In Cleveland, you can call him Tim.
In Vigo County, where he earned the prestigious McMillan Award for male high school athletes as a senior in May 2015, you can still call him Timmy.
Whew. That avoids some confusion.
After all, his father — Terre Haute South’s head football coach — is named Tim too. And neither has been known to use “Jr.” or “Sr.” very often.
The person in question is Timmy Herrin, one of the newest Major League Baseball players on the Cleveland Guardians’ roster. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound lefty pitcher, who wears No. 29 for the defending American League Central champions, did not see action in the team’s first three games Thursday, Friday and Saturday last week at Seattle. The Cleveland media expects Herrin to be used in middle relief eventually.
But when his MLB debut does happen, Herrin promised, he’ll be ready.
Technically, the 26-year-old Herrin is not a Terre Haute native. Born in Munster and living in Highland for a short time after that, Timmy moved with his family to Terre Haute when he was a small child, he said.
Considering he wasn’t old enough to remember living in Munster or Highland, he tells everyone his hometown is Terre Haute.
Sounds good.
According to baseball-reference.com, 10 past MLB players were born in Terre Haute. Since 1950, there have been pitcher Tommy John (26 seasons, 1963-89), catcher/first baseman Brian Dorsett (eight seasons, 1987-96), catcher Josh Phegley (eight seasons, 2013-20) and first baseman/designated hitter A.J. Reed (four seasons, 2016-19).
Reed also pitched one inning for the Chicago White Sox in 2019, allowing zero runs and enabling him to finish tied with the lowest earned-run average in major-league history at 0.00.
Arguably the best Terre Haute-born player was Max Carey, a Baseball Hall of Famer who stole an Indiana native-high 738 bases over a 20-year career (1910-29) spent mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates and a few at the end with the Brooklyn Robins.
A strong argument could be made that the durable John — a southpaw whom a famous surgery was named after — also should be in the Hall of Fame. But that’s a different discussion for another time and place. (By the way, John is now 79 and living in Florida.)
As stated earlier, young Herrin does not fall into the “Born in Terre Haute” category. But he is familiar with many of the 10 names on that list, demonstrating he identifies more with Terre Haute than anywhere else.
It should be noted that John, Dorsett and Herrin each started his MLB career playing for Cleveland, although the first two came up when the franchise was known as the Indians.
Timmy Herrin’s favorite MLB team as a youngster was the Detroit Tigers and two of his favorite Tigers were Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, both 40 and active in the majors in 2023. It’s conceivable that Timmy could end up pitching to Cabrera — still a Tiger and still in the same division as the Guardians — at some point this season.
A multi-sport standout growing up, young Herrin played in the Cal Ripken Baseball-aligned Riley Recreation League and with some travel teams while dreaming of someday playing in the majors or the National Football League.
At South, he played quarterback, defensive back and punter in football; forward in basketball; and pitcher and right field in baseball. Timmy credits South baseball coach Kyle Kraemer, who played catcher for Purdue in his younger days, and the Braves’ battle-tested assistants with helping him improve enough to be prepared for big-time competition.
Turns out that baseball won when Timmy transformed into a young adult, even though his father is a veteran football coach and two of his younger brothers — Carter (Indiana State) and Trey (Wabash) — play college football. Timmy describes himself as “a late bloomer” regarding his baseball skills.
Indeed, young Herrin was drafted in the 29th round of the 2018 MLB amateur draft by the then-Indians following his third season at Indiana University. Climbing his way up from the Rookie League to Single-A to Double-A and to Triple-A (Columbus Clippers of the International League in 2022) over four seasons, Timmy didn’t exactly take the IndyCar speed route to the majors. In November 2022, the Guardians finally promoted him to their 40-man roster.
Currently, there are 26 names — including Herrin’s — listed on the Guardians’ website. Thirteen of them are pitchers available for use by veteran manager Terry Francona.
