He missed most of the 2013 season after needing ulnar nerve transposition surgery. In 2014 he would suffer another unfortunate injury, a broken scaphoid nonunion in his right hand. He was in a cast for six months.
The former 27th round pick of the Twins in 2011 got his Mets minor league career underway in Double-A Binghamton. He pitched six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts on April 5. His next start was six innings in Syracuse on April 17, back to Binghamton for seven innings on April 24, and then back to Syracuse on May 7.
After two going back to Binghamton for two May starts, he finally got sent to Syracuse for good. Before his MLB promotion, he had a 3.32 ERA and held opponents to a .642 OPS in 38 innings over six straight starts in Triple-A. In stat span he struck out 38 and walked 10 while allowing only 25 hits. It’s important to note that scoring is up a full run in the International League this year and the average slash line is a robust .265/.343/.448.
Mazza was named Pitcher of the Week in the IL on May 26 and June 16 of this year.
The former college shortstop (hit .337/.420/.517 his junior year) has been strictly a starter this season in the minors but has plenty of previous experience working as a reliever.
Mazza throws from a three-quarter arm slot in a smooth and easily repeatable delivery. He throws a sinker (mostly low-90s, though he has been up to 96 in relief), cutter, changeup, and a slider that he’s growing more comfortable with.
MMO – How did you find out you were finally getting the call to the big leagues and what was your reaction?
Chris Mazza – So I was actually watching the Mets game and around the sixth or seventh inning I got a phone call from our manager Tony D and he told me that I was going to be going to Philly tomorrow and that they weren’t 100% sure if they were going to activate me or not but they wanted me up to be there Incase they decided to make a move. I was in shock and trying to hold back tears as He was telling me everything. Then when got on the plane Jared Banner called me right as we were pulling away from the gate and told me that I would be activated for the game and when I heard that i was able to finally relax because I was just stressing the whole time wondering if they were going to make a move or not.
MMO – That must have been An amazing experience for you after such a long journey. Can you tell me a little about that journey, why you decided to stick with it after numerous setbacks, and how you ended up with the Mets?
Mazza – Yeah it’s been a wild ride that’s for sure. So I got released by the Twins in 2015 after being hit with the injury bug. Then got picked up by the Marlins a week later. I really thought they were were going to call me up in 2017. I had really good numbers but it just never happened. Then I got invited to Big League Camp the next year and I got a little taste of what it’s like when you’re in the show! But then they decided to release me after a month into the season. That one was a tough pill To swallow especially after the year I had and 2017 and it wasn’t like I was having a bad year. So then you get to thinking well is this ever going to happen, how much longer am I going to try to keep on grinding this out, and all these thoughts go through your head and it’s tough. But in the end I knew how close I was and hell well I was throwing the ball. So in my head I felt like I still had something to offer to major-league team.
Next was to go play Indy ball because I had no teams calling me. So I have a friend that coaches a team in the Pacific association called the San Rafael Pacific‘s which is only an hour away from my house in California. So I figured I go throw for him for a little bit to keep my arm in shape so if the team calls I can be ready. Then after about a month of still no phone calls my coach made a phone call to the southern Maryland blue crabs in the Atlantic league and got me on the team there. Then after throwing 20 innings and giving up just one run I finally got a phone call from the Seattle Mariners ended up signing of them in August 2018 and finished the season with them very strong.
Then after re-signing with Seattle I found out in December that the Mets had taken me in the Minor league phase of the rule five draft and that’s how I became a Met. It was crazy because every new team I ever went to you the first thing they would say to me after my first outing with them would be how did you get released and I always say I wish I knew.
MMO – Being a relative of Joe DiMaggio (Mazza’s grandmother is a cousin of DiMaggio), do you come from a big baseball family and what team(s) did you grow up watching?
Mazza – Yeah we have always been big baseball fans! I grew up on the Yankees and Giants and A’s but I was a die hard Yankees fan and Derek Jeter was my favorite player growing up. Then also my little cousin Dom Mazza got draft by the San Francisco Giants.
MMO – You were a very strong hitter even into college, how much do you miss it and how did it come about to give it up?
Mazza – I miss it every day. Playing short stop was my favorite thing to do! When I got released by the Minnesota twins I was thinking about going to Indy Ball and making the change back into a position player. So when I first had teams coming to look at me in college it was because they wanted to draft me as shortstop and then I got on the mound and there were teams that wanted to draft me as a pitcher. But The twins were not one of the teams that want to draft me as a shortstop so that’s how I became a pitcher.
MMO – You’ve had to bounce back and forth between AA and AAA this year, yet have stayed successful consistently. How have you been able to do that?
Mazza – I think what’s help the most with that is just experience and knowing how things work in the minor leagues over the last eight years that I’ve been a part of it. So I kind a new that I was going to be that guy that would bounce back-and-forth depending on injuries, rainouts or whatever so it wasn’t really a surprise for me. The biggest thing is no matter what level you’re at whether it be Rookie ball or the Big League’s you have to know what makes you successful as a pitcher and stick to it.
MMO – What do you do to prepare for each start, whether it’s video, talking to catchers, analytics, etc?
Mazza – Basically just sit down with my catcher and pitching coach and go over the hitters and come up with a game plan. Then also watch guys swings from the games before me.
MMO – What changes did you make this offseason/during this season that has made you able to take the final step to the big leagues?
Mazza – Basically just sit down with my catcher and pitching coach and go over the hitters and come up with a game plan. Then also watch guys swings from the games before me.
MMO – You’ve played in a bunch of different leagues and cities, what are some of your favorites and also one of your craziest travel story?
Mazza – Favorite city: Nashville, Field: OKC because I’m not counting the Philly’s field. Well there was one time in AA where our clubby forgot to put our hat box on the bus so for our first game of the series we only had 10 hats so everyone had to share hats.
MMO – What do you see as you strengths and weaknesses right now as a pitcher?
Mazza – My strength is my ability to compete, throw strikes, and get ground balls. My weakness is my consistency with my slider, but it’s getting better everyday.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMazza10
The original article written by Michael Mayer can be found here:
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2019/06/mmo-exclusive-recently-promoted-right-handed-pitcher-chris-mazza.html/