By Shaylee Souza,
SDA Media Relations Intern
As he gazed out of the window while driving past “A” Mountain and Packard Stadium, memories flooded back. Memories of the crowd roaring and his adrenaline pumping as he struck out his ninth batter against Utah, a career high. Memories of the hundred, if not thousands, of laughs he shared with his brotherhood, his teammates.
Not long ago, Sun Devil Baseball’s Trevor Williams dominated the Pac-12 with a career 3.00 ERA, good for sixth in Arizona State history during the aluminum bat era. He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the second round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, and a selection to play in the Arizona Fall League, a short-season league for the top prospects on each major league team, prompted Williams’ return to Phoenix in 2015.
“I’m a Sun Devil for Life,” Williams said, reflecting on his return. “When we flew in here it was kind of a homecoming. I got choked up.”
As a three-year letterwinner at ASU, Williams became accustomed to the comforts that accompany a varsity student-athlete at a major university: more flights than bus rides, trips to major cities, commonalities with teammates, proximity to a certain Mexican chain restaurant. Stepping onto the field as a professional, therefore, is sometimes overwhelming. The fact your home could change at the drop of a phone call, long and strenuous bus rides, and a revolving door of teammates can make minor league baseball an acquired taste. It was the relentlessness Williams learned as a Sun Devil that has kept him going at the next level.
“There’s a lot of guys that come from different backgrounds and don’t do it the right way,” Williams said, smiling as he removed his sunglasses and tried to elaborate. “Relentlessness,” he continued. “That’s the Sun Devil Way, the right way.”
Williams started his professional career playing for the Gulf Coast League Marlins, a Rookie-Level team in Jupiter, Fla. He wasted no time demonstrating his pitching prowess and earned himself a promotion to the Batavia Muckdogs, a Single-A New York-Penn League team, after just one game. The Sun Devil for Life continued to stun batters after his initial promotion, and again quickly advanced through the ranks as he moved through teams in North Carolina and Florida all the way up to the New Orleans Zephyrs, a Triple-A Pacific Coast League team, in just two short years.
“It’s definitely different,” Williams admitted. “It makes every day a little reminder that you’re not in the big leagues yet. It definitely gets you going though, it gets you moving in the right direction.”
Staying in Phoenix again for the first time in almost two years brought back memories of William’s teammates, many of whom he still keeps in contact with.
“A lot of guys I played with at ASU were groomsmen at my wedding,” Williams began, his face gleaming with his smile pulled to his cheeks. “We still talk all the time. They all call themselves ‘uncle’ to Isaac, my son.”
Just a few minutes before, these smiles and laughs were non-existent. Pacing back and forth with his phone glued to his ear, Williams was told unexpected news. “Okay, okay,” he said, and a few minutes later he hung up. He walked over and broke the news: The Marlins had traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“We were planning on living in Jacksonville for the rest of the year, which where I started the year off in Double-A,” Williams said. “After this, we don’t know. That’s kind of how baseball is: you just have to roll with it.”