As Park City High School graduate Parker Morin watched New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera pitch in Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game, he thought about how cool it would be to be a part of a special moment like that someday.
Morin, a 22-year-old catcher for the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks, watched as the game’s best closer entered the stadium to a standing ovation from fans and players alike in what will ultimately be his last all-star appearance.
To make things even better, Rivera’s catcher, Salvador Perez, plays for the Kansas City Royals the team that drafted Morin in the 14th round (433rd pick overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft.
“I thought that was awesome,” he said of Rivera’s moment. “As a catcher, that’s one of the moments you look for being able to spend it with a guy like that. That’s really special.”
For Morin, now in his second year of professional baseball after playing collegiately at the College of Southern Idaho and the University of Utah, the road to a moment like the one Perez shared with Rivera is a long one.
Morin is currently suiting up for the Royals’ single-A affiliate in Wilmington. He admits he’s still got a long way to go before making it to the big leagues, but as long as he keeps making progress, he’s happy.
After playing for a short-season rookie-level team in Idaho Falls last year, he’s playing a full season in single-A this year.
“It’s a big jump from a short season to a long season,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a learning curve. But I feel good about where I’m at right now.”
He’s hitting .240 at the moment, with nine doubles and 22 RBI. He’s also thrown out 21 would-be base stealers from behind the plate.
Though he’d like to improve offensively, he understands that defense is his most important job.
“I’ve got to know that I’m not the guy, at this point, who is going to hit 20 home runs a year,” he said. “So I honestly try not to worry about numbers so much. I feel really good about how I’m playing defensively. I feel like I’m helping to call good games. And I think the guys like throwing to me, which is awesome.”
He added that it helps make a catcher look good when pitchers execute their pitches well.
“I’ve gotten to catch quite a few of our best pitching prospects,” he said. “Sam Selman, Kyle Smith and Kyle Zimmer are all up there as three of the best guys I’ve ever caught.”
He hopes to be able to play well enough this year to move up to double-A next season.
“This season, I see myself just kind of trying to finish strong,” he said. “We’ve got about six weeks left in the year, so I’m hoping that ends well. Then next year, I’ve got to go into spring training with the mindset that I’m going to make the next team up.”
Though he’ll probably end up playing winter baseball somewhere this offseason, he’s still planning on spending at least some time in Park City.
“Whenever the offseason is for me, I’ll be back living there,” he said.