*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on September 5. You can read it here.

September 5, 2024

By Joe McFarland

Alberta Dugout Stories

It was kind of fitting that Erik Sabrowski had to wait a little while longer than he had hoped to make his Major League Baseball debut.

One week after getting called up by the Cleveland Guardians, the St. Albert product still hadn’t received the call from the bullpen to take to the mound in a game.

With the team entrenched in a race for top spot in the American League Central, Sabrowski bided his time, learning as much as he could from some of the veteran Guardians relievers.

Finally, with the Guardians down 4-1 to the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sept. 4, the left-hander was summoned.

He faced a total of five batters in just over an inning of work, allowing no runs on one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts as the Royals held on to win by that same 4-1 score.

“It felt amazing,” Sabrowski said after the game. “Yeah, it was a few days, but I just kept telling myself to stay ready and my time was going to come, and fortunately it happened tonight.”

It was a long time coming for the 26-year-old, but what was a few extra days after his well-documented journey through two Tommy John surgeries and more to make his big-league debut?

THE TOUGH START

A highly touted two-way player coming out of Cloud County Community College, Sabrowski was taken in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres.

Almost immediately, he went through his first elbow surgery, putting him on the shelf for the better part of a year.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into the 2015 Baseball Alberta 18U AAA Player of the Year’s plans for a return, but it also gave him more time to heal.

He returned in 2021 with the Fort Wayne Tincaps, going 2-0 with a 1.86 earned-run average in eight games.

However, something didn’t feel right and Sabrowski was forced to undergo a second Tommy John surgery that October.

Just a month later, he was taken by the Guardians in the Rule 5 Draft, giving him a vote of confidence that they were willing to be patient with him as he recovered.

MOVING ON UP

Sabrowski made his Guardians’ organizational debut with the double-A Akron RubberDucks in 2023, going 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA in 20 relief appearances, striking out 28 in 21-plus innings.

In the fall, he continued to impress by posting a 1.86 ERA with 16 punchouts in over nine innings of work with the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League.

The Guardians were impressed with Sabrowski coming out of spring training this year, starting him with the triple-A Columbus Clippers for a trio of games before he was returned to Akron.

He continued to dominate at that level, going 0-1 with a 0.77 ERA and 26 strikeouts in nine relief appearances to earn a promotion back to Columbus.

Sabrowski didn’t look back and now sports a record of 8-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 27 appearances for the Clippers.

After earning a call to The Show, he first suited up for a game against Kansas City on Aug. 28, and was close to taking the mound that day.

Sabrowski started warming up thinking he might get into the game in the eighth inning with the Royals up 5-2.

However, the Guardians scored four in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead, and the St. Albert Minor Baseball product made way for veterans Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase to shut the door in a 7-5 win.

Sabrowski continued to watch as his team took two of three from Pittsburgh and the first two games of another series from the Royals, as his team opted for their high-leverage pitchers to come into each outing.

ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTION

With another off-day approaching, Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt made the call to the bullpen in hopes the 6-foot-4, 230-pound lefty could get one more out in the seventh.

Facing Yuli Gurriel, Sabrowski uncorked a high pitch that sailed to the backstop and allowed Witt to move over to third base.

The Edmonton Prospects alum calmed down and got Gurriel to strike out swinging to end the threat.

“I just had to remind myself that it was a baseball game,” the southpaw said. “Yeah, the stage is bigger but I’ve thrown lots of pitches in my life … just take a deep breath and don’t do that again, hopefully.”

He wouldn’t, as he came back out in the eighth inning to strike out Paul DeJong, got Robbie Grossman to fly out, allowed a double to Mikael Garcia, then ended the inning with a pop-out from Freddy Fermin.

After the game, Sabrowski was overcome with emotion thinking about the journey to the big leagues.

Facing reporters after the loss, he fought back tears talking about all of the support he’s received.

“There are so many people that are a part of today,” Sabrowski said. “I’m just fortunate to have all of them for a real special day.”

In particular, he singled out his fiancée, Renee.

“She’s been going through this ride that I’ve been on and it’s just as much her day as it is mine,” Sabrowski continued.

ALBERTA PROUD

From afar, many friends and colleagues had been watching with bated breath for days, hoping to finally see Sabrowksi get into his first MLB game.

Long-time coach and Absolute Human Performance president/founder Taylor Burns flew down to Cleveland right after the initial call-up and spent time with Sabrowski’s family.

“To get the phone call and hear him say the words, ‘I’m a big leaguer’ was beyond incredible,” he said. “I’m just so happy for him and it was just beyond surreal to get to witness his first few days being a big leaguer.”

Burns says watching his star pupil take to the hill in his MLB debut brought about a flood of memories, from his youth baseball days to the challenges of junior college, trying to train during a global pandemic, and his two surgeries.

“I thought about the young kid I first met and how proud I was of how he developed in high school,” he continued. “He became not just a great player but such a good leader and teammate.”

Burns says Sabrowski, who serves as a coach with AHP Academy in the offseason, deserves a lot of credit for his resilience in the face of numerous obstacles, and his perseverance through days and weeks of monotonous, boring arm care to get back to his peak condition.

“I couldn’t be prouder of him and happier for him that he got to make a boyhood dream a reality.”

With his debut behind him, Sabrowski is now focused on continuing to be a contributing member of the Guardians’ pitching staff heading into the final month of the regular season and the postseason.

However, he did have the wherewithal after the seventh inning to get one memento: the ball from his first career strikeout.

“You see it sometimes when people throw it into the stands and I was like, ‘No, I’ve worked too hard for that to watch that one get away,” Sabrowski laughed. “That’s a ball I’m going to hold onto for the rest of my life.”

The wait, it seems, was certainly worth it.