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We’ve all heard the old adage that ‘good things come to those who wait.” For Phillies relief pitcher Mark Appel, the wait, struggles, grief and frustration all vanished in a simple moment on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Ballpark.
The first thing that really jumps out is simply saying Phillies relief pitcher Mark Appel. Appel’s road to the Show has been a winding and twisting road that almost led him away from the game that he obviously loves and choose another career path. Baseball is a game of second chances and players since baseball was invented have taken advantage of those second chances for the game won’t usually ever give you a third chance.
The road to the big leagues has been an Odyssey-like struggle for Mark Appel. The Stanford graduate and former college top pitcher was originally highly drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2012 but he elected to finish out his college education and baseball career with the Stanford Cardinal. The Houston Astros came knocking in 2013 as Appel was selected the number one overall draft pick that year – both a big honor for a ball player and an equally large burden. From 2015 to 2017, Appel toiled in the minors and showed some flashes of promise but he was always seemingly plagued with multiple injuries or illnesses that pre-empted his progress. From appendicitis to shoulder inflammation on his throwing arm, Appel battled setback after setback. The Astros cut their losses with Appel and traded him to the Phillies. The plot thickens here given the fact that Mark Appel is only one of three baseball first overall draft picks ever to not make it to Major League Baseball with the team that originally drafted them.
Appel went through 2017 and then 2018 in rehabbing assignments in the Phillies farm system and even took time to walk away from the game and re-evaluate his purpose in life including whether or not he had the drive to make it in baseball. Appel returned to the Phillies organization in 2021 and through assignments at AA Reading and AAA Lehigh Valley he was able to pitch again in full health. While his numbers (6.06 ERA, 60 Ks to 49 walks in 71 inning of work) weren’t overly impressive per se, Appel’s health and his drive to keep going must have garnered continued attention from the Phillies organization as they retained faith in him by keeping him in their system.
2022 brought major changes to Mark Appel’s baseball career. First, at AAA Lehigh Valley, Appel was moved to the bullpen from a starting role and this change seemed pump some juice back into his career. Second, Appel posted up great numbers early on this season with a 1.61 ERA and a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 28 innings while finishing up all five save opportunities. Sometimes good fortune awards those who are patient and stay true to their goals. For Mark Appel, that day finally came when the Phillies placed reliver Connor Brogdon on the Covid-19 injured list and they needed another right-handed reliever to replace Brogdon. Enter Mark Appel on the biggest stage of his life. Mark Appel became an MLB pitcher on June 29th in the ninth inning loss to the Atlanta Braves. Coming in during the ninth inning, Appel faced four batters, gave up one ground single and recorded his first Major League strikeout and then closed out a scoreless inning. While he didn’t record a save or a hold, Appel did make baseball history as the oldest first draft pick to make his Major League debut at the tender age of 30 years, 349 days. Whatever the future holds for Mark Appel, his rookie debut couldn’t have been sweeter or more compelling to be a beacon of hope for everyone who still holds on to a dream. Mark Appel’s dream finally came true and Phillies fans can hardly wait to see what else this pitcher has in store for them this season and beyond.
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