Ben Thompson pitching for New Zealand against Brazil. Photo / Getty
Ben Thompson pitching for New Zealand against Brazil. Photo / Getty
Ben Thompson has had an abrupt start to life as a professional baseball player.
Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, the Kiwi relief pitcher didn't need any convincing to take up the opportunity over an offer from Tulane University.
"I made that decision beforemy name even got called," he says. "I knew that if I was lucky enough to get picked, I was going to sign regardless of what was going on. Tulane presented a good opportunity for me, but I was definitely ready to turn professional."
Thompson got stuck into his work at the entry level of the MLB farm system, and dipped his toes in with a couple of appearances in Florida-based minor league rookie ball in 2019. While the Covid-19 pandemic saw the 2020 minor league season cancelled, Thompson was back in action in 2021 and was promoted to the Augusta GreenJackets in single-A (four steps down from the majors).
He was living and breathing baseball, and thriving. During spring training - baseball's preseason - the days were full-on, then once the season officially began, he was in a game day environment on a daily basis.
"When you're not at the field, you're at home sleeping," he says.
He pitched 50.2 innings across 30 appearances for the Greenjackets in 2021, with more strikeouts than allowed hits, but a poor 7.11 ERA.
An injury suffered early in 2022 halted his progress, as he tore a tendon in a finger on his pitching hand in the team's third series of the new season.
Sent back down to the Braves facility in Florida, he spent two months rehabilitating before returning to the mound for the rookie ball team in early June. He had some rust to shake off, hitting two batters and allowing three runs from just one hit from his return outing.
Two days later, he was called into the office. He had been released by the franchise.
"I was maybe in the office for a minute or two tops," he recalls.
"[The manager] just said 'hey Ben, sorry to tell you the Braves have decided to release you. Thanks for everything that you've done for the organisation, you've been a great professional' and that's pretty much it. Shake hands, get out of there, then you're pretty much talking to the travel guy to sort your flights – which for me was the next morning – and pack your stuff up and go. It definitely happens in the blink of an eye.
"It definitely caught me off-guard and caught my agent off-guard, but that's the thing – it's professional baseball, your job security is there one day and gone the next. It's just the name of the game. My journey with the Braves has ended, but it's a good thing there are 29 other teams out there, so I'm definitely not done yet."
Ben Thompson in action for the Augusta Greenjackets - a minor league affiliate for the Atlanta Braves. Photo / Supplied.
Now with experience in an MLB farm system, Thompson will join the Auckland Tuatara's bullpen for the Australian Baseball League this summer, looking to perform on home soil and hopefully catch the eye of MLB scouts – as Tuatara players Brandon Marklund (Kansas City Royals), Elliot Johnstone (New York Mets) and Jared Koenig (Oakland Athletics) have done in past seasons.
However, before that, Thompson is looking to play a key role for the New Zealand Diamondblacks in their bid to qualify for next year's World Baseball Classic.
The New Zealand team are in the qualification stages in Panama this weekend, looking to secure one of the two remaining spots in the 2023 tournament. They began their campaign with a 12-7 defeat to Brazil on Saturday morning.
The way the qualification tournament is structured, teams essentially need to win three games before they lose two. Losing two games would see the Diamondblacks eliminated from qualification.
The Kiwi side have named a strong team, featuring several minor league players, and a mix of rising and established talent. With Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Pakistan also in the draw, Thompson expected it would be a tightly contested weekend.
"Other teams will have some good players, for sure, and some guys that might have major league service time and minor league players as well, but we're going to have a very competitive squad against some of those countries who, historically, might have been better at baseball than us," Thompson says.
"I think it will be a very competitive qualifier across the board; I don't think any one team is stacks ahead of the lowest team, so it will be about who shows up and plays the best brand of baseball."
