This past Friday, Matt Bush of the Texas Rangers and first baseman Tommy Joseph of the Philadelphia Phillies finally made their major-league debuts. Both of these players have experienced a long winding road to the majors for different reasons and now they’re finally getting a chance to live their dream. Sometimes it’s better late than never and here’s how they made it to the show.
Bush, originally a shortstop, was a former first overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres out of Mission Bay High School (San Diego, CA) and it was shaping up to be a nice story about a homegrown kid playing for his hometown team kind of like what the Phillies were trying to do when they drafted Jesse Biddle. Bush was considered one of the best five-tool players to ever come out of high school. Due to numerous personal and legal problems, Bush never made it past Double-A and in 2007, he decided to switch to pitching after struggling mightily at the dish. Then in 2009, The Padres shipped Bush off to the Toronto Blue Jays, but they released him before he ever set foot on the field for them.
Bush ended up in the Tampa Rays organization, where he played for three years before being released after a drunk driving incident. Bush pleaded no contest to charges related to the incident in December, 2012 and he was sentenced to 51 months in state prison. Bush would serve 39 months then he signed with the Texas Rangers after he was released from prison and now he finds himself in the majors, a call he thought would never come. Bush started off his big league career with a bang striking out reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson with a 97 MPH fastball and pitched a perfect ninth against the heart of the Blue Jays order.
Joseph was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Horizon High School (Scottsdale, AZ) and there were high hopes for him. Joseph was regarded as one of the top prep catchers in this year’s draft class and probably the top draft-eligible high school hitter in the state of Arizona. The only knock on Joseph was his inability to hit for any average, but we knew had no problem sending the baseball into orbit. Joseph suffered one of his two concussions during 2010 season, though, that didn’t stop him from being a South Atlantic League all-star and being given a spot on the Giants 40-man roster the next season.
In 2012, the Phillies finally decided to become sellers as they shipped off Hunter Pence to the Giants in exchange for three players and Tommy Joseph was supposed to be the jewel of the trade. In his second year with the Phillies organization, Joseph suffered another concussion and only managed to play in 36 games that year. He was added to the Phillies 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Tragedy struck again for Joseph in 2014 after he suffered a season-ending wrist injury, limiting him to 27 games. Due to a third concussion, the Phillies moved Tommy Joseph to first base and this move saved his career. After posting a .347 average with seven home runs and 17 RBI’s through 27 games, the Phillies called up Joseph to replace the struggling Darin Ruf and Joseph went 0 for 2 in his major-league debut with a walk and a run.
Bush and Joseph endured different journeys to make it to the majors, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a story of redemption and what it means to achieve your dreams. Matt Bush and Tommy Joseph might not stick at the major-league level, but they got a chance to live out their dream and it shows it’s never really too late for you in baseball.
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