DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The dream has become a reality.
Arizona left hander Andrew Saalfrank has passed all the tests and jumped through all the hoops.
Now he’s a big leaguer.
“I feel like I have been throwing the ball well,” Saalfrank told WZBD Saturday at Wrigley Field.
“At the end of the day, it’s simple,” he said of his job as a reliever, a job which may require less than five minutes on the mound but have a big impact on the team. “You either did your job, or you didn’t. Right now I am just really focused on doing whatever I can to help the team win games.”
After making his major league debut Tuesday at Chase Field in Phoenix, the reliever, who once upon a time mesmerized crowds of 200 at ball diamonds around the ACAC, has now made two more appearances for his new club and appears to be in line for more high-leverage situations.
Saalfrank entered the game Saturday at Wrigley Field in a high-pressure situation and shut down the Chicago Cubs, working his third scoreless inning and keeping the Cubbies off the board as Arizona won their third game in a row against their Wild Card rivals.
The Heritage High School grad had plenty of fans in Chicago.
“Everyone that was able to come out this weekend made everything so much better,” said Saalfrank. “Being able to share the moment with people that helped me get to this point in life was honestly so rewarding.”
Each of his three appearances has been memorable for one reason or the other, but with the team now out on the East Coast, the lefty feels he can just focus on being a ball player now.
“The guys have been awesome in terms of making the transition as smooth as possible,” the lefty said from his hotel room in New York City Monday morning in a phone interview with WZBD.
His parents and family flew to Phoenix and witnessed his debut. Saalfrank struck out two and got five outs.
In his second appearance, fans of the lefty reliever got a glimpse of how manager Torey Lovullo may use him. Saalfrank entered the inning with two outs to get Ian Happ out. He did his job on three strikes and gave way to the next man up in the bullpen.
The Diamondbacks are 12 games behind the Dodgers, but are currently a game and a half ahead of Miami and San Francisco for the last spot in the playoff picture.
“As far as roles go, I’ll just do whatever I’m told to do. If it’s to get one guy out, I’m going to give my best effort to do just that. If it’s to get six guys out, I’ll do the same.”
With 17 games left, there is no time for the humble Saalfrank to look too far ahead.
“We have nine guys out there in the bullpen right now with the same role, getting guys out,” he says. “When my name is called, it’s about trying to get the team wins, whether I come in with the lead or if we are behind.”
As far as the postseason goes, Saalfrank is mindful that there is a lot of season left and plenty of decisions to be made.
“If the team feels that I am a piece of the postseason, so be it, and if not, so be it all the same. I can only control what I can control, but I know I am looking forward to these next few weeks!”
Coming from a young man who has experienced both the highs and the lows at nearly level of the game, including a Tommy John surgery that nearly ended his career, Saalfrank knows perspective is important.
“At the end of the day, I am super grateful to be here and I’m just trying to be a positive influence both on and off the field.”
Saalfrank and the Diamondbacks are in the middle of a series with the Mets and they will travel back home for a weekend series with the Cubs, who are directly above them in the standings. The team will be back near Z-Land from September 25th until the 27th when they play the White Sox in Chicago.
