What Spencer Strider's CAK coach, teammate saw in All-Star Braves pitcher that doesn't surprise them now
Baseball fans know Spencer Strider as a young star Atlanta Braves pitcher who was selected to his first MLB All-Star Game.
But the ones who have watched him play since he was at the Christian Academy of Knoxville see a player making his dreams come true.
Tommy Pharr, who has been at CAK since 2009, started coaching Strider when he was a freshman in high school and knew that all he wanted to do was be around the game.
"Spencer was a very focused, extremely hardworking guy," Pharr said. "He always had a great love for baseball and was always keeping up with it. He was a Cleveland Indians fan so he kept up with all their stats and everything. He was a baseball junkie and was all about the game."
After a standout career at Clemson, he was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut in 2021 and finished National League Rookie of the Year runnerup in 2022. This season, he was the fastest pitcher in the MLB to reach 100 strikeouts, getting there in 61 innings.
What Pharr didn't know was how far the right-hander would really go, even after watching him play so closely.
"I don't know that you could ever know any point," Pharr said.
"That was his dream from the time he was a freshman. That was his goal and plan. I knew he had a chance, he was obviously very good and he was going to be a very good collegiate player. I thought he had to have a chance. I don't think anybody would have dreamed that things would have worked out the way they have so soon, but it's pretty awesome."
Now, the Braves pitcher will be on the roster of Tuesday's All-Star game in Seattle after starting his second full season with Atlanta. This was something Pharr never saw coming with the short time frame Strider has done it in.
"I've coached a lot of really good players. Just making it to the big leagues from a statistical standpoint is such a hard thing, let alone being an All-Star. That's a pretty big dream, but it's an awesome dream."
Former teammate Hudson Chastain was not surprised.
"I would honestly think it's expected. I think that he's always been spectacular," Chastain said.
"He's just the hardest worker I've ever seen. If you would have told me that he was going to be in an All-Star game, he's gonna be a Hall of Famer, whatever it might be. I would believe it because I think he's gonna make that happen.
For Chastain, there is only one thing he would say to Strider before he heads to Seattle for the Midsummer Classic (8 p.m., FOX).
"I would just tell him just enjoy it, take it all in but just to keep doing it as he's been doing it his whole life. Take it as a step, enjoy it, but know that there's so much more that he's gonna keep achieving more and more every day, so just enjoy it and keep going," Chastain said.
WHEN WAS STRIDER DRAFTED?: CAK graduate Spencer Strider drafted by Atlanta Braves in fourth round of 2020 MLB Draft
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Spencer Strider's CAK coach, teammate saw in Braves All-Star
