ST. LOUIS — Like lots of kids who grew up in the St. Louis area, Collinsville native Tanner Houck had a dream of growing up to play Major League Baseball. Over the past few years, quite a few players from our area have realized that dream. But not many have had a more impressive debut than Houck.
The 24-year-old right-handed Mizzou product knew he may get a chance with the youth-infused Red Sox in 2020, but not even he could have written the start any better.
In his three starts with Boston, Houck went 3-0 with a miniscule .53 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings. And he did it against the Marlins, Yankees and Braves, three teams that ended up in the postseason.
Houck joined 5 On Your Side sports director Frank Cusumano on his radio show on 590 The Fan, KFNS earlier this week to talk about his start in the Majors.
"It's definitely a better experience than I could have ever drawn up myself," Houck said. "You're talking about the best hitters in baseball across the world. So being able to face those three elite lineups that are now in the playoffs was truly amazing. It was a great experience and it honestly pushing me even harder to be ready for 2021 because I know what I'll be going up against."
When he was on the mound, he was locked in. But now that he's had some time to
"Definitely I've had that 'Oh wow I can't believe I did that moment.' And you can't put it into words.... As a baseball player I've been saying I wanted to play in the Major Leagues since tee ball, and to finally get that dream come true is beyond words."
Houck was drafted 24th overall by the Red Sox out of Mizzou in 2017, and has spent the last three years learning and honing his craft. Now the rest of baseball has seen just how good he can be.
The righthander said his style and Major League comparison is very similar to that of a certain lefthanded star teammate of his.
"In terms of pitch style and kind of mechanical, I've always said Chris Sale," Houck said. "Even in college I was saying that. We're definitely both cross-fire low, three quarter arm slot, along with a two seam slider and four seam."
But this season wasn't just about impressing on the field. Houck has another cause close to his heart, that he made known this year: Adoption.
"It all kind of stemmed from my little sister, and her first experience coming into the home, with me and my mom was her coming to a high school baseball game of mine. I was playing JV baseball for Collinsville High School, and I was actually getting ready to go out and pitch and I saw my mom walk up with a little girl in a stroller. I was like, 'Who is that?'. And she goes, 'It's your new sister.' So definitely before I'm getting ready to pitch culture shock hit me. I was like, 'Oh, OK. Here we go... I have a new sister.'," Houck said. But honestly she's the best thing to ever come into my life. She's truly a bright spot that I'm so fortunate to have."
So, Houck has started his own charity called Pitch For Adoption. He pledged for every strikeout this season he'd donate $100, and encouraged others to join him.
"Every strikeout this year that I had, I donated $100. I believe I ended the season with 21 strikeouts. And we recently just reached my goal of $5,000 for the year," Houck said.
But all of his early success in the big leagues isn't getting to his head. Houck knows he now has to build on his breakout debut, and keep what's important in focus to keep him on the right path no matter how much fame and fortune could be coming his way.
"It boils down to just knowing where you come from and staying true to who I am and never kind of deviating from that path. I have a great group of friends from before high school and high school that I continue to lean on, they've been with me since day one. And of course family is always there and I know they will be with me till the end. And it's all about surrounding yourself with individuals that are good for you, I think is a great starting point," Houck said. "And just knowing that this game is built on failure. You're going to fail, you're going to have struggles. But it's about how you come back from that adversity and grow."