WORLD SERIES TO WASILLA: Less than 2 weeks after winning a title, Houston Astros pitching coach works with local athletes

WASILLA — Less than two weeks ago, Brent Strom celebrated his team’s first World Series championship in franchise history. Friday, the Houston Astros pitching coach spent his morning in Wasilla, working with a group from the next generation of baseball players.

For the last eight years, Strom, who pitched for the Fairbanks Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League from 1967-69, has made the trip to the 49th state as part of Alaska Legion Baseball’s Professional Baseball Clinic.

“Really, we’re just blessed,” Steve Nerland, president of the Alliance for the Support of Alaska American Legion Baseball, said during the clinic at the Menard Memorial Sports Center as Strom worked with dozens of local players ranging from the Little League to Legion levels. “He wants to come here. He’s already said he wants to come again next year.”

For Strom, Houston’s pitching coach since 2014, the trip to Alaska has become an annual thing in November.

“Well, I’ve been up here eight straight years, I think I enjoy it, otherwise I wouldn’t come back,” Strom said. “I love the kids. Their attention span was great today. I am very pleased with the work we got done.”

Strom, who made 100 combined appearances as a Major League pitcher for three different organizations from 1972-1977, used a simple and direct approach to teach.

“I just wanted to basically give them the fundamentals of the proper way of throwing so they can stay injury free and have some success with control and maybe some velocity enhancement,” Strom said.

Strom said he takes a more direct approach with the players so he can get his message across.

“You’ve got to tell them, you’ve got to make some changes. You’ve got to make an effort,” Strom said. “If I had my goal, all of them could get a scholarship to a junior college, or (Division I), DII, DIII school, pitch and experience playing at a high level.”

And Strom uses the same approach, teaching, whether it’s with the high school kids or the younger group.

“Like I told the younger group, I think they have the chance to be the best. They’re young. They don’t have the bad habits,” Strom said. “Really the ones that can benefit the most are the 9 to 11 year olds. Not that the older ones won’t but the time they have to change if they have bad habits is shorter, so they really have to get after it.”

Strom lauded the turf field inside the Menard facility, but also said he wanted to stress that players can reach the next level, regardless of their home state, or yearlong access to outdoor fields. Athletes don’t have to be from California to reach the highest level, he said.

“There’s no reason there can’t be some Major Leaguers come out of this group if they dedicate themselves,” Strom said. “There’s good athletes. I’ve seen arm strength up here. They know the drills. I just want somebody to have a chance.”

Strom said the difference between a player who makes it and one who does not is what they do on their own.

“There are so many things they can do by themselves,” Strom said. “The only way they are going to get better is if they do it by themselves. It’s got to be a thing they want to do themselves. It’s an internal thing. There’s going to be some here that will do it.”

Strom had several examples of exercises players can do on their own, exercises designed to instill and improve the techniques he covered Friday morning. He even went as far as to offer his email address for those at the clinic to contact him with questions.

Palmer High head baseball coach Dave Combs was among a handful of local coaches at the clinic. His biggest takeway, Combs said, is Strom urging players to continue to work on their own time.

“The thing that he brought up last year that really soaked into me is, who is their best coach? Their best coach is themselves,” Combs said of the players. “If they can’t team themselves how to do it correctly, they’re not going to get that muscle memory.”

Overall, Combs said it’s a luxury to have a coach the caliber of Strom make an annual appearance in Alaska.

“It’s awesome to see that kind of pedigree come up to the Valley to coach kids,” Combs said.

Nerland said Strom and Astros roving hitting instructor Ralph Dickenson worked with players Friday and Wasilla and also sessions at South Anchorage High School. Nerland said the Alliance has already booked the Menard for Strom’s return in 2018.

Strom, a lefthander, pitched for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres during his MLB career. He logged 501 innings and fanned 278 batters. He also won 46 games in the minor leagues.

Strom was an assistant with the Astros in 1996, and after coaching in the minor leagues, returned to MLB as an assistant in Kansas City for two season. He returned to Houston 2014. As a college player, Strom led USC to a pair of NCAA championships.

Strom was also a standout for the Goldpanners, posting a 21-9 record and 1.96 ERA in three seasons in Fairbanks. He pitched in 275.2 innings.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.