Former Terp Steve Schmoll Makes Los Angeles Dodgers' 25-Man Roster
4/5/2005 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 5, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Former Terrapin pitcher Steve Schmoll, the school's single season and career strikeout leader, was added to the Los Angeles Dodgers 25-man active roster this week. Schmoll had spent just one season in the team's minor league system and entered spring training in minor league camp. Schmoll made four appearances in major league camp toward the end of the spring and picked up one save in 4.0 shutout innings, making a late run at a roster spot. He joins the Cincinnati Reds' Eric Milton as the 20th player in school history to reach the major leagues.
Last season, Schmoll split time between Vero Beach (A) and Jacksonville (AA) and compiled a 1.87 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 11 saves in 82.0 innings. He picked up nine of those 11 saves in 36 appearances for Vero Beach, before being promoted to double-A Jacksonville midway through the season.
"It's a good story from where he came from," said Maryland head coach Terry Rupp. "He got cut his first year here and pitched on the club baseball team, then came in the next season and struggled at times. After he switched to a strictly underneath delivery, he came back and was really something special."
Schmoll tried out as a catcher his freshman season at Maryland, and was cut from the team. He pitched that season for the club baseball team, then came back and made the team as a pitcher the next season.
"He struggled a bit early on, and he contemplated giving up the sport," said Rupp. "He wanted to be a doctor and had a real demanding class schedule. But, we worked together, and he got a lot of his work in on his own, so he could stay with the team."
Before practice one day, the coaching staff spotted Schmoll goofing around with a submarine-type delivery, and Rupp asked to see him use it on the mound. Much like current Terp pitcher Justin Hulse, the delivery was used early on as a `show-me' pitch to keep hitters off-balanced.
But, with the help of pitching coach Ben Bachmann, Schmoll switched to the delivery full-time and increased his velocity from mid-80's to low-90's as a redshirt senior. That season, he struck out 124 batters, tying for first in the conference in strikeouts and finishing among the NCAA leaders with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
As a redshirt senior, Schmoll had the option to sign with a team or take his chances in the June draft. Rumored to be a possible first round selection, Schmoll opted to sign with Los Angeles, with the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays also among his final choices.
"I felt the Dodgers were the best fit for me," Schmoll said after signing in 2003. "They have a great coaching staff and do well with their minor leaguers. They have a great major league [pitching] staff too, which some people say might be bad, but I see it as a chance to learn from one of the best pitching staffs in baseball."
With his addition to the Dodgers roster, Schmoll has written another chapter in his improbable baseball story. From being cut as a freshman catcher, converting to an underneath delivery, contemplating giving up baseball and now spending just one season in the minors, Schmoll continues to pleasantly surprise.
"He's just a great story," Rupp said. "It just goes to show how hard work and perseverance can pay off. And he told me before he left `I'm doing this to pitch in the big leagues, not to spend a career in the minors'."
