When one thinks of the great closers that have taken the mound in Major League Baseball history, the names roll off the tongue with ease. Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley. These are all men that commanded the mound like a general commands a battlefield and, when they entered games, hitters instinctively knew that the game, for all intents and purposes, was over.

These men became the very best at their craft. It was not just because they had great stuff, or because they had ice water running through their veins. It was also because they had aged into the position. These great closers used their veteran guile and the lessons that they had learned over time to rise to the pinnacle of their profession. They were great because they learned to be great over time, and this helped them to dominant when they entered a ball game.

The Sioux City Explorers have their own great closer, but he is one who is turning the position on its ear, so to speak. At just 22-years-old, Connor Overton is already establishing himself as one of the best closers in the American Association and has quickly gained the respect of his teammates and opponents alike.

A Family Love for the Sport

Connor Overton grew up in a family that absolutely loved the sport of baseball. From the earliest time that he can remember he was swinging a bat and embracing the idea of playing the sport himself.

“My dad, he played his whole life. My whole family actually, so we just all kind of grew into it. Early on, I think from like when I was two years old, he said I was swinging the bat. From there it just kind of took off. It’s for the love of the game you know. I just kind of fell in love with the game early on and just stuck with it.”

Connor loved the sport growing up, but honestly didn’t see himself progressing much past the high school level in the game. He attended Atlee High School, where he helped the team become Capital District Champions, but he honestly thought that once he got to college his time on the diamond would be coming to an end. Little did he know it was just getting started.

“After high school I really didn’t think I had a chance of playing professional baseball at all. My dream was to be a shortstop and I realized that I couldn’t hit at a high enough level so I went to Old Dominion as a two-way guy. After my first year it was kind of rough, I wasn’t throwing very hard, as a pitcher. My coach told me to just go back and get bigger and get stronger, and so I came back the next year and gained about 8 miles an hour. So my sophomore year in college I realized that I had a chance.”

His freshman season was a solid one. He made 14-appearances for the Monarchs, posting an 0-4 record, while striking out 18 in 31.2 innings pitched. The future looked bright but his career took an unexpected path the next season.

In his sophomore year, he suffered an injury whichforced him to have a portion of his bone shaved down to repair the damage. That required an extensive rehabilitation before he was finally able to return to the diamond and so he sat out that season all together.

In 2014, he returned to the field and with those eight additional miles per hour he produced stellar results. In 30-appearances, he posted an impressive 2.79 ERA, with a 3-3 record and 3-saves. In 42-innings pitched he struck out 43, and it was clear the surgery and rehabilitation had made him better than ever. It was time to conquer the next challenge.

A Limited Opportunity to Showcase His Talents

Following his senior season, Connor Overton was selected in the 15th round of the MLB draft by the Miami Marlins. The young man, who at one point thought he had no future in professional baseball, was suddenly on his way to join the Marlins short season team in Batavia. It was a tough decision to leave school and join the professional ranks, but after discussing it with his family he found that it was the only sensible thing to do.

“I was considering going back to school, so I wasn’t really even sure if I was going to accept it. Then my family and I talked about it and what a really great opportunity it was, and I decided to take it.”

Connor made 17-appearances at Batavia, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.71 ERA. He struck out 20 in 21-innnigs pitched, but his hits allowed and walk totals were not what he had envisioned.

The following season he returned to the short season team, at least to start the year. He made 12-appearances there improving his ERA to 3.72 while posting a 1-1 record. He would later move to Mid-A Greensboro where he would struggle and was released.

A few days later he was picked up by the Washington Nationals and assigned to AAA-Syracuse, a huge opportunity for the reliever. There he appeared in just one game, earning a victory while giving up a run in two innings pitched. He even struck out two batters, but that that was not enough to stick with the organization. At the end of the season he was released by the club.

A New Lease on Life

Connor Overton had gone much further than he had imagined when he entered college at Old Dominion, but he was not quite ready to give up the dream. He worked out for several clubs but found that there was no opportunity available for him within those organizations. When the Sioux City Explorers called him looking for a new pitcher he jumped at the opportunity. Not only was he going to stay in professional baseball, but he was going to get the opportunity to become the club’s closer. What a brilliant move by Manager Steve Montgomery that proved to be.

In his first season with the Explorers, Connor has been absolutely lights out. The right-handed reliever has appeared in 27-games, posting a 5-0 record and saving 11 ballgames. What has been most impressive has been the numbers. In 33.2 innings Connor has posted a minuscule 0.80 ERA and has allowed just 16-hits and 11-walks, while striking out 41-batters.

He has been the very epitome of what a team wants in it’s closer, leaving no opportunity for his opponent to rally against him. His .139 opponent batting average is one of the best in the league as is his 0.80 WHIP. It has truly been a spectacular season for the right-hander and he is cherishing every moment of it.

“I love it here. The team has given me a great opportunity and I am so honored that I have been able to deliver positive results for them. You never want to feel like you’ve let your team down and I have been glad that I have been able to deliver when called upon to do so.”

Connor has been so good this season that he was named to the American Association All-Star team and will appear in the game Tuesday night.

“This is actually my first All-Star team in baseball. So it is very exciting, a huge honor. I am very grateful and excited to be on it with two other guys on my team. I know there are a lot of really great players in the league so it’s great to be chosen.”

Mentally Prepared for Success.

When Connor Overton enters games in the ninth-inning he knows that the game is on the line. His job is to make sure that the victory that his team has worked eight innings to achieve doesn’t fall by the wayside. It’s a role that he has greatly cherished because it gives him the opportunity to flourish in the area where he is most prepared to succeed – in his mind.

“Being a closer is like being in a game inside the game. To mentally get prepared and physically be the exact same person every single day when that situation comes is kind of like the game within the game.”

He also likes the fact that this role requires it to be more about his personal skills than about the batter at the plate. In fact, he is not concerned with who is hitting at all. His job is to get outs, and he will come out there throwing heat and beating his opponent with his stuff, almost taunting them to see if they are the better man on that day.

“I just come out and try to be the same pitcher every single day. That’s kind of what I told the pitching coach early on. The thing I worked on in the off-season is being the exact same guy every single day. So the hitter is kind of irrelevant at that point. I just try to execute my pitches and do what I want with every single pitch. I can’t control it from there.”

The results speak for themselves. Connor has been absolutely dominant when he has entered games and he gives a lot of that credit to the three people that have helped to guide him to this point in his career. The people that he acknowledges he would not be where he is at without their support.

“My parents have been so supportive all through my career in baseball. They watch every single game. And my sister to. My family as a whole are so supportive and really inspire me to want to be great every single day.”

Maybe Ignorance Is Bliss

Maybe the right-hander simply doesn’t know better. Maybe Connor Overton simply does not understand that he is not supposed to be this good this quickly. In just his third season in professional baseball he is supposed to be trying to figure it out. Trying to learn how to take his enormous raw talent and garner that into a mindset and a repertoire that allows him to enter games and stifle the opposition’s attempt to get back into the contest. If that is the case, then Connor is happy to remain ignorant.

Looking at Connor Overton on the mound many will look at the face and think he should be sitting in a classroom or on a college baseball field, and not standing in the ranks of professionals. They can think that all they want, but as they are watching his 95+ MPH fastball blow by them they will soon learn that maybe he is young, but youth doesn’t mean he isn’t qualified.

By Robert Pannier
Member of the IBWAA