JOHNSTOWN —
Ben Watkins thought his minor league season was over, so he returned to Johnstown this week.
His stay in the area was short-lived.
A right-handed pitcher in the New York Yankees organization, Watkins received an unexpected phone call on Thursday morning. The Yankees promoted him to Class AA, where he joined the Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League semifinal playoffs.
“I’m 100 percent surprised,” Watkins said during a telephone interview on Friday afternoon. “I saw I had a missed call from one of the guys in the Yankees organization that is in charge of that stuff. I got the voice mail and called and here I am.”
“Here” is Manchester, N.H., where Trenton played Game 3 of the best-of-5 Eastern Division semifinal on Friday night against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Class AA affiliate. The Thunder had a 2-0 series lead. The Altoona Curve and Harrisburg Senators were tied 1-1 in their best-of-5 series prior to Friday’s game at Harrisburg.
Watkins, a Conemaugh Township High School and Pitt-Johnstown graduate, was with the team on Thursday but didn’t play.
“I drove to Trenton. They were at home. We played (Thursday night) and won 1-0 in the 12th inning,” said Watkins, who also appeared in four AAABA Tournaments before the Yankees drafted him in the 40th round out of UPJ last summer. “Now we’re in New Hampshire.”
“I had just got back to Johnstown from Charleston. I drove back home thinking my season was over. Then in the morning I got the call and drove 4½ hours to Trenton. After that we got on a bus for a 51/2-hour drive to New Hampshire. That’s a lot of driving the last couple of days.”
Watkins spent nearly the entire season as a relief pitcher with the Charleston (S.C.) Riverdogs in the Class A South Atlantic League until he made an emergency start in his final appearance. The 6-3, 225-pound righty had a 3-4 record with a 3.88 ERA in 58 innings. Watkins struck out 34 and walked 16.
“I had some ups and downs. For the most part it went well,” Watkins said. “I had a couple rough outings. It was my first full season of
140 games so I was kind of expecting that.”
After last June’s draft, Watkins played in the short-season New York-Penn League and was part of a title-winning team in Staten Island. He had a 5-0 record and 2.47 ERA as a rookie.
Now, he’s part of a Class AA pitching staff in the heat of the postseason.
“I can’t complain about this,” Watkins said. “I don’t really know the words to say.”
Should Trenton close out the series, and should the Curve take its Western Division series, Watkins would find himself playing against his former home region team.
“I really couldn’t imagine it,” Watkins said. “I keep thinking about that over and over, my growing up and going to the Curve games. I don’t know what it’d be like to play against the Altoona Curve.”
Only a few days ago, Watkins wouldn’t have known what it’d be like to participate in the Eastern League playoffs.
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