Bucknell University Athletics
The Tragedy of 10 Years Ago Still Inspires Eric Junge's Major League Dreams
9/13/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 13, 2011
This story appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of ESPN The Magazine and features former Bucknell pitcher Eric Junge '99.
THE MOUNTAIN WIND turned the rain sideways just before the first pitch, which meant it was pouring straight from the mound to home plate. Summer in Salt Lake was dragging into late July, and the 34-year-old with the baseball had hoped for a dry day, a full house and a couple of scouts from Anaheim. Instead, he looked up and saw 100 distracted fans in the stands searching for cover. He bit his lip hard. This was supposed to be his personal World Series.
He had now spent parts of eight seasons in Triple-A, which he considered seven too many, and he could only shrug when his 20-year-old teammates called him Pops. He'd recently heard himself described as a "Triple-A vet,'' and his response was, "I'd rather be a major league vet." Which is why he waits every year for September.
He knows how the baseball calendar works. Every September, big league teams can expand their rosters. They call up hot minor league prospects. Or borderline minor league prospects. Or "Triple-A vet" pitchers who will eat up innings during blowout losses. The September call-up offers the proverbial "cup of coffee" in the major leagues. It is short-term and finite. It is an audition or a last chance. And Eric Junge, throughout his 1,300 minor league innings pitched, has always loved coffee.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
