Countless kids make it their lifelong goal to play a sport professionally. Some will make it, but the overwhelming majority won’t. New York Mets reliever Ty Adcock was given every excuse to fall into the latter category, but has perservered through a difficult path to realize his big-league dream
Between changing positions and battling significant injuries, Adcock has had a tough road to overcome, but he's done just that to get to where he is today. We took some time to talk with Adcock about his journey, and after hearing his story, you will have no choice but to root for his success.
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New York Mets’ Ty Adcock is catcher turned pitcher
During his time at South Granville High School in North Carolina, Adcock was a standout catcher that could hit from both sides of the plate. He played varsity all four years of his high school career, hitting .427 with 9 home runs and 82 RBI in 93 games. But as good as his bat was, his arm turned out to be more impressive in the eyes of the Elon University coaching staff, so they converted him into a pitcher. In an interview, Adcock recalls the moment he realized that he could have a bright future on the mound.
"I was a two-way player up until my junior year of college," Adcock said. Late in his junior year at Elon, everything started to come together as a pitcher. "It was a weekend series against UNC-Wilmington and my fastball was sitting around 91-94 mph. A few weeks later, with the help of my pitching coach, I think I hit 97 on the radar gun."
This major jump in velocity quickly caught the attention of big-league scouts and paved the way for Adcock to find himself on MLB draft boards.
"I had scouts handing me letters after the game," Adcock said. "It was a little overwhelming, because I had been struggling as a position player and was battling to be in the lineup everyday."
Just like that, Adcock found his professional future changed for good.
Adcock drafted by Mariners, faces Tommy John surgery
With the No. 8 pick of the 2019 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners took a chance on Adcock's electric right arm. But just when Adcock was on the verge of making his MLB dreams come true, he was forced to deal with something no pitcher every wants to face.
Following an elbow injury in 2021, Adcock had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Adcock's perspective to this challenge is more than inspirational. Asked what the most difficult part of the injury process was, his response had us ready to run through a brick wall.
"It's the marathon of a long-term injury and staying committed to a goal," Adcock said. "The injury itself is not the difficult part. What's done is done. The hardest part is making intentional effort every day. Your 100% might look different every day. There's multiple days you wonder if you'll make it back. That's just the mind that wanders, you just have to reel it back in."
Finally making his Major League debut
After the uphill battle of recovering from surgery, Adcock was rewarded with the chance to let a childhood dream come true. On June 12, 2023, Adcock stepped on a big-league mound for the first time, pitching two scoreless frames in Seattle's 8-1 win over the Miami Marlins. That proved to be the start of an impressive 13-inning streak in which the righty did not allow a run or a walk.
When reflecting on his MLB debut, Adcock had this to say: "Everything had just come full circle. I was full of gratitude. Just thankful to be on that field. So much had been put into that one moment. Everything that happened before that was able to lead me to being a pitcher in the big leagues."
Of course, MLB has a way of humbling just about every player eventually, no matter how talented. Adcock gave up seven runs over three appearances in mid-July and was demoted back to the Minors, his big-league experience cut short almost as soon as it had begun. He was DFA'd by Seattle in April of 2024, and spent last season bouncing between Triple-A and the Majors with the Detroit Tigers and the Mets.
As far as Adcock's next goal as a professional baseball player, it is quite simple: He very much values the "one day at a time" approach, and would like to reach one year of service time as a big leaguer.
"I'm just trying to claw my way back," he said. "Yeah, I have debuted and that's behind me. One day I want to be a solidified big leaguer. Not having to worry about going up and down between the MLB and Minors."
Of course, we all know that with aspirations this big, it is inevitable that challenges will present themselves. For Adcock, it is all about perspective when adversity arrives.
"Every difficult interaction is just another opportunity to be a more resilient you," Adcock said. "You have to stay where your feet are. You can't play GM all the time, speculating who they are going to call up and down or release. When things don't go your way, you just have to roll with the punches."
Regardless of who your favorite MLB team is, you can't help but root for someone like Ty Adcock, who has had such a long, challenging road to get to where he is today.
Adcock is currently in Triple-A with the New York Mets organization and has tossed two scoreless frames this season going into Friday. Should the team's bullpen need reinforcements over the course of a long regular season, maybe he'll get to take a Major League mound again — for good this time.