Categories: Features

For Mark Appel, ‘All of this is gravy’

Mark Appel learned Friday he was getting called up to the Majors. (Cheryl Pursell)

SAN DIEGO — Mark Appel wasn’t sure who was getting chewed out.

His Lehigh Valley IronPigs had just lost to the Norfolk Tides, Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, at Coca-Cola Park on Friday. Shortly after the last out, word got around the clubhouse that IronPigs manager Anthony Contreras wanted a team meeting.

It was a hard-fought 10-7 game, but Contreras didn’t seem too pleased with the effort. He told his players that preparation was paramount, and that without it, they wouldn’t win many games or ever get the call to the big leagues.

Then he looked at Appel.

“And that’s exactly what this guy’s been doing,” Appel, sitting in the Petco Park visitors’ dugout less than 24 hours later, recalled of the manager’s words. “Mark, you’re going to the big leagues.”

The clubhouse went crazy. Everyone gave Appel a congratulatory hug. The right-hander got choked up.

“I genuinely have been at a point this season where — just the fact that I get to play every day is enough,” Appel said. “Those guys in Lehigh, they’ve become like brothers to me. And so just getting to celebrate that moment with them was more special than I could’ve ever imagined it. I look back, and I’m like, ‘Well, the plan was to get to the big leagues quick, but it happened exactly like it was supposed to.’”

More than nine years after being drafted first overall by the Houston Astros, Appel was finally getting the call to the majors.

It was time for another important call, so he took to his family group chat to request a FaceTime. His parents were first to respond — which he said is rare — but his brother was on a walk with his wife, only carrying his work phone. The message went through to his wife’s Apple Watch, which promptly died.

Appel estimated it was a 15-20 minute delay before finally getting them all on the phone and relaying the news. They reflected on the long-winded journey that took him here, before turning to logistics. Family jumped on a 9 a.m. flight out of Houston and arrived in San Diego before Mark — whose flight out of Newark got canceled, and who had to go through a Phillies travel secretary to arrange a different flight, featuring a San Francisco layover.

“But I’m here,” Appel said. “In plenty of time.”

Appel spent plenty of time building toward this moment throughout his career. Two paragraphs won’t do it justice, but here’s the synopsis: He spent three seasons in the Astros organization from 2013-15 before being traded to the Phillies. He spent the next two years in the Phillies farm system, then took a three-year hiatus, realized he wanted to return to the game and did so.

He started 2021 in Double-A Reading, then got the call to Lehigh Valley. That’s where he started the 2022 season, and where he’s since posted a 1.61 ERA in 19 appearances before Friday’s call-up.

“I knew I was pitching well, and if you pitch well you’ve got a shot,” Appel said. “But I’m also not on the 40, so you don’t really hold your breath. Honestly, it’s just, show up every day, work hard, compete, try to do the best you can. And if you get that opportunity, it’ll come if it’s the right time.”

It came. On Saturday, Appel walked into the Phillies’ clubhouse — where he said with a smile that the hats fit better than the Spring Training ones — and got a hug from Zach Eflin, Appel’s teammate in Lehigh Valley during his first stint with the Phillies organization. Aaron Nola, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and other veterans also greeted the newcomer.

“It was really cool,” Appel said. “The fact that they would come out of their way and just recognize that, yeah, it’s been a long road to get here. And I think they appreciate that. So that’s super humbling, because they’re all here to win games, get ready to play a game. So it was special.”

Appel had shown up 3 ½ hours later than he planned, given the aforementioned travel snafu, and had to rush his pregame routine accordingly. But he still took the time to look around and soak in the scene while playing catch on the field before the game.

“I just want to soak it all in and remember these moments,” he said. “It’s special. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

He said that the ability to play through a full and healthy 2021 translated to his strong start to this season. He likened it to a round of golf after some time away from the links: “You don’t have a good score at the end, but you hit enough good shots where you’re like, ‘Yeah, this is pretty fun, I want to keep playing.’” He’s worked on his slider and made mechanical adjustments that — along with the ability to “unload the tank” in the bullpen — he credits for his 2022 success.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson took notice, both of the pitcher and of the journey.

“What a story. It’s unbelievable,” Thomson said. (He wants to debut Appel in a lower-leverage situation — just one inning, before stretching him out as a multi-inning reliever.) “Just the perseverance, all the things he’s gone through. All the injuries, hanging up and retiring and then coming back … It’s just a great story.”

Appel said he tried not to think about his status as a former top pick in relation to his career arc. Erasing his name from the list of 1-1s that never made the Majors hasn’t been Appel’s motivation.

“I’ve been at peace with my career for a long time now,” Appel said. “If I got to the big leagues — like today, which is crazy — that’s all gravy. But if I never did, I’d still be a pretty happy guy … I’ve been through enough in my life to know that nothing’s really guaranteed. It’s like, I got today, and if I got today, then that’s enough for me.

“I didn’t need for this to happen this year for me to feel like it was a successful year. So all of this is gravy. I’m just soaking it all in. It’s awesome.”