Catching up with Rollie Lacy

ALEX: How is Arizona?

ROLLIE: It’s been great. It’s an exciting time. I’ve always heard about spring training, whether it be through TV or the movies. It’s fun to see all the Big Leaguers and the guys you’ve looked up to for a long time. It’s fun, because it shows you kind of belong a little bit. It’s a new level of competition that makes you want to work even harder.

ALEX: Have you been…not “starstruck,” but excited about running into certain players since you were drafted last year?

ROLLIE: There’s Major League guys all the time who are down on rehab assignments and things like that. Every once in a while, guys like Javy Báez and (three-time MLB All-Star Anthony) Rizzo and (National League MVP Kris) Bryant will come down to get swings in lower-league games. So, it’s pretty cool to see them. And then some of the pitchers are role models, like (four-time All-Star) Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks. It’s a pretty open locker room and weight room, and they’re really nice guys. It’s a really good environment down here.

ALEX: So, this is a little bit of a dream scenario?

ROLLIE: It’s one of those places you always pictured going to. It’s an opening to professional baseball. I had some time last year after the draft, but this is the real welcome to the organization. It’s a time that really allows you to feel like you fit in, and you’re finally a part of the team.

ALEX: People probably forget that you walked on at Creighton. Did you have any other options, as far as baseball was concerned?

ROLLIE: I actually talked with some schools out East, like Holy Cross and schools in Carolina. I talked with the University of Minnesota about playing there. But, you know, baseball wasn’t really a fixture in my mind in terms of the future. I kind of just liked playing in high school. I liked all sports, really, so it wasn’t something that came to be “my thing” until my time at Creighton. But I chose Creighton because of the academics, and it was just far enough away that I wouldn’t be coming home all the time. It was a good chance to grow up, and baseball kind of took over my life. (Click HERE to see a recap of Lacy’s career at Creighton University)

ALEX: Did Creighton reach out to you? Or vice versa?

ROLLIE: Yeah. Their coach had seen me in some camps and had seen my stats from high school. I was a really late addition; there wasn’t a scholarship available. So they just said that I had to wait it out until the next year.

I wouldn’t say I was heavily recruited. I wasn’t very proactive in the recruiting process as a high school junior and senior. I had a belief that if you were good enough, teams would find you. Now, after (getting more familiar with) the recruiting process over the last 6 years, I know that unless you’re a high (MLB) draft pick out of high school, you’ve got to be proactive about the schools you want to play at. That was my mistake. But it ended up being a great time.

ALEX: Yeah, I’d say it worked out pretty well. That was only half a decade ago, and now you’re hanging out with Yu Darvish. Has this journey been a whirlwind since Holy Family?

ROLLIE: Actually, funny story. Facebook does that “share your memories” thing. And 6 years ago, Connor Riddle and I were driving to a high-school (baseball) practice. It just kind of rung a bell in my head that it’s been that long since Holy Family, which is really crazy. But throwing on a high-school field—just for the love of the game, not really knowing that it would take me anywhere—to professional baseball is crazy. College baseball was crazy in itself. It’s a little bit surreal. I’m just going with the flow here.

ALEX: What sticks out about your time at Holy Family?

ROLLIE: My favorite thing about Holy Family has to be the culture and the closeness of the community. Public schools have that, too, but the group of friends I have (from Holy Family) I still talk to almost all of them at least once a week, if not every day. They’re always asking me how I’m doing, and I’m excited to see how they’re doing. If anything, that’s probably the most important thing I’ve taken from school, is just friends. Lifelong friends.

ALEX: Is there anyone from that community who really made an impact on you?

ROLLIE: Yeah, a lot of great teachers. Coach (Bryan) DeLorenzo obviously was a huge part of my time there, just as a coach. He had to make the decision to put me on the field, and if I wasn’t on the field, all of these things don’t happen. Coach (Pat) Hallahan was there my freshman year. He instilled some confidence in me early; told me that I had a good arm and I had to work at it and I couldn’t just go out there every day and throw. I had to do some stuff off the field as well.

Mr. (John) Dols was always very helpful for me. I wouldn’t say I was the most well-behaved student in high school. I definitely had some growing up to do. But he showed me some good things along the way. I don’t think I had a bad experience with any staff there. Credit to them.

