What a difference a year makes for Austin Wells.
One year ago, on March 14, 2020, Wells was in a holding pattern; after a strong freshman season at Arizona, Wells’ sophomore season was halted after a March 8 win over Houston, and no one knew quite yet how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect the sports world.
Of course, baseball had just shut down their spring camps that week, and when Wells was drafted by the Yankees three months later, Summer Camp 2.0 hadn’t even started in earnest, and the minor-league season was shut down – so that was officially the end of his 2020.
Didn’t stop him from putting in the work he needed to, though, to become a Yankee.
“From being drafted until now has been a roller coaster for everybody,” Wells said Sunday morning via Zoom. “But having such a great player development staff, as we do, made it easy to get my work in and take advantage of opportunities that came my way.”
Perhaps because of the lost 2020, Wells was invited to big-league camp – an honor the Yankees rarely bestow on their previous year’s draftees – and he got a chance to see, first-hand, the Yankees way.
“Everybody just wants to win here, and everyone’s working hard. There’s no time to sit around and do nothing; everyone is always moving and working on their craft,” Wells said. “No one is walking around thinking they’re too big for the team or doing less. It’s been a good first impression to see that work ethic around camp. It’s awesome.”
Wells is no stranger to that, coming from a strong college program at Arizona and a very strong athletic program at Bishop Gorman High School, one of the elite programs in the prep sports hotbed that is Las Vegas and a program that has produced more than two dozen major-leaguers, including Texas’ Joey Gallo.
“Gorman is a great school for sports; it’s a very athletic culture there and everyone wants to do well,” Wells said. “Coming from there, anywhere you go, that name carries weight, even in the business world. I think it helps and brings a lot of benefits.”
Although recently re-assigned to minor-league camp, the biggest benefit Wells saw this spring was getting to take advantage, in person, of catching coach Tanner Swanson and his staff to help the transition to the Yankees’ desired one knee down catching style.
Wells was able to begin learning it last summer remotely, but nothing beats hands-on training.
“I think it has gone great, we’ve had a lot of progress with it. To be here to get the hands-on experience with the coaches has helped make the transition easier,” he said. “I like that it helps me stay lower in the stance and get in better positions to block and receive, which is the main goal. Starting out it was difficult to get my body into some positions, but now I’m used to it and it has a good flow, and I think it will be beneficial going forward.”
He also got to take some batting practice against some of the Yankees’ elite hurlers during live BP sessions, which, even if he never made contact, would have been well worth the time.
“That’s been amazing; I got to face guys at the top of their game in the big leagues, and it will help me be a better baseball player,” Wells said. “I can look back at those experiences, learn from them, and take from them bits and pieces that will help me perform in certain situations for the rest of my career.”
Wells is “itching” to get out on the field for an actual game, and “super excited” to be playing for the Yankees. But, with all this hoopla, he always carries with him one thing that helps him stay grounded: the tattoo around his right arm.
In a circle on that bicep are the birthdays of his maternal grandparents, with Isaiah 6:8 in script in the middle. That Bible verse reads “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ and I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” and is a reminder of the close bond he shared with them.
“My grandparents on my mom’s side were both from the Dominican Republic, but they both passed away from cancer a couple years ago,” Wells said. “This is a remembrance of them.”
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