Photo by: Baltimore Sun
Mazey’s WVU Program Experiences Another First With Means Earning All-Star Game Invite
July 01, 2019 12:50 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Randy Mazey's West Virginia University baseball program has been experiencing a lot of firsts lately.
The Mountaineers earned their first NCAA Tournament seeding since the tournament expanded and hosted regional games in Morgantown, West Virginia for the first time since 1955.
This year was also the first time WVU has ever finished the season nationally ranked in Baseball America's final top 25 poll, checking in at No. 20.
Ace righthanded pitcher Alek Manoah became the program's first consensus All-American and the first first-round draft pick in 22 years, and now, WVU has its first Major League All-Star.
Baltimore Orioles rookie pitcher John Means was named to the 32-player American League All-Star team late Sunday afternoon.
"I couldn't be happier for John," Mazey said. "You can't ever anticipate having a Major League All-Star come from your program. It's been a year of firsts for Mountaineer baseball."
The Olathe, Kansas, native is currently 7-4 with a 2.50 earned run average as he nears the mid-season break. Means was the last player to earn a roster spot on Baltimore's 25-man roster and was originally slated to be a lefthanded reliever coming out of the bullpen.
But he has since found success as a starter and his 2.50 earned run average so far this year would rank third in the American League if he had enough innings to qualify.
It's been a steady climb for Means, who arrived at WVU in 2013 after spending two years pitching at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas.
His breakthrough pitching performance for the Mountaineers came early into his junior season in 2013 when he was asked by Mazey, then in his first year at WVU, to pitch a midweek game at North Carolina on just 24-hour's notice.
Means promptly went out and defeated the Tar Heels 5-1.
"That was impressive," Mazey recalled. "He's such a quiet, unassuming guy and that opened a lot of eyes."
Means won four games that season on a WVU pitching staff that included current Colorado Rockies reliever Harrison Musgrave, and he won six of eight decisions with a 3.13 earned run average during his senior year in 2014.
Means was selected in the 11thround of the 2014 Major League Draft (331stoverall) and his advancement in professional baseball has been steady, moving from rookie ball to high-A in 2015 and then to Double-A in 2016.
He reached Triple-A in 2018 with Norfolk and then earned a late-season emergency callup last September when the Orioles' pitching staff was decimated by injuries.
He surrendered five earned runs in that brief appearance but was impressive during spring training when he added another mile per hour in average velocity to his fastball to complement a devastating changeup.
According to the Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli, Means has an exceptional spin rate on his fastball, and he has since found success by pitching up in the strike zone.
"He just continues to get better," Mazey noted. "It's not an accident he's a Major League All-Star."
The 26-year-old Means is one of a program-best four players to see Major League service time so far this year.
The others are St. Louis Cardinals infielder Jedd Gyorko, Musgrave, and reliever David Carpenter, who made one relief appearance with the Texas Rangers earlier this season.
Means becomes the first homegrown Orioles starter to make an All-Star team since Mike Mussina in 1999.
The Mountaineers earned their first NCAA Tournament seeding since the tournament expanded and hosted regional games in Morgantown, West Virginia for the first time since 1955.
This year was also the first time WVU has ever finished the season nationally ranked in Baseball America's final top 25 poll, checking in at No. 20.
Ace righthanded pitcher Alek Manoah became the program's first consensus All-American and the first first-round draft pick in 22 years, and now, WVU has its first Major League All-Star.
Baltimore Orioles rookie pitcher John Means was named to the 32-player American League All-Star team late Sunday afternoon.
"I couldn't be happier for John," Mazey said. "You can't ever anticipate having a Major League All-Star come from your program. It's been a year of firsts for Mountaineer baseball."
The Olathe, Kansas, native is currently 7-4 with a 2.50 earned run average as he nears the mid-season break. Means was the last player to earn a roster spot on Baltimore's 25-man roster and was originally slated to be a lefthanded reliever coming out of the bullpen.
But he has since found success as a starter and his 2.50 earned run average so far this year would rank third in the American League if he had enough innings to qualify.
It's been a steady climb for Means, who arrived at WVU in 2013 after spending two years pitching at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas.
His breakthrough pitching performance for the Mountaineers came early into his junior season in 2013 when he was asked by Mazey, then in his first year at WVU, to pitch a midweek game at North Carolina on just 24-hour's notice.
Means promptly went out and defeated the Tar Heels 5-1.
"That was impressive," Mazey recalled. "He's such a quiet, unassuming guy and that opened a lot of eyes."
Means won four games that season on a WVU pitching staff that included current Colorado Rockies reliever Harrison Musgrave, and he won six of eight decisions with a 3.13 earned run average during his senior year in 2014.
Means was selected in the 11thround of the 2014 Major League Draft (331stoverall) and his advancement in professional baseball has been steady, moving from rookie ball to high-A in 2015 and then to Double-A in 2016.
He reached Triple-A in 2018 with Norfolk and then earned a late-season emergency callup last September when the Orioles' pitching staff was decimated by injuries.
He surrendered five earned runs in that brief appearance but was impressive during spring training when he added another mile per hour in average velocity to his fastball to complement a devastating changeup.
According to the Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli, Means has an exceptional spin rate on his fastball, and he has since found success by pitching up in the strike zone.
"He just continues to get better," Mazey noted. "It's not an accident he's a Major League All-Star."
The 26-year-old Means is one of a program-best four players to see Major League service time so far this year.
The others are St. Louis Cardinals infielder Jedd Gyorko, Musgrave, and reliever David Carpenter, who made one relief appearance with the Texas Rangers earlier this season.
Means becomes the first homegrown Orioles starter to make an All-Star team since Mike Mussina in 1999.
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