Ex-Royals pitcher shows how deciphering opponent signals launched his baseball career
Right-hander Brian Bannister pitched four seasons for the Royals (2007-10), finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting his first year in Kansas City.
Bannister’s career numbers with the Royals aren’t noteworthy, as he had a 35-49 record with a 5.13 ERA. But if you remember those Royals teams, he was one of the better starters on the staff.
That Bannister even made it to the big leagues is a feat unto itself. Bannister recounted his tryout with Southern California in 2010, and how he thought his dream of playing college baseball might end before it started.
It’s part of a lengthy Twitter thread in which he shared making the Trojans’ travel squad not because of his physical talent, but his ability to decipher sign sequences given to opposing pitchers.
That’s a useful thing for a team to have, right?
That allowed him to land a last spot on the 25-man travel squad, get to the College World Series and eventually make enough on an impact on the field to get drafted.
This is an entertaining story from Bannister.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 9:44 AM.
