Overcame adversity and pursued his dream for years before being summoned to the MLB

By Reagan Hoverman

On Monday, July 11, River Falls alumnus Alex Call had his lifelong dream come true when he was called up to the Cleveland Guardians roster to make his Major League Baseball debut after spending five years in the minors.

That Monday night debut against the Chicago White Sox was a culmination of a lifetime of hard work. Call’s debut was limited, as he appeared as a designated hitter in the first game of his Major League career in that 8-4 win over the White Sox. He is listed on the roster as an outfielder.

Call was fortunate to have a lot of friends, family and former teammates and coaches from all levels attend that Monday night MLB debut in Cleveland. Before the game, Call and those in his close circle that attended the game were able to go out onto the field and take photos to celebrate the biggest moment of his baseball career.

One of those in attendance that night was current River Falls High School baseball head coach Ryan Bishop, who coached Call throughout his four years on the Wildcats varsity roster. Bishop spoke about those pregame festivities and how special that MLB debut was for Call.

“Cleveland was great. Right before the game, they had him come out on the field and take some pictures with family and friends,” Bishop said. “We got to go onto the field and give him a big hug and share a really special moment on Progressive Field.”

Since that debut against the White Sox, Call has been primarily used as a pinch hitter and as a rotational piece in the Guardians outfield. Getting to professional baseball at any level is an achievement, but getting to the MLB is the pinnacle of the sport. Bishop tried to explain how monumental this moment is for Call.

“The pinnacle of baseball in this world is the major leagues,” Bishop said. “To have that become a reality for one of our own is – I don’t know if there are words to explain that. There aren’t a lot of people that understand what goes into that journey to get to the big leagues, to persevere through the minor leagues and that grind.”

Bishop explained how challenging it is for players in the minor leagues. He stated that it’s not like in high school where most players play two years of JV and are then naturally promoted to varsity. In the minor leagues, players have to prove that they are ready for the MLB and have to earn a call up to the organization. A lot of minor league players toil away in the minors for years and never get called up.

“It takes an unbelievable drive and work ethic for years, not one or two seasons,” Bishop said. “We’re super proud of how they’ve embraced that journey to get to the pinnacle of the baseball world.”

As Bishop began speaking about what Call was like when he was 15 or 16 years old in high school, he stated that Call was different from the first time he met him. According to Bishop, Call was a goal-oriented kid that was determined to play professional baseball for a career.

“Alex (Call) was a goal-oriented kid from day one,” Bishop said. “There was never any wavering that he was going to play baseball for a career. That was his drive and motivation and he was relentless with his approach to making that happen – there is no other way of saying that. Most people don’t have that.”

While Call has reached the pinnacle of the sport, he had to overcome adversity to get to the Guardians roster. When Call began his high school baseball career in River Falls, he was a versatile player, but above all, he was a pitcher.

During his freshman season, Call shared the mound with then-junior teammate J.P. Feyereisen who later went on to pitch in the MLB and is currently on the Tampa Bay Rays roster. While Feyereisen dominated that season, Call served as an under-recognized dominant pitcher.

By the time those playoffs rolled around, the bracket was released and River Falls was scheduled to play against Eau Claire North – the #1 ranked team in the state at that time and the top seed in the tournament – at historic Carson Park in Eau Claire.

Because of Feyereisen’s dominance throughout the season, Eau Claire North and everyone else in the ballpark on that spring day thought that he would be the starting pitcher. Because of that and Bishop’s confidence in Call, the coaching staff decided to give Call, a freshman at the time, the playoff start against the best team in the state.

Call delivered a strong performance on the mound and led his team to an upset victory on the road against the best team in the state that season. Just when it looked like Call was on a trajectory similar to that of Feyereisen, injury struck. That historic playoff victory proved to be the last time Call ever pitched.

“He beat the #1 ranked team in the state as a freshman in the playoffs to knock them out and then never pitched another high school game for me after that,” Bishop said. “He didn’t even play in the field during his sophomore year. He was a designated hitter.”

At some point after that freshman season, Call sustained an arm/shoulder injury that completely changed his career. Pitching was suddenly out of the question and he began playing in the DH role just to stay on the field. Going into his junior season, Call had healed enough to be able to play in the outfield where he could get his body behind every throw to lessen the tension on his arm and shoulder.

By Call’s senior year, he was cleared to pitch again by the medical team. However, Bishop could see that Call was destined for bigger things than high school baseball and didn’t want to risk another injury by putting him back on the mound.

“As a junior, we made the decision to put him in the outfield so that he could put his body behind every throw,” Bishop said. “When he was a senior he was able to pitch again, but we made the decision (not to) be cause he had too much at stake and we knew what he was capable of at that point.”

After graduating high school, Call attended Ball State University in Indiana where he played baseball for three years where he be- came an All-American outfielder before get ting drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft.

After two years in the White Sox’s minor league system, the front office traded him to the Cleveland Guardians farm team where he played until being called up on July 11. Bishop spoke about what he believes Call is capable of moving forward.

“The sky’s the limit for that kid,” Bishop said. “It was that way from when he was a freshman. Alex (Call) was a 15-year-old kid and he was really special.”

Since being summoned to the majors, Call has only cracked the starting lineup one time. However, he will likely see more regular action when the team faces left-handed starting pitching because Call is a right-handed batter. Since being placed on the MLB roster, Cleveland has yet to face a left-handed pitcher.

Cleveland’s next game is scheduled for Friday, July 22, on the road against the Chicago White Sox. The first pitch for that game is slated for 7:10 p.m.

(L-R): Marv and Katy Call, Alex Call, his wife Samantha Call, his sister Bridget and her husband Luke Curran and their kids gather together on the field before Alex made his MLB debut as a designated hitter for the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, July 11. Photo submitted