(Photo Credit: St. John’s University Athletics)
by Vinny Messana, Editor-In-Chief
Now in his 21st season as the Head Coach at St. John’s University, Ed Blankmeyer has seen a lot. Whatever he hasn’t seen there, he probably saw while coaching Team USA.
He has coached more than 80 players who have gone on to play professional baseball–most notably Mo Vaughn and Craig Biggio while at Seton Hall.
Still, he was almost at a loss for words when discussing the journey of his star reliever, Floral Park native Thomas Hackimer.
“Thomas is quite a story,” he said. “To go from a walk-on to a fourth round pick is one-in-a-billion,” he added.
Hackimer chose to attend St. John’s because of the academic scholarship he received. He chose to major in physics, like very few baseball players.
Having never pitched and weighing only 160 lbs, there was no way he’d receive a scholarship to play–but he did believe he was good enough to play.
Coach Blankmeyer called him in his office to say the only chance he would have to play on the team would be to drop his arm angle way down, and become a situational RHP.
“I was interested when Coach Blankmeyer suggested throwing sidearm,” said Hackimer. “I was interested and excited, mostly just because I was eager for the opportunity to continue playing baseball,” he added.
For most players, that tall order would be intimidating. He was not about to have his career end prematurely, though.
“It took me a long time to get really comfortable with the motion, and I did a number of things that helped my velocity and command. I gained almost 40 pounds from entering St. John’s to my senior year, I got a whole lot stronger overall, and I did a lot of medicine ball work that helped me get my body all in sync,” he said.
The added velocity and command took him from a walk-on trying to make the team to one of the most effective relievers in the country.
During his junior year in 2015, he set a program-record by appearing in 35 games while recording a 1.92 ERA over 51.2 IP. He recorded 15 saves and fanned 55 batters. He ended up pitching in the Cape Cod League and being named Closer of the Year–that was after getting selected by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the MLB Draft.
As if that wasn’t enough of a fairy tale story, he went out and improved on that in his senior season.
He recorded a 1.17 ERA over 53.2 IP with 71 strikeouts. He held the opposition to a .133 AVG. Despite throwing from a funky arm angle, he threw only two wild pitches all season.
Most impressively, he has above average velocity for a submarine pitchers. Most of the big leaguers that throw from that arm slot hover around 84-86 MPH.
From all the hard work he put in, he was able to increase his velocity to 88-92 MPH with a 76 MPH wipeout slider.
He was selected in the fourth round by the Minnesota Twins–completing an unbelievable and nearly unfathomable path from walk-on to high draft pick in four years.
“I think what makes him so good is his ability to focus,” said Blankmeyer.
He did not only focus on the field but in the classroom. His 3.6 GPA earned him academic All-American honors.
After his playing days are he plans on becoming a theoretical physicist. While most players do not have a backup career plan in tact, Hackimer has the peace of mind knowing he can earn close to a Major League salary even if he doesn’t make it to the big leagues.
Blankmeyer believes he will still make it though, and Hackimer himself believes this did not help give him leverage in the draft.
“I don’t think it provided me with more leverage,” he said. “Some teams actually seemed a bit scared by it, worried that I may choose to go pursue some academic endeavor rather than sign.”
For the time being, he can celebrate the fact that he took the road less traveled to draft day. While some players receive huge scholarships and are given every opportunity to succeed, he created his path and had nothing handed to him.
“He’s going to be a terrific professional pitcher,” said Blankmeyer.
He can also enjoy the fact that the week leading up to the draft is over–always a stressful time for prospective pro players.
“The last few days have been absolutely crazy and hectic, and I think that the next few will be just as crazy in a whole different way. But it has been keeping me busy, which is better than the alternative.”
