Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Right-hander Seth McClung comes from a family of athletes and, after a shaky start, has moved up in the Rays system.
By RODNEY PAGE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 4, 2002
Those who saw or heard about the first T-ball home run to clear the fence in Lewisburg (W.Va.) Little League history didn't have to ask who hit it. Surely, it was Seth McClung, son of former all-state football player Mike and brother of former Virginia Tech football player Marcus.
The McClungs had been tearing up the local sports scene in the town of 15,000 for many years, and Seth was just another link in the chain. There was older brother Shawn, who went on to participate in extreme sports. There was older sister Tempest, who was a 6-foot basketball star.
And there's younger brother Sam, a 6-6, 310-pound offensive lineman for Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn.
Seth was a 6-footer with an 80 mph fastball by the time he reached middle school. As a 6-6, 235-pounder at Greenbriar East High, McClung was an all-state baseball and basketball player. He also lettered in soccer, cross country, football, track and field (high jumping 6-6) and wrestling (going 14-0 as a freshman).
"I don't drink or do drugs. Sports are like my drug," McClung said. "It's like I'm addicted to them. I don't care what it is. I want to beat you."
There was no doubt McClung was going places. He just didn't know where.
He received more than 50 letters from colleges wanting him to play basketball, baseball or both. He also heard local baseball scouts say he would be a first-round pick.
McClung, 21, turned down his most attractive scholarship offer, to South Alabama, to play baseball. Even though he slipped to the fifth round, the 145th pick of the 1999 draft, McClung signed with the Rays.
"The first thing for me was baseball," McClung said. "That was the sport that always came easiest to me. I worked much harder on the other sports than I did at baseball. It's just a God-given talent."
McClung didn't have to leave his home state to begin his career. The hard-throwing right-hander was assigned to the Rookie League team in Princeton (W.Va.). He continued to throw in the mid 90s, a speed that mowed down high school and summer league competition. But McClung found out quickly a fastball doesn't faze professionals. He had a 7.69 ERA in 452/3 innings.
"I threw the ball 97-98 mph, but it came back at me 104 mph," McClung said.
His Princeton experience had McClung thinking about college and basketball.
"I don't think I'll get basketball out of my system," McClung said. "I've thought about going back to school to play basketball. I think I'm very much capable of playing on the small Division I level. But right now, I want to focus on baseball full time. Maybe when I'm done with baseball, hopefully when I'm 44, I'll go back and play. I'll keep it in my back pocket."
During his first offseason, McClung trained at the Ray Naimoli Complex in St. Petersburg under the guidance of pitching coaches John Duffy and Chuck Hernandez. The sessions weren't so much about physical preparation as mental.
"At first, he was a big, old country boy who could throw hard," Hernandez said. "All we did was work on his thought process. We wanted him to get command of his fastball to where he wasn't just throwing it down the middle. He's gotten much better. He can hit 94-95 mph for five, six, seven innings. And he also knows where to place the ball."
The results were immediate. In 2000, he had a 1.85 ERA in eight games with Class A Hudson Valley (N.Y.) before being promoted to Class A Charleston (S.C.). There, he went 2-1 with a 3.19 ERA in six starts. McClung spent all last season with Charleston, going 10-11 with a 2.79 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 1641/3 innings.
He will start 2002 at Class A Bakersfield (Calif.) but could be promoted to Double-A Orlando or Triple-A Durham (N.C.) by season's end.
"I think this could be the year for me," McClung said. "Things have already started to happen. I just need to keep pitching well and move up the ladder. Who knows how far up I'll go."