There’s a poster hanging on the refrigerator in the garage of Griff McGarry’s home in California. It’s an old school project from when the UVa senior was in kindergarten, asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“And five-year-old me put, ‘I want to be a professional baseball player,’” McGarry recounted by phone on Tuesday.
Four years ago, that dream led McGarry to Virginia, where the right-hander spent the past four college baseball seasons pitching for the Wahoos. On Monday, it kept McGarry and his family planted in front of the live stream of the second day of the MLB Draft. A little more than two hours into the broadcast, they saw his name pop up as the No. 145 overall selection in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s something I’ve thought a lot about over the past four years,” he said of that moment. “For it to finally come to fruition, it was just a surreal experience.”
Across the country in Republican Grove (VA), McGarry’s college roommate for the past three years was also intently watching that live stream with his family. Andrew Abbott sat through all five rounds of last year’s shortened draft but never heard his name called. He turned the page after that disappointment to post an All-American senior season for the Cavaliers.
Abbott was watching again as 36 players came off the board in Sunday’s first round. He barely had to wait a half hour on Monday before it was finally his turn, selected by the Cincinnati Reds at No. 60 overall in the second round.
“No matter what round it is, just hearing your name called is important,” Abbott said on Tuesday. “But knowing that a team saw the work that you put in and wants to help you get to that level, it’s just breathtaking.”
Abbott and McGarry were among six Virginia players selected in this year’s 20-round draft. The others—infielder Zack Gelof (Oakland Athletics, Round 2), right-hander Mike Vasil (New York Mets, Round 8), infielder Nic Kent (Colorado Rockies, Round 11) and righty Zach Messinger (New York Yankees, Round 13)—just completed their third seasons at UVa and were draft-eligible for the first time since after high school.
Both McGarry and Abbott had been at UVa for four seasons and were eligible to be picked last year. Had the COVID-19 pandemic not forced Major League Baseball to shorten last June’s draft from 40 rounds, neither would have been back in Charlottesville this spring.
Primarily a relief pitcher for his first three seasons, Abbott was given the opportunity to front UVa’s weekend starting rotation as a senior. The left-hander seized that role, finishing the year 9-6 with a 2.87 ERA and finishing third in the country with 162 strikeouts. He was named a second-team All-American by D1Baseball.com, and also earned first-team All-ACC honors. In his final start, Abbott threw six shutout innings against Tennessee in Virginia’s lone victory at this year’s College World Series.
He had heard from a few teams prior to last June’s five-round draft before ultimately going unselected. That “emotional low” motivated the lefty to use his senior season to prove to pro teams that he was a better prospect than they’d given him credit for.
“Just showing that confidence and holding firm and saying, ‘Hey, I believe I’m better than what you guys are talking to me about. So I’m going to go back and prove it,’” Abbott said. “I think I did it and I think they recognized it.”
McGarry said Abbott arrived at UVa with a work ethic that proved contagious with the rest of the pitching staff over the last four seasons. He wasn’t surprised by how well his roommate’s transition to a starting role went.
“I think it was inevitable,” McGarry said. “He’s such a hard worker, and whatever role he’s put into he’s able to compete at the highest level. I’m so, so proud of him.”
McGarry made 28 starts in his four seasons at UVa. He was on the bump on opening day as both a sophomore and junior before slotting in behind Abbott in the weekend rotation to begin this season. Control issues cost the right-hander that spot by early April, and during one regular-season stretch McGarry went almost a month between game appearances.
Abbott constantly reassured his roommate that his struggles could be solved with hard work. He watched in practice as McGarry and UVa pitching coach Drew Dickinson made the necessary adjustments that, by the postseason, turned McGarry “into a dominant pitcher the last two times he pitched.”
McGarry made three starts for the Wahoos during last month’s run to the College World Series. He tossed seven-plus scoreless innings in an elimination game against Dallas Baptist in the super regional round, then in Omaha, took a no-hit shutout into the eighth inning against eventual national champion Mississippi State. McGarry’s final postseason line: a 2.55 ERA, 26 strikeouts and nine walks in 17.2 innings pitched.
“That’s what dreams are made of right there,” Abbott said of McGarry’s turnaround. “It was insane in the dugout, being there to see that. I’m just so glad for the kid.”
McGarry said his family erupted in celebration when they saw Abbott get drafted by the Reds on Monday afternoon. Abbott was still watching when the Phillies picked McGarry a few hours later. The two exchanged a few text messages and congratulated each other publicly on various social media platforms but hadn’t gotten a chance to catch up by phone as of Tuesday afternoon.
They arrived at Virginia as part of the same recruiting class four summers ago. They both turned down opportunities to turn pro out of high school—McGarry was drafted by the Texas Rangers in Round 31 in 2017 while Abbott was taken by the Yankees five rounds later—to pitch for the Wahoos. Both wound up staying at UVa a year longer than they originally planned, but got to finish their careers pitching at the CWS.
In the aftermath of their selections, both had brief conversations with area scouts from the teams that had drafted them. Contracts should get settled in the next few days and soon both pitchers will be professional baseball players.
“I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Abbott said. “What else could a college senior ask for? That’s the best you’re gonna get, probably.”
“It was also great to be back with him for another season. We both got to share that many more memories together,” added McGarry. “I think we can both agree that coming back to UVa was the best thing for us. Everything about coming back was great for the both of us, and I’m really happy that things worked out.”
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