Each February, baseball roads converge for spring training, where major league teams prepare for the regular season.
Pitcher Adam McCo’s journey has been more off the beaten path than most until he ends up in Dunedin, Florida, home of the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training.
Born in Slovakia, Makko got his exposure to baseball during freshman year tryouts.
“They had a lot of tees and we were hitting these little foam balls into the net,” said Macco.
“I signed up without really knowing what baseball was. I had no idea of the rules.”
“So did my parents. They didn’t even know such a sport existed, but I was into it…and that’s where it started.
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Macco continued to learn the game in Europe before the family eventually settled in Alberta.
“It didn’t get too serious personally until I got to Ireland,” Macco said. “My first role model was Justin Verlander, so I watched him pitch and wanted to copy his mechanics. That was where I improved myself.”
In his tenth grade, the left-hander joined Vauxhall Baseball Academy in Southern Alberta and spent three years with the Jets.
Adam Macko played for the Vauxhall Jets for three years.
By: Vauxhall Baseball Academy
Head coach Les McTavish remembers a motivated and hard-working player inside and outside the Diamonds.
“If he didn’t get a good exam or had a good day at the ballpark, whatever it was, it always motivated him.
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“He’s always been talented, but he’s never been talented. Adam isn’t 6’5, he threw 90 mph when he was 15. He’s 6’0. Everything he got had to work for
“Early in his career, he probably worked too hard on himself. He was a really, really hard worker, but he would sometimes beat himself up.”
It was a testament to my desire to achieve lofty goals.
“He was really hungry to succeed for excellence,” McTavish said. “It was the fall of tenth grade when he said he wanted to be in the Hall of Fame, and we were all laughing at him.”
“I’m not saying he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame, but he’s on the right track.”
A seventh-round pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2019, Macco was traded to Toronto this winter as part of a trade that sent Jays slugger Teoscar Hernandez to Seattle.
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“I wanted to be drafted either by the Mariners or the Blue Jays, so it’s kind of cool to be able to experience both organizations,” Macko said.
The trade follows a season in which Macco stole 60 batters in 38.1 innings for the Everett Aquasox, the Mariners’ High-A minor league affiliate.
Currently in spring training and preparing for next season, the southpaw is focused on improving his command.
“Fill in the zone a bit and lower your walking rate. I think I’m on a good track to do that,” Macko said.
The trajectory he hopes for will lead to the big leagues.
“His actual ability on the field is top class right now. They’re minor leaguer types, not fillers. His stuff is extraordinary,” McTavish said.
“If he can learn to throw a few more strikes, I’d be really surprised if he’s not in the big leagues in the next few years.”
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