TJ Stottlemyre, son of former MLB pitcher, paves own baseball path at Notre Dame Prep

TJ Stottlemyre knows the family baseball tree. His father Todd was a 14-year Major League pitcher with 339 career starts, who won two World Series titles with the Toronto Blue Jays, finishing his career in 2002 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

His grandfather Mel Sr., who died after a long battle with cancer in 2019, pitched for the New York Yankees, a five-time All-Star, a pitching coach for the New York Mets during their 1986 World Series championship season, then part of the Yankees' dynasty run (1996-2000) with four World Series as their pitching coach.

His uncle Mel Jr., who made it to the majors before arm injuries ended his career, now is the pitching coach with the Miami Marlins.

But TJ didn't feel the pressure or the need to follow his family's path. He didn't feel he had to be a pitcher. He didn't feel he needed a privileged path because he's a Stottlemyre. He loved baseball his own way, playing middle infield, blossoming late to become one of Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep's best players this year.

"Obviously the stories get told, I hear it a lot, but I just play my own game," Stottlemyre said. "Growing up, I've always liked shortstop. It's been my favorite position. I pitched when I was younger. I liked it a little bit. But there's something about being a shortstop, it's just awesome."

Always smaller for his age and counted out by some because of his size, he persevered through youth baseball, sometimes not playing much on his club team because he was undersized.

"I think three years ago, in the summer, he got 20 at-bats," Todd Stottlemyre said. "He just didn't get a lot of playing time. He was the small kid on the team. At 14, 15 years old, playing against guys that were my size (6-3, 195 during his MLB career).

"I kept telling him, 'Hey, man, just stay with it. You've got great hands, you've got a great swing. Just stay with it. Some day, guess what's going to happen, you're going to grow. And you'll grow into your foundation."

TJ, a senior, is now 5-foot-10, 160 pounds and signed with Rice to play college baseball. And he believes in himself.

Notre Dame coach Brian Fischer said he's known Todd Stottlemyre for a long time. He said his son is different from his dad. TJ is quiet, even-keeled. Todd carried his emotions on his sleeve when he pitched in the majors. He never disguised how he was feeling.

"The thing with TJ when he got here, every year he got better," Fischer said. "He wasn't really a shortstop as a sophomore. Our shortstop got hurt, and when he came back, we had to move him to second. (TJ) stepped in (at short) and never left it. We just switched the two. The other guy was older, and he injured his knee. He lost some mobility, so we switched them."

Fischer believes Stottlemyre will be a good college player. He's got some pop at the plate, but he's mostly a gap hitter. He is hitting .404 for the 11-6 Saints with 20 RBIs, four doubles, a triple and a home run. His fielding percentage is .962, turning 11 double plays.

"He can run, field, throw, does it all," Fischer said.

Fischer said TJ never talks about his family's baseball legacy.

"He's just him, and he just does his thing," Fischer said.

Todd, taking a page from his father, never pushed TJ in the game. But he's always been there for him, always supportive, going to every game, never trying to dissect the game with him, unless TJ asks questions.

"My son knows, and I told him many times, if he goes 4-for-4 or 0-for-4, I'm just proud of him," Todd Stottlemyre said. "And I love him just the same. He doesn't have any pressure he has to perform at a certain level to make me proud.

"I always tell him, 'Son, I had my career. I'm not going to live through yours.' I'm not going to be that parent. My dad did the same thing."

But Todd has always been there for TJ, whatever he needed in baseball. TJ is Todd's only son. He's got four daughters.

When COVID hit, he talked to them about goals and having certain behaviors to achieve them.

"I said to my son, he was 15 years old, 'What do you think, what do you want to do?' " Todd said. "He said, 'Dad, I'd love to play baseball. I said, 'You really want to play?' He said, 'Yup.' I threw it out for him. I said, 'This is what you've got to do. You've got to out-practice everybody else. I had him listen to a Kobe Bryant video, where Kobe also was the smallest kid, and he wasn't performing when he was 12, 13, 14. He practiced and over the next couple of years, he ended up being the best (basketball) player in the state.

"I said, 'TJ, if you're willing to go do the work, maybe someday you can become the best player in the state, or the best infielder in the state.' In 2020 and 2021, if I wasn't at the house, he'd call me or text me and say, 'Dad, ground balls.' I'd say, 'Yeah, see you there at 3 o'clock.' That year he fielded over 50,000 ground balls that I hit him.''

Soon after that, he began to blossom on the Notre Dame team.

TJ said the Arizona competition through club and high school helped him grow.

"It's really good," he said. "We have a good team. If we execute with runners in position and lower the strikeouts, I think we'll be right where we need to be."

He heeds his father's advice.

"He tells me to stay hungry and try to be the best player on the field in the game," TJ said. "I don't feel pressure in that sense. He tells me it's my decision, whatever I want to do, that I can step away if I didn't want to play anymore. But this is what I love to do."

Todd once posted a video of one of his TJ's baseball highlights on social media, TJ asked him to take it down, preferring not to have the spotlight on himself.

"I didn't have his maturity at his age," Todd said. "He's probably more like my father. It doesn't matter if he's doing good, bad or indifferent, you're never going to tell, looking at his actions, be able to tell. Unlike me, you knew exactly. My emotions were front and center. He has an intensity and his drive. But he's more mature at his competition level than I ever was.

"People ask me all the time, 'Does he have that fire?' It's, 'Yeah, but more like my father.' You're not going to see him throwing helmets. He's not going to want to fight the other team. But he's going to sneak up on you, because he's not quitting."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: TJ Stottlemyre paving own baseball path at Notre Dame Prep