The Swellesley Report went inside the visitors’ locker room at Fenway Park this weekend to catch up with Mike Vasil, the Chicago White Sox rookie pitcher who got his start in baseball as a Wellesley Little Leaguer.
Vasil’s a suddenly hot local story: The 25-year-old Wellesley, Mass., native had been pitching mainly in the New York Mets minor league system since being drafted in 2021 out of the University of Virginia. He had an up -and-down 2024 season and didn’t know what would be next for him with the Mets, especially once the free agent period opened. “I was prepared for anything,” he said.
Anything—and everything—is exactly what’s happened. Over the past few months, Vasil went from the Philadelphia Phillies (very briefly) to the Tampa Rays, who he pitched for in spring training, and he then wound up being claimed by the White Sox in mid-March. A week later he was making his major league debut vs. the Minnesota Twins, and has started off his career with 12 scoreless innings heading into Fenway. An early career thrill was pitching against the Red Sox in Chicago, where the White Sox look to rebound from an historically bad season with a team of young players who will be given opportunities to shine. “It’s 100% a great opportunity,” Vasil said.
The White Sox have called on Vasil, a starter throughout his college and minor league careers, for multiple innings in all of his first five appearances. “I’m very comfortable in that role of throwing multiple innings,” he said. “I was very happy in the spring with the Rays to get used to coming out of the bullpen.” It seemed clear Vasil wouldn’t be pitching on that Friday night though, as he had just thrown for three innings two days before.
When I entered the White Sox locker room on Friday, Vasil was already speaking to a couple of reporters asking some hard hitting questions that had nothing to do with baseball such as: “Matt Damon or Ben Affleck?”; “A Boston hotspot that’s not too touristy?”; and “Who would you like to swap lives with?”
I knew I could do better as I congratulated Mike on hitting the big time: A locker room interview with Swellesley!
I started by asking him to give me a Glory Days recap from his time as a youth player in Wellesley Little League. Turns out he actually played a season for the White Sox in the National League, as he recalls, and then two in the AL for the A’s, plus in summer leagues and for the all-star Williamsport teams.
“I remember being at Reidy Field under the lights and that was awesome,” he said. “I loved playing in Wellesley as a kid.”
Vasil said his dad coached him outside of organized play, but preferred to watch his son in Little League. “Sports is pretty big in my family,” he said, recalling athletic endeavors of various family members including his sister and grandfather. Vasil played his high school ball at BC High, which he said worked out great, though was a tough transition initially with the commute, etc.
Video: Mike Vasil has this message for Wellesley Little Leaguers
The secret to Vasil’s success so far this season, he said, has been not overthinking things.
“I’m just trying to simplify things as much as I can,” said Vasil, who is wearing uniform #61. “The game’s already hard enough at this highest level. There’s no point in me putting added pressure on myself. If I’m here, I’m here for a reason and people believe in me.”
The big right hander has a slew of pitches to choose from when on the mound, and has been particularly effective striking out batters with his sinker. “The sinker’s something I added last year and it’s come a long way,” he said. “The changeup’s been good and I’m throwing a sweeper now that’s been getting better every outing. I think figuring out how my whole arsenal ties together has been good.”
The organizations Vasil has been with have similar pitching philosophies: Throw first pitch strikes, and aim for two of every three pitches as strikes. “I’ve heard it called ‘race to 2k,'” said Vasil, whose velocity has ranged from around 80 to 95mph, depending on pitch type.
Vasil had a workout at Fenway once as a Cape Cod Baseball League player a number of years back but has never thrown off the mound there in a game. As a kid, he’d head to Fenway to watch games at least a couple of times a year, and looked up to players like David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon.
He and some teammates made the obligatory tour inside the Green Monster, where players add their signatures to the hundreds of others in there.
“It’ll be cool to pitch here,” Vasil said. As for keeping his cool when doing so: “Lots of breathing exercises, just controlling my breath. Just stay locked in and don’t let my eyes wander.”
Dozens of friends and family members will be on hand throughout the weekend at Fenway to catch Vasil in the bullpen and hopefully, in action during a game or two. (He’s one of four Massachusetts pitchers on the White Sox who were making their Fenway debuts this weekend.)
Asked about the perks of rising from the minors to the majors, Vasil said: “There are a lot of nice things about being here. But honestly one of the best parts is being around guys who have been doing it for a while and seeing how they go about their work.”
Watching Vasil in pre-game warmups later that night, it was clear he was having fun with his teammates on the field during stretching exercises, and later shagging flies and grounders, and tossing balls to young fans who had arrived early at the park as he had done not so many years ago.
Family photos:
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