NEWSLETTER
Mark Prior never got to become the generational superstar with the Chicago Cubs that his talent would’ve allowed him to be. Injuries saw to that. But he is still remembered very fondly around here for the highest highs that he reached, and his critical contributions to one of the most memorable Cubs teams of the last few decades in 2003.
Now the pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Prior is back in town this weekend as the Dodgers face the Cubs. The timing is fun, because it was 20 years ago today that Prior made his debut with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs (he would be at Triple-A only a month before being called up). There, he pulled off quite the Shohei Ohtani impression:
This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of Mark Prior's Triple-A debut with the Iowa Cubs. The biggest pitcher in @MiLB struck out 10 and hit not one, but two homers.
"I don't think Babe Ruth could have done hardly better than Mark did on that night." https://t.co/32gjKEvz01
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) May 5, 2022
The hype at that point was as big as it could get for a prospect in those days. Superstardom was assured. I guess there’s a reminder baked in there.
Can you imagine the rush for fans to go to the ballpark and see Prior in Des Moines? From the article:
It was big news in Des Moines. Sam Bernabe, Iowa’s current president and general manager, said the phones at the park rang over and over as fans tried to grab tickets to watch Prior’s debut.
Prior got to Des Moines as quickly as he could. He actually arrived at the park the night before his first start. He was the only player there, since his new Iowa teammates were finishing up a road trip and hadn’t gotten back to Des Moines yet.
But Prior still showed up to get some work in … even though his luggage hadn’t arrived.
So, Jeff Lantz, the team’s media relations director at the time, found shorts, shoes and a shirt in the clubhouse lost-and-found for Prior. One of the few things Prior had was his glove, which he stored in his carry-on bag. Lantz offered to play catch with Prior, who needed to get in light throwing the night before his Triple-A debut ….
Part of Lantz’s job at the time was to help chronicle the history of the club. As he stood in the outfield and threw with Prior, Lantz understood the historical significance of the pitcher’s arrival. The level of hype around Prior was something that had been rarely seen in MiLB. If Prior was indeed as good as experts thought he could be, the pitcher could change the Cubs forever.
And then in that first game, in front of a packed house, Prior dominated for 7.2 innings on the mound and crushed two homers, getting curtain calls after each one. Great read at the Des Moines Register from Tommy Birch.
Folks may not remember what a good hitter Prior was, at least relative to pitchers-as-hitters in general. No, he wasn’t close to actually being Ohtani, but he hit an impressive .250/.270/.347 in that 2003 season. For his brief career, the slash was .201/.231/.265, which was about 30 to 40% better than the average hitting pitcher.
It’s nice to see Prior back in Wrigleyville this weekend, and it makes me happy to know that he has had a very successful second life in baseball.
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