Throughout the winter Karch Kowalczyk was anxious for March Madness to begin. However, it was not the March Madness we all associate with the NCAA basketball marathon that dominates the air waves and cable lines every March. He was prepping for a totally different kind of madness. It is the same madness that serves as an elixir to cure the baseball blues for Dodger fans suffering through a long winter – Spring Training. He wrote in an article for the Illinois Valley NewsTribune: “I’m excitedly nervous to see what baseball’s version of March Madness is all about!”

Karch Kowalczyk

Kowalczyk was selected by the Dodgers in the 37th round of the 2014 First Year Player Draft, 1,119th overall. He was the second to last player drafted by the Dodgers to sign with the team, with Caleb Ferguson, their 38th round pick, being the last.

From LaSalle-Peru High School in Indiana, Kowalczyk was one of the best two-way players in Illinois in his senior year. LaSalle is a small city in LaSalle County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States. With the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers he topped off his senior year with a .419 batting average, nine home runs, five triples, and 61 RBIs. On the mound, the 6’1” 200-pound infielder and right-handed pitcher went 11-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 76 strikeouts. He was selected All-State Second Team as well as named the 2009 News Tribune Player of the Year.

Following his senior year in high school Kowalczyk chose Valparaiso University, which is situated in the city of Valparaiso in northwest Indiana, to pursue a college education and continue his development as a baseball player. Valparaiso head coach Tracy Woodson was thrilled to have Kowalczyk join the Crusaders: “Karch is ranked as a top player in the state of Illinois,” said Woodson. “He can do a lot of things really well on the baseball field. He is athletic, has power, arm strength and can just plain hit the ball. He works hard and loves the game. He is a great sign for our program, and shows the type of player we want to attract here. Karch will have an immediate impact for us next year.” Dodger fans will remember Tracy Woodson as a member of the 1988 World Champion squad.

His career with the Valparaiso Crusaders started slowly and hit a snag when he had Tommy John Surgery in 2012.

In 2013, fully recovered, Karch Kowalczyk recorded what might have been the most dominating regular season of any Crusader reliever in the history of the program. He made 24 relief appearances recording 12 saves and posting an ERA of 0.36. His incredible season earned him the Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award as well as being named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America’s 2014 Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch. Kowalczyk completed his senior year with Valparaiso with 11 saves and a 1.59 ERA.

Kowalczyk came back from Tommy John surgery in 2012 to win the Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award in 2013. (Photo credit – Ray Acevedo)

Then along came the 2014 First Year Player Draft. It is difficult to even imagine the knots he must have had in his stomach growing ever frustrated that 36 rounds in the draft had gone by without his name being called. To find some comfort he contacted his coach at Valparaiso: “I texted my head coach at Valpo and I said something like, ‘It’s really odd’ (that I hadn’t been drafted) and ‘This isn’t going too good right now,’” Kowalczyk said. “He texted me back and all it said was, ‘Awesome!!!!!!’ and I thought, ‘That’s kind of a weird way to respond.” In that interlude Kowalczyk’s wait had just ended. He had been drafted by the Dodgers.

In one of his articles written for the Illinois Valley NewsTribune Kowalczyk wrote: “The Dodgers had drafted me, and a dream had been realized. I was excited and beyond thankful for the upcoming opportunity.”

“My whole life I dreamed of playing pro baseball. Just about every year in school from second grade on I was asked what I wanted to do with my life, and the answer never changed. The dream started to seem like an attainable goal to me personally during my late high school and early college years.” Part of his dream was realized simply by having his name called.

A series of injuries tested Kowalczyk’s resolve somewhat during his college baseball career. However, he feels strongly that his injuries in fact strengthened his resolve and were a catalyst that forced him into an understanding of how much he must work to continue to improve his game. In the meantime he had his eye on another ball and never took it off that ball He wrote: “Something that was never lost in the shuffle was academics, and I will preach that importance to any future collegiate athlete out there.”

Kowalczyk started his professional career with the Arizona League Dodgers posting a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings. He found the going a bit more difficult after a promotion to the Ogden Raptors of the Rookie Pioneer League and making his first appearance on July 16th. His ERA with the Raptors was 4.71 but he finished the season with a flourish giving up only two runs in his last six appearances. He put his 2014 season into perspective:” I have had strong outings of relief pitching and I have also had ones where I was slapped around a little bit. The best thing about baseball though, is that tomorrow is a fresh slate and a new game.”

Kowalczyk turned 24 yesterday (March 31) so this an important season for him. He is presently at Camelback Ranch experiencing his first Spring Training. He outlined his goals for the 2015 season: “Now, as for what I am expecting heading into this upcoming season, all I can say is I am ready and chomping at the bit to compete. I am unsure of what affiliate I will be sent to after spring training, but I am hoping to earn a spot on a full-season roster. I will be heading into spring training with an open mind in order to act as a sponge and pick up as much baseball knowledge as possible.”

March Madness is almost over for all the players at Camelback Ranch, major league players and aspiring major league players. It will be interesting to see Karch Kowalczyk’s comments in his next article to the NewsTribune regarding his first March Madness.