Tom Parsons: Who is he?

[Alleghenies]

Tom Parsons was born in Oklahoma City and was just a Midwest country boy growing up.  His family never had any extra money, but the one thing they learned and had was a great work ethic.  Tom’s father Henry worked as a small-time farmer with his brother (uncle) Wilbur, while Tom’s mom raised 7 kids (5 boys and 2 girls), with Tom being the 5th born.  Amazingly at the same time as raising the 7 kids, Tom’s mom somehow found time to work at the local five and dime store to help make enough money to help buy clothes for the children.  The family noticed at an early age that Tom was special at baseball and needed to get away for high school to have a chance to not be a farmer.  Tom’s father saved money by doing farm work all day and then bartending until late at night to send Tom to the Winter Springs HS Bears in 2019.

When Tom got to Winter Springs the first thing the coaches noticed about him was that he never wanted to leave the batting cages.  All Tom wanted to do was hit, he kept telling them that if he were a great hitter, he would then become a great catcher too because he would know what great batters were expecting.  The coaches bought into his philosophy and over his 4-year career in HS, he hit .333 while starting 181 games at catcher too.  He did well enough to get drafted in WIL in round 6 of the 2022 draft by the Marseille Fishermen.

In his first year in Marseille, he spent it in SA and started out well, hitting .350 in his first 2 weeks.  Then the problems came.  Parsons could not seem to see the ball anymore.  For a guy who does not usually strikeout, Parsons racked up 61 K’s in 254 AB’s, while starting 70 games.  He ended the year with a paltry .232/.266/.280 line.  Probably not being ready for A, Marseille decided to promote him to A-Ball the following year anyway. During the 2023 season, Parsons only started 38 games and hit .204/.252/.296, but the one thing he kept doing is working in the cages.  Going into 2024, even after his two bad seasons, he was named the #94 prospect in the WIL.  Then something bizarre happened and he was released.  There are rumors he broke into the stadium at night to take more batting practice, but those are probably just that rumors.

Noticing that Parsons was a free agent, GM Greg Abcarian reached out and offered Tom a minor league contract in the West Virginia organization and a promise of a spot on the SA team for the next couple years to get some seasoning. Tom’s first season in Kauai, he played in 58 games, while starting only 27.  In those appearances he did not hit well batting only .218/.329/.298. The big positive though was Tom was starting to reduce his strikeouts.    In 2026 Tom went between Kauai and Rosarito, but he did not warrant much playing time.  While getting 31 games in SA he demolished the ball and won a championship, but his time in A ball he looked over matched in just 16 games.  Parson’s continued to impress the WV organization with his work ethic, but now not just hitting the ball, but learning to catch and call the game.  2027 came and again (not happily) Parson’s was sent to SA to start as an overaged catcher. In 73 games he hit .322/.420/.421 for Kauai and he got another small call-up to A which did not impress.  2028 came and Parsons found himself not much in the WV plans and was traded to Yuma along with Simon Lemieux and a 5th round pick for 500K and Jonathan Francis.  While the rest of 2028 was a wash, Parsons was determined to work in the off-season and come back ready for 2029 and jump-start his career.   In 2029 for Calgary (AA), he got 99 starts (currently most in career) and did not perform much hitting, .208/.249/.290, but he became very proficient defensively.  In 2030 for Henderson (AAA) he started another 93 games and even hit .294/.318/.387, picking up the Platinum Stick Award at C.  In what seemed like a no-brain decision to renew his minor league contract, for the second time in his career Parsons was surprised and somehow not signed.

“It was absolutely heartbreaking that I was not offered a contract by Yuma.  I was excellent in 2030 and I figured if I started well in 2031, I could be Yuma’s starting catcher in no time.  The first phone call I got after not being signed was from GM Abcarian and that went a long way in deciding the negotiating process.  I was remarkably close to signing with Kentucky as they offered me an extremely aggressive bonus, but GM Abcarian came back one more time and I signed.  During the negotiations I knew that making the 2031 team in WV out of the gate was a long shot, but I thought I could be a call-up if an injury or someone just completely failed as long as I kept doing well, “said Tom Parsons.

Well Tom excelled in AAA for Mansfield and eventually got the callup when Tomás Silva, Scott Francis, Daniel Gallacher and Harley Board all failed to lock down the backup spot behind Germán Hernández.  When called upon Tom showed that he could handle his own at the plate and behind the plate. While only making 10 starts, he hit .333/.395/.394.  The team liked Tom some much, that they did not sign any catchers in the off-season, while Board was traded, Gallacher was a Rule 5 pick and let Francis go in the meantime.  Parsons came into Spring training and impressed the team so much that not only was he named the team’s backup; he also was named starter vs lefties.  This season has been a growing season for Tom, but he continues to impress at the plate and behind.  In 56 starts this year Tom hit .270/.284/.357 while throwing out 29% of base stealers and leading his pitchers to a CERA of 2.68.

What does the future hold for Tom?  No one knows, but the fans in WV all root for Tom as do his teammates.  Will Tom ever become a full-time PEBA catcher?  Maybe with his work ethic, he gets people to want to do their best around him.  When asked what he did with his signing bonus this is what Tom replied:

“Well first I had to pay the taxes on it, but after that I gave 200k to my parents.  I kept the rest just in case I never got to the big leagues.  I was raised by a great family and they worked their behinds off for all of us children.  The least I could do was give them money so they could live in retirement nice.  I also told them I will give them 12% of every paycheck I get.  That might not be a lot currently, but it sure will go far to help pay for the help they need.”

So whatever happens in the future Tom, good luck and know the people enjoy watching you play.