Norwood’s Mellen chasing MLB dream close to home
The life of a minor league baseball player is usually spent far from home.
That’s where Sean Mellen spent the first few years of his career.
Now, at least for a little while, he’ll get to play within reasonable driving distance of his hometown of Norwood.
The 24-year-old left-handed pitcher, who helped Norwood High win the 2015 MIAA Div. 1 state championship, is now playing for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Double A affiliate, that plays in Manchester, N.H., in the Eastern League.
“It’s nice to play close to home,” said Mellen, whom the Blue Jays organization promoted from the Northwest League’s Vancouver Canadians (High A) on April 27. “I get to see my friends and my family.”
This season, between the two teams, Mellen is 2-1 with a 2.89 earned run average. In his career he’s 3-3 with a 5.18 ERA. Currently, he’s a middle-long reliever with a 1-0 record at New Hampshire and a 4.70 ERA.
“It bridges the gap between the starter and closer,” Mellen said. “I’ve done everything at one time or another. I’ve started. I’ve closed. Playing those different roles can help.”
Mellen began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization. The Dodgers drafted him out of Northeastern University in the 14th round of the 2918 Amateur Draft with the 431st pick overall.
On April 28 of last year, the Dodgers’ organization released Mellen.
“There was a lot of uncertainty,” Mellen said. “I knew I could still play baseball, but didn’t know if I’d get the chance again.”
Less than a month later, on May 26, the Blue Jays gave him that chance, signing him as a free agent. He started out in the organization on the Blue Jays’ Florida Complex League (Rookie League) team, before moving up to Dunedin (Single A) and Vancouver.
The uncertainty Mellen felt during that month was a familiar feeling. As was the case with every minor league player, his 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was difficult,” Mellen said. “It was supposed to be the first full year for the 2019 draft class. You had to keep working and make do with whatever you had, throwing at a high school field or into nets. Now that we’re back it’s so much fun.”
Though the Dodgers released Mellen, he has nothing but good things to say about that organization and said it has a lot in common with the Blue Jays’ system.
“I’ve been fortunate to play for two great organizations,” he said. “They really put a lot into developing the players.”
As Mellen has progressed through the ranks, he’s noted a difference in the batters he faces and has developed a better idea of what he needs to do to be successful.
“The hitters are better,” he said. “You see them so often they learn your tendencies and you learn theirs. You can’t pitch to them the same way. When I started I just had a fastball, but now I’ve developed other pitches. You have to develop other pitches.” Mellen’s time at Northeastern, where he played for Mike Glavine, who played professionally for 10 years, including a stint with the New York Mets, also prepared him for the realities of professional baseball. “Coach Glavine does a great job,” Mellen said. “He had been through it. College is different than the pros in a lot of ways, but he got us ready for it.” Said Glavine, “We recruited him hard out of Norwood. His freshman year, he showed signs of potential. He had a win against a nationally ranked Auburn team in his junior year.” Last winter, Mellen had a chance to help out his former coaches while getting ready for the season.
“He worked out with us,” Glavine said. “His pitching philosophy has changed since he’s been with two different organizations. He talked to me and out pitching coach (Kevin Cobb) and we learned a lot from him.” Mellen’s experience at Norwood, not just as a baseball player, but also as an athlete, also paid dividends.
“He was a three-sport athlete,” said his high school coach Kevin Igoe. “He’s 6-foot 5. He played football (receiver and defensive back) and hockey. He didn’t do the AAU thing that a lot of kids do.”
Said Mellen, “It gave me more confidence as an athlete. I learned different skills that helped me. I learned how to compete and how to focus on helping the team win and not just on how I did and impressing the scouts.” While Mellen is hoping to get a chance to play in the Majors, just like every other minorleague player, his goals are more about what’s immediately in front of him.
“I’m taking it day to day and building on each game,” he said. “If you do your job in each game and with each pitch, everything else takes care of itself.”