With no minor-league baseball to be played this season, thousands of players throughout the 30 organizations in MLB have a lot of extra time on their hands and, in many cases, no sure income coming in after a certain point.
That has led to some temporary career changes, like Yankees prospect T.J. Sikkema picking up some shifts as a DoorDash delivery driver, but one former Baby Bomber has gone back to school, in a way.
Cal State University-Bakersfield announced late Friday that they have added David Metzgar, who was a four-year starter in CSU-Bakersfield’s middle infield from 2014-17, to their coaching staff, to serve as an assistant starting in the fall of 2020.
"Bringing David back to campus is great news for our ball club,” CSU Bakersfield head coach Jeremy Beard said in the school’s release. “He is an iconic Roadrunner and will be a strong mentor for our players. He understands our system and will be a huge asset in helping to implement it to our players. It's a great day to be a `Runner."
What’s especially newsy about that announcement is that Metzgar was a pro as recently as seven weeks ago, as he was one of the 45 players released by the Yankees organization on June 1 when the fate of the minor-league season was almost determined.
Metzgar signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2017 and spent three seasons in junior pinstripes, reaching as high as three games at Double-A Trenton last season – but with no minor-league season meaning nowhere to perhaps latch on, and independent ball at a premium right now, Metzgar is returning to his alma mater to prep the next generation.
The rising seniors at CSU-Bakersfield will get to see a former teammate in a new light now, and for those that aren’t in their fourth year or later, they’ll be learning from one of the program’s best – Metzgar is the program’s all-time leader in doubles and total bases, ranks second in school history in hits and third in batting average, and was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection whose 280 hits are the most by any WAC player in the decade from 2011-2020.
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