Francona and Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis informed Herrin on March 24 that he made the Opening Day roster.
“It was kind of a surreal feeling,” the Munster native recalled, adding that he called his family in Terre Haute with the good news soon afterward. “To be told that you made the team, it’s a crazy, awesome feeling.”
Herrin said his fastball is consistently timed in the 95- to 98-mph range, although the movement on his pitches probably matters more than the speed to Francona and his coaches.
“I’ve got a pretty good cutter/slider combo that I throw a lot,” Herrin mentioned with confidence. “So that helps keep hitters honest.”
Away from Cleveland’s Progressive Field, Herrin hasn’t gotten to see much of the city yet because he learned just a few days before the regular season that he would make the team. But he has been set up with an apartment fairly close to the stadium that should make traveling there and back easy.
Guardians Baseball relief pitcher Tim Herrin
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Tim Herrin, left, warms up with other pitchers during the first day of spring training baseball workouts for Guardians pitchers and catchers in Goodyear, Ariz., on Feb. 17, 2023.
Plenty of fans from Terre Haute and the surrounding area, plus a few more from the Bloomington area because of his IU experience, will be rooting for Timmy Herrin when he makes mound appearances for the Guardians.
Dorsett, probably equally well known for owning car dealerships as he is for playing in the big leagues, still lives in Terre Haute and offered a few words of advice for Herrin.
“When you are a rookie, you need to keep a positive mindset,” Dorsett emphasized. “Have the same work ethic that got you there. Respect the game and find a way to contribute in any opportunity given. Make sure the organization sees you keeping your head up no matter what the outcomes of your game might be. Be an attentive listener and keep quiet until asked.”
Phegley, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., and serves as director of player development for the University of Michigan’s baseball program, provided well-intended insight as well.
“Everyone wants to have a great start to their MLB career,” Phegley told the Tribune-Star. “It’s the ultimate goal for any baseball player, but that statement itself is why I believe rookies have to adjust so much to the game’s most elite level. Every other level of baseball was a step in the development process that teaches and molds players into their best versions. To be called up to the major leagues means that someone believes you have developed enough to compete and win at that level.
“There’s no reason to think you need to reinvent your game or learn a new way to approach what you bring to the field. Baseball is a game of processes. You develop those processes throughout your playing career and they give you the best shot to succeed. Now it’s time to trust in who you are and just pour your heart into competing and enjoying the arena. Of course, there will always be opportunities to learn and get better. But that, too, is a process that you have mastered. Strive to continue your self-development every day and never take a pitch off. Good or bad outing, don’t get stuck in the past. Learn from every experience and strive to bring your best every time they hand you the ball, because you never know when it will be the last time they do.”
Profound.
“Enjoy the moment,” Phegley added. “I don’t care how long you get to play. It’s never long enough. Time will fly by.”
Reed’s suggestions aren’t as complex as Phegley’s, but they seem valuable nonetheless.
“First, I’d like to say ‘congrats’ to Timmy,” said one Kraemer-coached South graduate to another. “Making it to the big leagues is a huge accomplishment and that first day out there will be a moment you’ll never forget. A word of advice is, soak it up and enjoy it. Don’t put any added pressure on yourself and play the game like you know how.
“It’s going to be one of the best times of your life and make the most of it!”
Herrin doesn’t mind receiving advice from all of these former players … and he’s already got a few ideas of his own on how to handle major-league baseball.
“Sure, the stage is definitely bigger,” he admitted. “But when it comes down to it, it’s still the game of baseball. … I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing and try not to let the moment get to me.
“The game doesn’t change just because I’m in the major leagues. It’s still the same thing.”
Just like when he played in the Riley Rec League … well, almost.
Full article can be found at: https://www.tribstar.com/sports/from-munster-to-cleveland-with-a-long-terre-haute-stay-in-between-timmy-herrin-ready/article_7e4a9a68-cffc-11ed-83d8-7b2955de9e65.html