Jeff Bain and his mighty Missoula Osprey teammates arrived in Ogden, Utah aboard a bus and are staying in a hotel “across the street from a halfway house,” according to the 2014 graduate of San Marino High School.
Welcome to the glamorous world of professional baseball.
Bain absorbs it all in his typical aw-shucks fashion, having never expected more from rookie ball, even after being selected in the 16th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bain, a 6’6” hard-throwing righthander, aced the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos to an 8-2 record during the 2017 season, tossing 111 innings with a 3.57 ERA. He led the California Collegiate Athletic Association with 94 total strikeouts and was selected to the all-CCAA 1st team and earned West Region Pitcher of the Week honors during the season.
He said his arm “feels good, all things considered.”
“I threw a lot during the school year,” Bain said. “I am on a starter’s routine whereby I am limited to short outings every five days. Rookie ball is really just to get your feet under you in a professional setting.”
Bain transferred to Cal Poly Pomona after two years at the University of California, Berkeley. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 but elected to become a Bear.
At San Marino High School, Bain was the ace of the staff before injuring his elbow early in the 2014 season. Though he was able to avoid surgery, Bain never pitched again for the Titans but made some appearances as a pinch-hitter.
After the season, Bain and his teammates will return to Arizona for an instructional term that lasts through the end of the year. After a short off-season, he will head to spring training and receive an assignment when camp breaks in late March.
“Probably low A, just a step up from rookie ball,” Bain explained.
He said that former Titan Coach Mack Paciorek “was probably the most pivotal person in my baseball career.”
“I would otherwise not have been able to do what it took to get me to the point where I am today,” Bain said of his former coach. “He helped me get into college baseball and for that I am very grateful.”
For now, it’s back to the bus for Bain, who shares a house with three teammates to help stretch those pro baseball dollars as far as possible.
Bain Is Enjoying the Life of A Pro Ballplayer
