They were impressed. A real, professional baseball player. He sent them video after his first game for the Ducks, six scoreless innings.

“I shot him a message. ‘You’re a rockstar, man. Keep on kicking ass. We’re watching you back here,’” said Troy Meiss, a former guitarist for the Meat Puppets who worked the Little Miss line with Melville.

Melville pitched two games for the Ducks, giving up just one run over 12 total innings. The Rockies called him soon after with a minor-league job offer. Colorado’s pitching coach, Steve Foster, was the Royals’ pitching coordinator when Melville was on their farm. Melville popped in to Little Miss again in May to say hi, on his way to Triple-A.

It took Melville nearly eight years to reach the majors, when he finally debuted for the Reds in 2016. He pitched in three games between the Twins and Padres in 2017. Barely a blip.

His seven innings Wednesday matched history. Melville became the first pitcher since Jack Spring from 1955-66 to play for four teams over his first seven major league games, according to Elias Sports. Spring did it with the Phillies, Red Sox, Senators and Angels.

And in his seventh career outing, 11 years after he was drafted and four months after leaving a job he loved at a barbecue joint in Phoenix, Melville won his first game, a gem of a pitching performance and one of the best-thrown games the Rockies have seen this season.

“You win or you learn. I never look at it as losing,” Melville said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career. And I’ve had other opportunities in the big leagues. I’m just very thankful for this one.”

https://theathletic.com/1154072/2019/08/22/from-barbecue-back-to-baseball-longshot-tim-melville-pitched-the-game-of-his-life-for-the-rockies/



Search Archive »




Browse by Year »

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015

Browse by Month »

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015