BORN FOR THE BRONX
UPSTATE’S CORBIN GOOD FIT FOR YANKS’ ROTATION
Patrick Corbin is about to become one of the most sought-after pitchers in free agency this offseason, with the Yankees among the teams expected to make a strong run at the 29-year-old lefty.
And the native of upstate New York has made no secret of the fact he grew up a Yankees fan, playing for Cicero-North Syracuse High School and later, Mohawk Valley Community College.
“It’s no surprise he wears 46,’’ Mohawk Valley head coach Dave Warren said, referring to the number Andy Pettitte wore with the Yankees.
But an affinity for the Yankees won’t land Corbin in The Bronx. He figures to be near the top of their list of targets, since they can only count on Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka in their rotation next season.
But no matter where Corbin winds up after spending his first seven seasons in the majors with Arizona, he’ll have taken a different path than most.
Kevin Rockwell has been the baseball coach at Cicero-North Syracuse for nearly two decades and still remembers meeting Corbin for the first time.
After being cut from a basketball team in seventh grade, Corbin avoided trying out for teams in high school. He finally played basketball as a junior and then showed up in front of Rockwell.
“It was the second day of tryouts and he showed up in the stretch line in jeans,’’ Rockwell said. “I asked if he was a righty or a lefty and if he could hit. He said he couldn’t hit, but he was a lefty and could throw hard, ‘But I have no idea where it’s going.’ ”
Corbin hit 87 mph, but was “all over the place,” according to Rockwell, ‘’but the ball exploded out of his hand.’’
Still, his first love remained basketball and he was a standout on the court at Cicero, as well and ended up playing both sports in his one year at Mohawk Valley.
“He was a basketball junkie,’’ Warren said. “He wanted to play for Jim Boeheim. I think the tide turned toward baseball when he got here.”
Corbin wasn’t on scholarship and played both sports — occasionally at the same time.
“He had a great year for us even though he was focused on basketball,’’ Warren said. “We started indoor baseball in February, so he would show up in his basketball shorts and throw a bullpen [session].”
Although he was set to return to Mohawk Valley for his sophomore season, Corbin caught the eye of a scout while playing travel ball the summer after his freshman year, which led him to Chipola College in Florida — one of the top juco programs in the nation.
“He was raw and he needed to fine-tune his mechanics,’’ Chipola head coach Jeff Johnson said. “But that’s because he hadn’t pitched as
much as a lot of other guys. He loves big games and kept getting better.”
So much so that he was drafted in the second round in 2009 by the Angels and then traded as part of a package for Dan Haren a year later.
Corbin became an All-Star in 2013 before being sidelined by Tommy John surgery the following season and was an All-Star again last season. He finished 2018 with a career-high in innings (200) and strikeouts (246).
Corbin returns to Cicero occasionally during the offseason and has even played in the alumni basketball game over Christmas break.
“To this day, he probably says he’s better at basketball,’’ Rock-
well said.
Given the contract he’s likely to soon sign, Corbin’s hoops days might be over.
But if he does end up with the Yankees, his former coaches are confident he’ll do well.
“There might be an adjustment for him,’’ Rockwell said. “Even [Giancarlo] Stanton had a learning curve there. New York is a different place. But he’s got the competitiveness, the work ethic and ability to be fine anywhere.’’
And the move might even work to his advantage.
“I think he’ll thrive there,’’ Rockwell said. “His competitiveness will take over. You can see it on the mound. He just challenges you.”