Any minor leaguer will tell you the endless bus trips through small, middle-of-nowhere towns and lonely nights in cheap motels are a small price to pay to have the opportunity to step on to a big league field.
SWC baseball coach Jay Martel is sharing his wild ride and timeless wisdom of the sport with the Jaguars. Coach Amad Stevens continues his minor league journey sharing his experiences along the way.
Both coaches are merging their experiences of vintage fundamentals with the modern techniques and passing it on to the next generation.
Martel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but his parents made the decision to move to San Diego when he was five years old due to the lack of jobs on the East Coast. Growing up he played in the Chula Vista South Bay Little League.
As a young pitcher he enjoyed watching Hall of Fame right-hander Tom Seaver and Red Sox right-hander Roger Clemens.
"As I got older, everything was Red Sox in our house," said Martel. "So I started to appreciate the Red Sox."
He attended Bonita Vista High School and played ball for coach Loren Roberts. It was in high school when his father began to teach him the mechanics of pitching. His senior year in 1981, he was named Conference Player of the Year.
He recalled his most memorable moment being a 16-inning game against Mar Vista where he saved the game by throwing out the Mariners' fastest guy.
"They had a couple guys on base late in the game and I was playing shortstop," he said. "I went in the hole and I threw the guy out at first, really nice play, and came back and won the game in the bottom of the 16th."
After high school Martel attended United States International University in San Diego, (now Alliant University) and played for Alan Everst. He earned a Bachelors Degree in physical education. He later earned a Master's degree in sports science from the United States Sports Academy.
His junior year in 1983 he was named Player of the Year. While at USIU, he pitched two shutout performances against San Diego State.
Martel said when San Diego State was ranked number one he came in as a relief pitcher for two innings and struck out all six hitters. Two years later, when San Diego State was number two in the country, he would pitch all nine innings en route to a 3-2 complete-game win for USIU.
In 1984, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him as a pitcher. While in the St. Louis minor league system, Martel was called up to Double-A Johnson City, Tennessee for several months but spent most of his time with the Single-A Savannah Cardinals. He played for Rich Hacker, who went on to be third base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.
In Savannah, Martel was designated as a set-up man who would enter the game in the seventh or eighth inning.
His most memorable game was when Joe Magrane, his then-roommate and now MLB Network analyst, pitched the first two complete innings then Martel came in and pitched the last seven innings, striking out 16 hitters, giving Savannah a 1-0 win.
After his time in the Cardinals organization, Martel spent part of '88 and ‘89 playing in Holland for the Hoofdorp Pioneers, where he was a starting pitcher. His time in Holland helped him make connections for current SWC infielder Jelle Krikke.
"I threw against one of the best pitchers in Holland," he said. "I beat him 1-0, that was probably one of my best games ever in Holland."
In 1988 Martel began as a volunteer assistant coach and used his time at SWC to prepare for another season with the Savannah Cardinals. In 1991 he received a call from coach Jerry Bartow, who offered him a position as a full-time coach at SWC.
Since then Martel has taken on numerous roles in Bartow's organization from being a third base coach, pitching coach and now responsible for a majority of the recruiting.
During his tenure, the Jags have never missed playoffs. Martel has assisted in coaching them to six Pacific Coast Conference championships.
For the past two seasons Amad Stevens has been nothing but an asset to the Jags' already stacked coaching staff.
In 2004 Stevens was signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent pitcher.
During his time in the Yankees organization, Stevens had several stops including the Single-A Battle Creek (Michigan) Yankees for coach Bill Mosiello. While there, Stevens would pitch 23 and 2/3 innings with a 1-2 record and a 3.42 ERA.
In 2005 the team was moved to New York and became the Staten Island Yankees where he played for legendary pitcher Tommy John. During this time, he played alongside big leaguers Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano.
"They were a great group of guys," said Stevens. "Being a Yankee was the best experience of my career."
During his time with the Yankees, Stevens has had the opportunity to hear advice from Yankee legends such as Frank Howard and "Mr. October" Reggie Jackson.
"Whatever I learned by being in the system, I've passed it on to these guys," he said. "So it's kind of paying it forward."
He continues to play independent ball for the El Paso Diablos.
"Stevens brings a fresh look, he's really baseball smart," said Randy Schreibman, a freshman pitcher. "He's a great pitching coach because he himself has been doing it, he really seems to be committed to the team."
Yankees or Jaguars, baseball runs in Stevens' blood.
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