Cal notes: Weiss no stranger to adversity
Visalia right-hander Ryan Weiss debuted in the California League with a scoreless outing on Aug. 6 against Stockton. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five over six innings in no-decision."It all kind of happened quick," Weiss said of his promotion from Class A Kane County. "This
Visalia right-hander Ryan Weiss debuted in the California League with a scoreless outing on Aug. 6 against Stockton. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five over six innings in no-decision.
"It all kind of happened quick," Weiss said of his promotion from Class A Kane County. "This team's been winning a lot, so I just tried to hop on board with what they're doing and do my part."
The next two outings weren't as strong for Weiss, who surrendered 12 runs over nine innings against Lancaster and Rancho Cucamonga.
"In a better league, you're going to get punished more often," he said. "The mixing of the pitches and stuff was fine, I just wasn't getting ahead."
He finally earned his first Cal League win on Aug. 22 against Stockton, allowing four runs -- two earned -- on four hits over six innings. He fanned six and did not walk a batter.
Weiss is no stranger to adversity, on and off the field, which has helped him in the sport he loves.
About seven years ago, he lost his father to suicide. Then, five months before he was drafted in the fourth round by the D-backs last year, he lost his mother to a heart attack.
Suddenly, it was just him and his younger sister, Rachel. They were taken in by extended family members and supported, but Weiss felt he needed to step up.
"When stuff happens, you can either take a left or take a right," he said. "When my dad passed away, there were three words that got to me: determined, dedicated and inspired. Pretty much all of it was for him. I tried to dedicate my life to him. Right when he passed away it was just like a quick trigger thing in my head.
"Pretty much the same thing when my mom passed. She was just the rock for our family. … When she passed away, it was like, 'All right, it's my turn to grow up.' Even though I'm 21 years old, I'm having to deal with a lot stuff that not even 25- , 26-year-olds have to deal with. It was my turn. I had to be the father figure, the mother figure and everything for my sister."
Weiss and his sister have a close relationship and talk on the phone "five times a day." Rachel is starting her first year of college at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York this fall.
"I love her and I'm proud of her," Weiss said.
Throughout the tragedies, Weiss has kept a positive attitude and has leaned on his faith, his family and friends to keep him stable.
"The storm's going to come eventually, you've just got to look to the Lord to protect you and be the shoulder to cry on," he said. "I just kind of leaned on that; I leaned on friends and family and tried to be as happy as I could. No day is given, so you've just got to wake up with a smile on your face."
At 22, Weiss already is an expert on life's ups and downs. It's his experiences off the field that have helped him manage the ups and downs of baseball.
"That's why I love baseball, because it's basically what life is," he said. "Life is how you respond to stuff, and it's the same with baseball. They both go very hand in hand, so that's why I think it's a good occupation for me."
Weiss was a catcher in high school and one day asked his coach if he could pitch a couple of innings in a game. The coach agreed and Weiss didn't allow a hit in his brief outing. The following week, the same thing happened. He threw three innings and again did not allow a hit.
It took off from there and, in the summer following his junior year, he was set to catch during a summer ball game and asked his coach who was pitching.
"Oh, I'm not sure yet," the coach replied. Weiss asked if he could and the coach agreed.
"So I think I went seven innings and I gave up a run or two, I did really well, and I was like, 'OK, I might be able to do this pitching thing,'" Weiss recalled.
From there, he walked on at Wright State and later earned a scholarship. He went from walk-on to fourth-round Draft pick.
Working hard and improving his craft is something he's used to.
"It's in my blood," Weiss said. "That's how I was brought up. That's how I was raised."
He's been asking the right questions of his coaches, trying to find the edge that he can take with him throughout the system as he progresses toward his goal of reaching the big leagues.
His philosophy includes continuing to work hard and staying the same person, no matter what.
"Try to work as hard as I can," Weiss said. "Baseball is one of those very difficult games, or it can be if you want to make it that way. No matter if you're doing amazing, you're still going to have struggles, so just knowing that and trying to keep an even keel mind-set and just be who I am, no matter if I throw a perfect game or if I give up 10 runs. Just try to be the same person, because that's what it's all about at the end of the day. Nobody cares about what kind of baseball player you are, they care about what kind of person you are."
No matter what life -- or baseball -- throws at him, Weiss will always be the same person: the one who keeps a smile on his face, works hard at his craft and takes care of his sister.
"Even though I've been through a ton of things and have conquered a lot, I try not to let it affect me at all and try to have as much fun as possible -- a lot of the time just acting like a kid because we never cared about things as kids, we just tried to have fun. And that mind-set of having fun should never stop," he said.
In brief
Strikeout watch: The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and Modesto Nuts are both on pace to break the California League record for strikeouts in a season. After fanning 13 on Saturday, the Quakes had 1,406 strikeouts, 17 away from the record of 1,423 set by the Bakersfield Dodgers in 1970. The Nuts, who have been trying to break the record all season, are 33 away with 1,390 punchouts.
Opportunity: Lancaster JetHawks radio broadcaster Jason Schwartz will miss the final week of the season as he is traveling to South Korea to do play-by-play at the World Baseball Softball Confederation under-18 World Cup.
Playoff race: With nine games to play entering Sunday, the San Jose Giants led both Modesto and Stockton Ports by a half-game for the North Division's final playoff spot. In the South, Lancaster trailed the Lake Elsinore Storm by four games, with the teams meeting six times in the final nine games.
Merisa Jensen is a contributor to MiLB.com.
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