ALEX: Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Holy Family?

ROLLIE: The state championship my junior year in baseball. That was a surreal experience. Being at Target Field, a professional stadium. With all the guys. Of course, we had a really good team that year. Going up through state. That was a really fun time.

ALEX: When the MLB draft was approaching last summer, did you have a good idea of where you were going to be picked? What were you hearing?

ROLLIE: I was almost 100 percent sure that I was going (to be drafted). But there’s always that fear in the back of your head that you weren’t going to be picked. I was actually talking to four or five teams to get a deal done in the fourth through eighth rounds, pretty early on. But the draft was pretty hectic, and they ended up saying I could sign for more money late—in the 11th round—instead of being a money-saving pick early on. It ended up working out really well. I’m glad I’m with the Cubs—a great organization. When I was drafted, I was on the golf course with my family. It’s a great memory to have.

ALEX: And who was there with you, exactly?

ROLLIE: My dad, brother and one of my good friends from college. But 5 seconds after it happened— and I didn’t even know about it (the pick) before a lot of people did—my phone just shut down. I couldn’t open it. There were a lot of people to talk to, and it was really fun to have all of those people pulling for me and happy for me.

ALEX: Enough people to shut your phone down, huh?

ROLLIE: I got all these calls and notifications. The one call that came through at the time that I could answer was the head executive of Chicago asking me if I wanted to be a Cub, and welcome to the organization. That was pretty funny. But I was fielding calls and texts for a long time after that. It was tough to finish the round (of golf). I actually had to shut my phone off for the back nine.

ALEX: You mentioned a lot of people reached out to you after the draft. Were there any “surprising” people from Holy Family that congratulated you?

ROLLIE: Absolutely. It’s more of a rag on myself for not staying in contact with a lot of these people. There’s people that were part of my life and helped me in ways that were hard to see at times. I’ve gotten thank-yous from people who had no business needing to say thank you. They just went out of their way to be kind and supportive. That’s a tribute to how good the people are at Holy Family. There’s always people reaching out and congratulating me, even this late after the draft, and giving support. It’s definitely a humbling experience having those people contact you.

ALEX: Even when you were pitching well in high school, did it ever cross your mind that you might be a draft pick one day?

ROLLIE: Personally, no. I didn’t think it was something that was that great of a chance. But Kasey Ralston (’12) my junior year, he was a pretty big prospect, going to Indiana. We hoped he was going to be drafted. And my dad told me, just keep working out and maybe one day you’ll be seeing that, too. I remember laughing and going, “Yeah, I don’t think so.” And then it ended up happening. I guess your parents always think the best about you, but I was never thinking about being a professional baseball player until the later years of college. Not until then.

ALEX: I’ve been reading that, besides the signing bonus, Minor League players make next to nothing on a weekly basis. What’s the “job” like? How do you deal with those infamous bus trips?

ROLLIE: The pay is definitely tough. But they make it up in your bonus. They try to make it what you would’ve gotten in your years of work out of college. And we don’t really have any living expenses or food expenses, per se. So that’s nice.

Being away from friends and family is definitely tough. My girlfriend works in North Carolina, and we talk all the time. Fortunately, in today’s day and age, it’s pretty easy to talk and communicate with people. But it is tough to get my friends together and go on trips and stuff. I’m pretty booked from about March 1 until the end of September. There is some sacrifice, but it’s worth it in the end if you make it to the top.

ALEX: Do you have any time to be a tourist? Or is it go, go, go?

ROLLIE: It’s go, go, go. I think the assumption is that the team is always together, 24/7. It’s more like a desk job, but you’re playing baseball. We have our schedule, and we have our free time. All the towns have their own things to offer, and we definitely have our share of free time, depending on if you want to use that to rest, which is probably what about 90, 95 percent of the guys do.

But I’m a big adventure guy. So I’m excited for the flights and bus trips and seeing different parts of the country. Sure, it can be a grind sometimes. I don’t really sit on buses too well. Nor do the other guys. But it’s something where you roll with the punches on that. And it’s something you’ll look back on in 15 years and wish you could still be doing. So I’m trying to have as much fun as I can.

UPDATE January 2019: Tampa Bay Rays Scouting Report: Rollie Lacy