University of Tennessee Athletics
Godley Stays Grounded With MLB Success
August 01, 2015 | Baseball
By Brian RiceUTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Last fall, Zack Godley’s tools of the trade included rakes, hoses and a tractor. A little less than a year later, he was dealing fastballs in his Major League debut.
The Tennessee alum made the first start of his Arizona Diamondbacks career on July 23, an 8-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was the culmination of a two-year whirlwind that took him from his professional debut in rookie ball to the pitcher’s mound at Chase Field.
Godley was called up from Double-A Mobile, leaving him 48 hours to go from riding the bus in the Southern League to his first MLB start.
“Shock and awe, really and truly,” Godley said of receiving the news. “I didn’t really know what to think.”
Godley responded to the challenge with a stellar debut. He earned the win with six scoreless innings, surrendering four hits and striking out seven, tying current Washington National Max Scherzer's D-backs record for strikeouts in a debut. Godley became the first pitcher in baseball’s Modern Era to throw at least six scoreless innings with seven or more strikeouts and no walks in his first career game.
“It’s all about facing Major League hitters, that’s what you’re here for,” Godley said of his focus for his debut. “Each time you go out you definitely have to make sure that you remain as calm as possible. For me, it was trying to remain calm and keep everything down and work in the strike zone. I tried to stay within what I had always done.”
Less than 10 months before, he spent afternoons on campus helping out the with field crew at Lindsey Nelson Stadium while completing his final semester of classes at UT. Finishing his degree fulfilled a promise made to his mother, while working on the field was just another way to give back to the program that helped launch his career.
It was not a job out of necessity. The Bamberg, South Carolina native had just finished his first full year of professional baseball, split between Chicago Cubs Single-A affiliates Kane County and Daytona Beach.
Godley hoped that a new season would bring him back to East Tennessee, to the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate in Sevierville. Instead, he walked out of his final college exam to learn he had been traded to the Diamondbacks. It was move that kept him out of the familiar surroundings of the Knoxville area, but may have fast-tracked his path to the majors.
He began 2015 with the Visalia Rawhide, Arizona’s affiliate in the Single-A California League, where he was 8-3 with a 2.27 ERA in 14 appearances. He was called up for a three-game stint in Double-A Mobile that produced a 1-1 record, but got the attention of the Major League club.
His family mobilized upon news of his call-up, converging on Phoenix en masse. His mother, Kelly, gave an emotional interview during the TV broadcast of his debut, celebrating her son reaching the goal that she and his father, Tommy, had helped him pursue.
“To have them there was just an overwhelming experience for me,” Godley said of his family. “To have them all come out on such short notice and be there was amazing. My mom and dad did a great job of raising me and my brothers. They did a really good job of keeping us as down-to-Earth as they could. For me to be able to accomplish what I set out to accomplish is unbelievable. It’s a credit to them because of how they brought us up.”
He had another beaming fan in his head coach at Tennessee, Dave Serrano.
“I’ve always stayed close to Coach Serrano,” Godley said of the call he made to his coach after being called up to Arizona. “He helped me out an unbelievable amount when I was there and he will continue to help me as long as I’m playing baseball. Even after I finish with baseball, I hope to continue talking to him and keep the friendship that we’ve had. I love Coach Serrano, he’s been great for me.”
Godley followed up his MLB debut with an 8-4 road victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. He threw six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out four.
Now two starts into what he hopes will be a long Major League career, Godley has the same approach that he has used since his days on the mound as a Vol.
“I have the same goals that I always have,” he said. “To get the next guy out that gets in the box.”
