Baseball.
however, are a rare breed. In fact,
any active MLB player with a
college degree is a rare breed. And
Beachwood native Brad Goldberg
hopes to be one of them.
cago White Sox Triple-A affiliate),
something was different about
Goldberg. Yes, he threw well. But he
is now a college graduate. He grad-
uated from Ohio State University
this past offseason.
graduated college. Many players
are drafted out of high school or
after their junior year of college,
only to never come back and finish
their schooling. While Goldberg
does not care that many of his Pro
Ball teammates did not graduate
college, he feels fortunate to be
State was one my proudest mo-
ments," he said.
ease a little bit," he added. "It's defi-
nitely a plus to have your degree in
any sense of life, and provides me
with peace of mind in this difficult
lifestyle of a baseball player."
might for another player because
academics prevented him from
playing baseball for two seasons at
Ohio State.
of playing college baseball was
just that: going to college to play
baseball. But when he transferred
from Coastal Carolina University to
The Ohio State University, many of
his credits did not.
new school. Goldberg, however,
had more catching up to do. And
during that timeframe, he was not
able to pitch at school.
people at Ohio State, I had a really
good support system. A lot of sup-
port, a little maturity and a lot of
help from outside sources pushed
me through that kind of weird time
in my life."
of summer collegiate baseball
leagues in 2011 and 2012, facing
a similar quality of competition as
he would have had at school. In
2011, he pitched for the Eau Claire
Express of the Northwoods League
and, a year later, he was a member
of the Chillicothe Paints of the Pros-
pect League. With the Paints, Gold-
berg threw mostly on weekends as
he took summer classes heading
into his final season at Ohio State.
of took my mind off things," he
reflected on being able to pitch in
game competitions.
senior in 2013 and the results were
better than he could have hoped;
he went 6-1 with a 2.99 ERA in 15
starts.
my teammates," he said. "I put them
and the university through a lot,
but that was reciprocated well with
all the love and support they gave
me. It meant a lot to pitch in my
senior year."
innings), he caught the White Sox's
attention. They grabbed him in the
tenth round of the 2013 MLB draft.
has allowed him to progress rather
quickly through the White Sox farm
system.
plained. "Some great strength train-
ing helped. A lot of people around
me really helped me buy into what
the White Sox are all about. I'm just
trying to stay as consistent as pos-
sible and the coaches and I are put-
ting our minds together to make
me a better player. We're trying to
building one solid, mechanically
sound pitcher."
for the Charlotte Knights, leading
the team with six saves in seven
opportunities. And right-handed
hitters hit just .175 off him in that
stretch. In his final 15 outings prior
to the All-Star break, he was partic-
ularly dominant, surrendering just
two runs in 16 innings.
possible and put people away," he
explained. "Nothing crazy. It's going
to sound like a cliché, but I'm just
trying to stay as consistent as possi-
ble. That's the name of the game."
keep working hard no matter what.
If you put in the work, good things
should follow."
Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights