Trystan Magnuson keeps trek to the big leagues in perspective
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Trystan Magnuson keeps baseball in perspective. A member of Southeast who is active in Bible studies at the Post, his path to the big leagues has not been easy or typical. At Manual High
School, Magnuson was cut from the baseball team twice, finally pitching in his senior year.
He earned an academic scholarship for mechanical engineering at the University of Louisville and walked on to the baseball team. For a time, he was No. 15 of 15 on the depth chart, but
Magnuson persevered. He worked on mechanics, listened to Coach McDonnell and focused on fundamentals.
Toward the end of Magnuson’s college career, he was closing for the Cardinals as an ace reliever who helped the team get to the College World Series. When Magnuson graduated, he was
ranked fourth in the school’s history with a 3.97 career ERA (earned run average).
He was drafted 56th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft and began making his way through the minor leagues. In December 2010, he was traded to the Oakland A’s with Danny Farquhar for big league outfielder Rajai Davis and put on the 40-Man Roster. It was one more step to the big leagues.
In May 2011, he was called up to the majors. A week later, he was sent back to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. At the end of June, he was called up again for three more days in the big
leagues.
Major League Baseball is a wild ride.
“I’ve been praying recently that I remember why I’m here,” Magnuson said. “Good baseball players come and go. The turnover is incredible. My purpose for baseball is for those times I’m
signing cards for fans and they ask about the verse I write down, what it means to me, what Jesus has done for me. It is for those times I get to serve my teammates. It is for those times I get
to go to speaking engagements and talk to people I’ve never met before. Maybe, just maybe, they might get the briefest glimpse of a heart that in some small way demonstrates the heart of
God, and they will praise Him because there is something different about this guy that can’t be anything other than that.”
Q. What’s been the hardest part of working your way to major league baseball?
A. Not having an established role has been tough.
At the beginning of the season, I was closing in Triple-A. Obviously, being called up to the major leagues changed that a bit. A Triple A pitcher will not step in and assume a late-inning role right off the bat. So, being a middle guy or a long relief guy in one place and different somewhere else is difficult. Not being settled in either place is tough, too.
Q. How difficult is it to stay grounded amid the pressure of being on the road?
A. I think one of the most difficult things about being in the baseball world is the slippery slope toward being deceived about what is important. As the 152 days of the season (not including the month and a half of spring training) wears on, it is a lot of time spent in an atmosphere of materialism, selfishness and lust. Slowly but surely, the whispers of “Did God really say ... ?” happen, like Satan asks Eve in the Garden of Eden. It comes in many forms—from thinking about vehicle choices, to gadgets, time and girls. Realizing that this world is going to try to deceive you about what you’re worth, what is important and what is fun is so important because nothing satisfies except Christ.
Q. Do you attend chapels/Bible studies?
A. Yes, we have chapel every Sunday because we play every Sunday at 1 p.m. We also have had a Bible study going this year. It has been great to get into the Word with my teammates. We have been doing a study called the top ten struggles for professional athletes, and it has been a blast. Our prayer is that in our short time in Bible study we don’t just learn about God, but we get to know Him personally. What a blessing.
Q. Who inspires you?
A. I have role models in baseball players like Mariano Rivera, who is an awesome role model for Christian ball players. Guys like Josh Hamilton for his honesty.
Q. You’re already one in a million, living every kid’s dream. What are the top takeaways of all this for you?
A. I think one of the coolest things has been hanging out with all these guys I’ve watched on TV and realizing they are just people like me—who enjoy normal things and have ups and downs like everyone else. I remember being in big league spring training this year for the first time and getting to face Ichiro, a future hall of famer. Getting to pitch against these guys, the best baseball players in the world, is such a blast.
Q. What advice would you give a ballplayer who aspires to follow in your footsteps?
A. In the baseball world, it is so important to make adjustments and improve. When you stop improving, that’s when you’re on your way out. You are going to lose, but if you make adjustments to improve, you’re going to win more than you’ll lose. In my career, I have always been improving, even this year, and I believe that is the only reason I am where I am right now.
In life, it is so important to realize that baseball and success, even making it to the big leagues, will not make you happy or satisfied. There are tons of guys in my position and higher who are unhappy, bitter and searching for happiness because they thought they could find it in money, relationships or success, but it ends up being brief and unsatisfying.
You can follow Trystan Magnuson on Facebook. Sign onto the group, Trystan Magnuson updates.