When a player gets sent back down to AAA after having periods of success in the MLB, they are left with a couple of choices. One choice is to pout about it and carry themselves in a manner in which they make it clear that they don’t feel as if they belong back in the Minors. The better option is to do what Austin Barnes and Gavin Lux, and now Zach McKinstry have done, and that is, use their time back in the Minors to find, once again, what has always made them great.
True Character
It’s often been said that true character is only revealed during times of adversity because it’s fairly easy to have a great attitude and be motivated when things are going well. But, it’s quite a bit more difficult to have such a great outlook on things when you’re mired in the depths of a rough patch and are wondering if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. Players work on their craft to no end, day after day, and, many times, probably most times, are left with nothing to show for their efforts. Waking up day after day amidst this process, and continuing to grind, takes a lot of discipline, a strong belief in your abilities, and, most of all, high character.
Up and Down
During his time in AAA OKC this year, McKinstry has shown impeccable character and has been a leader both in action and by example. He has hit .382 in 89 at-bats with an OPS of 1.003, so his results have spoken for themselves, but his leadership has gone further than that, in fact, much further. McKinstry is a leader by example in how he prepares for the game, how he approaches the game and how he performs while playing the game. Take, for instance, the period of April 24-26. where McKinstry was optioned, recalled, and then optioned back down to OKC, all within a 3 day span. On the 26th of April, after a ridiculous amount of travel, McKinstry arrived in OKC fairly late and was given the option by manager Travis Barbary to sit the game that evening as a result of his travel. In true McKinstry form, he insisted on being in the lineup for OKC despite his whirlwind of events because that’s what he’s always done. Let’s back up a little bit and take you back to his Collegiate days at Central Michigan to give you some perspective on that situation.
McKinstry was a fairly large deal coming out of High School in Indiana as he had a Perfect Game rating, was noticed highly by Prep Baseball and hit .595 and had 111 hits as a prep star. He chose to play collegiately at Central Michigan and is so proud of his Alma Mater that he still uses CMU in his Social Media handles. During his Sophomore year in 2016, the Indiana native started all 61 games, and that was after he started 56 of 57, and played in all 57 games the year before in 2015 as a Freshman. He simply refuses to miss games when he’s available because he leads from the front and that, as we have seen in OKC, will never change. It is what he is, it is who he is, and it simply is his true character.
Okay, let’s go back now to that night on April 26 of this year when he insisted on playing. Well, on that night, he went 0 for 4 at the plate and made 4 errors in the field, and, as odd as it sounds, it was a night that put him in yet another position to truly show what he’s made of. Let’s put some perspective on this. Imagine getting your feet wet in the MLB with a successful stint on a team that won the World Series, then getting off to a blazing start the next year with the big club, then, a little over a year later, finding yourself standing on a AAA field having made 4 errors and having gone 0-4. That’s a pretty humbling experience and one that could easily break someone with less character, but in true McKinstry form, he used it as fuel to his fire. Since that night when he had every right and reason to sit out, make excuses or feel sorry for himself, he’s gone 13/32 at the plate, .402, and has had an OPS of right at 1.000. I got to see it all with my own eyes, knew the situation as it unfolded, and became an even bigger fan of this 27 year old ball player as a result.
Staying on Top
There’s an old saying that it’s harder to stay on top than it is to get there, and no other sport provides more evidence of that statement ringing true than baseball. In 2019 McKinstry played most of the season in AA Tulsa before being moved to OKC in early August where he hit .382 with an OPS of 1.174 during his stint in AAA. When Covid cancelled the 2020 Minor League season, he got his first taste of the MLB with the Dodgers and got 2 hits in his 7 at-bats. After finishing 2019 on a tear, then getting his feet wet with a short but successful audition in the MLB in 2020, the versatile left-handed hitter was poised to break out in 2021.
McKinstry started 2021 hot as he hit .296 with an OPS of .884 in April, but then strained his oblique at the end of that month and was put on the IL as a result. If you’ve ever had an oblique injury or been close to someone who has had one that is trying to play a sport at any level, you know how incredibly difficult that injury is. The injury shelved the former Chippewah for right at a month and he was sent to OKC on May 21 on a rehab assignment. After just 5 games in AAA, he was recalled to LA on May 29 and went 0 for his first 10 and 2 for his first 23 with the big club. Adversity had struck, but if you’ve paid attention, I think you know how this will end. From that point on, McKinstry went 12-35, .342, for the rest of the month, but after he struggled in July he was sent back down to OKC in August and hit .271 with an OPS of .878 during his time in AAA, and that leads us up to this year, 2022.
Fringy AAAA
McKinstry has been recalled and then optioned back down to OKC 3 different times this year and has done nothing but dominate during his time in AAA, but, AAA isn’t who he is, and it’s not where he plans on ending up. The Indiana native is in what I call a “Fringy AAAA” period of his career in which he has advanced past AAA, but, at the age of 27, hasn’t established a daily role or position at the Major League level. So many players get stuck in this stage and I get to see them up close and personal on an almost daily basis with OKC and you grow attached to them and their stories. If you’re strictly an MLB fan and don’t watch much if any, Minor League baseball, it’s hard to explain the attachment you get watching guys trying to fulfill their dreams, but it’s real, and it’s strong. So, having explained how much I have enjoyed watching Zach McKinstry in OKC, I must say that I hope that, next time he gets called up, I hope I never see him again at the Bricktown Ballpark, and, through the greatest amount of respect, I would like to say, Don’t Come Back! Take your elite leadership skills, your awesome work ethic and your MLB talent, and find your role, define your role, and make it yours!
