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| Photo courtesy of George Youngs Jr. Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved |
By Lou Roesch
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved
HUFFMAN, TEXAS (July 2, 2019) Triple AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs newest member is
Huffman, Texas native Austin Listi (shown right). Listi, the reigning Philadelphia Phillies
Minor League Player of the Year is one step away from the pinnacle of professional
baseball all in less than two years. How does a 17th round pick
travel so far so fast? The 25 year old has one answer; GOD.
Austin Listi is a professional ball player but that is
third on the list of who he is. He is a Christian, a husband and father and
then a ballplayer and he is not ashamed to let you know it. He knows that he is
where he is not by chance but by GOD’s hand.
“God has directed every step,” shared Listi in his
final interview at Double AA Reading eleven days ago. “Since my return to DBU
for my junior year, I have felt God telling me this is where I want you and
what I want you to do. I am where I belong whether it was DBU, two trips here
to Reading or anywhere else. He has put people in my life leading me first to
DBU, a school I hadn’t even considered coming out of high school. It was there
I met Darick Hall.”
Hall was not only Listi’s teammate at DBU but also Lakewood
and then Reading and maybe one day in the majors. Listi and Hall have shared
many experiences especially the mission trip in the fall of 2015. It was a trip
that put a lot of things into perspective for the DBU all-time home run leader.
Things such as service to others less fortunate. It was a moment to realize how
blessed he had been to be born in the United States and not to take things for
granted.
At Reading, Hall and Listi were back to back in the
Fight’in Phils lineup and produced some memorable moments like in game two of
last Thursday’s (June 20) game two of the twi-night doubleheader. Trailing 1-0
as the game entered the home fourth, Hall blistered a double off the wall and
Listi brought him home with his final hit at Double AA. The next day, the
Reading third baseman would get the call he had been hoping for since last
season. In fact, the call came exactly two years to the day he received another
call.
On June 20, 2017, the DBU alum received a call from
his agent while sitting in the living room of parent’s home surrounded by
friends and family watching the MLB draft. His agent called to say that his
dream of playing professionally had come true. All the hard work from T-ball to
that point had paid off. It was in that same living room that Listi received
the call inviting him as a non-roster player to his first MLB spring training
in 2019.
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| Photo courtesy of George Youngs Jr. Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved |
As spring training wound down, Listi (shown left) expected to start
2019 at Triple AAA Lehigh Valley. Instead, the Phillies told him he was going
back to Reading and that he should start learning how to play third base. The
disappointment, Listi recalls was a lesson in humility, pride and thankfulness
considering the fact that only one half of one percent (1 out of 200) high
school ballplayers will ever be drafted with a shot to play in the majors and
here he was living the dream.
“After I swallowed my pride,” continued Listi. “I was
able to look at the opportunity as a blessing. Here was an organization who
thought enough of me and my skills to say here is how we feel your skills can
best help you and the Phillies going down the road. Here was a path for me to
the majors so I put my head down and went to work trusting that GOD would take
care of the details.”
More bad news followed at Reading that would continue
to test his faith and determination. An 0 for 25 April start at the plate will
do that to a ballplayer. His bat was swinging well but the hits weren’t falling
and the team was struggling.
“I had to trust in my mechanics,” said Listi. “I
continued to work hard and had faith it would turn around. In the meantime, I
knew if I wasn’t hitting I needed to be doing my job defensively (only 7 errors
in 350 plus innings and more than 100 chances) but most of all I had to be the
best teammate I could be both on the field and in the clubhouse so that’s what
I tried to do.”
Off the diamond, the husband of wife Krystal and young
son Weston works hard to be a good husband and father. His wife, a former DBU
volleyball player, understands the rigors of working to become the best. “Her
support has been critical to our success. It’s been a team effort to say the
least.” Listi recounted many times how he would walk in from a tough game and
just the joy and love he saw in the faces of his family drained away the trials
and tribulations. As he put it, “they are my sunshine.”
Listi turned the O for April into a solid May and an
incredible June. His faith, determination and hard work were paying off. His
bat came alive and so too did the Fight’in Phils. In June alone, the young
infielder hit .353 with a double, four homers, 12 RBI and a 1.004 OPS thru 16
games. The week prior to his call up Listi earned player of the week honors
with a sizzling slash line .455/.478/.727 that includes two home runs, four RBI
and three runs scored. The Fight’in Phils were in a first place battle with
Trenton when he caught the plane to meet the Iron Pigs n the Road in Colorado.
His work there was done.
The Phillies minor league phenom picked up at Lehigh
right where he left off at Reading letting his bat and glove do the talking. In
his first nine games with the Iron Pigs (honestly where do they get these
names), Listi is hitting at a .361 clip with seven extra base hits including
five home runs, 9 RBI and eight runs scored not to mention an OPS of 1.272.
With just 13 errors in the last two seasons, the corner guy (first, third, left
field, right field) has a .986 fielding percentage.
Although ballplayers don’t normally care to be
compared to other ballplayers, I couldn’t help but think about the comparison
between Listi and two major league multiple position standouts in Ben Zobrist
(DBU alum) and Matt Carpenter. Although both tasted the major league level
early in their careers, Listi is ahead of both of them and if the bat and glove
continue to perform don’t be surprised if this quiet, unassuming man of faith
doesn’t get another call come late August telling him to report to Citizens
Bank Park in Philadelphia.
