LAKE ELSINORE — After a three-year Major League Baseball career, pitcher Tom Eshelman called it a career after being released by the San Diego Padres on Oct. 16, 2022.
Although Eshelman announced his retirement on Dec. 5, 2022, he was lucky not to have to leave baseball as just over one month later, on Jan. 11, he was hired to be the pitching coach of the California League’s Lake Elsinore Storm, the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
Although the 28-year-old Eshelman only appeared in 31 career MLB games, he positively reflected on a career of highs and lows that took him to the pinnacle of the sport.
Eshelman, a Carlsbad native, played baseball for Carlsbad High School, lettering in baseball pitching while also playing behind the plate. In his senior season, he was named to the California Interscholastic Federation First Team and helped lead his team to the CIF championship game before falling to El Camino.
Despite his high school accomplishments, Eshelman was not selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft and decided to lend his pitching skills to the Titans of Cal State Fullerton. In his freshman year, Eshelman didn’t allow a walk through 63 1/2 innings, thus ending the season with a total of 115 2/3 innings and setting the NCAA baseball record for walks at 0.23.
“While in my freshman year, I had one of those unbelievable seasons that everyone has in their career,” Eshelman reflected. But not many can claim to have had the college career Eshelman had at Cal Fullerton, which saw him being named to the 2013 College Baseball All-America Team by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
Esehlman’s former CS Fullerton coach Rick Vanderhook described him as a pitcher.
“He just threw the ball where he wanted when he wanted,” Vanderhook said. “Some guys go up and throw 100 (mph) and get hit, and some guys pitch. He is a pitcher, in every term of it.”
In 2015, Eshelman would be drafted by the Houston Astros 46th overall. The Astros optioned Eshelman to Rookie Leagues’ Quad City River Bandits, where he appeared in four games.
The jump to a competitively deep Houston system was a difficult one, and that December, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
“To be drafted by an organization like Houston with a lot of prospects was humbling ..then I was traded to the Phillies,” Eshelman said.
The following year with the Phillies, Eshelman was able to move up the organization quickly, playing with the Clearwater Thrashers and Reading Fightin’ Phils in 2016 and starting 2017 with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
He would stay with the Phillies organization for four years, where he discussed the close relationships he made.
“I played for the Phillies for four years as I had my ups and downs,” said Eshelman. “I was in the wedding of two Phillies players who I keep in touch with as I met a lot of great people. 2017 was my best year as I started the AAA All-Star game.”
After being named the IronPigs’ Pitcher-of-the-Year, he found himself on the cusp of making the Phillies in 2018. It was at this point Eshelman would experience his first career setback, going 2-13 W-L with a 5.84 ERA in 2018.
Those struggles carried over into 2019, resulting in him again being traded, this time to the Baltimore Orioles. During his time with Baltimore, Eshelman would finally make his MLB debut on July 1, 2019.
“The Baltimore Orioles had a special place in my heart with a great class organization where I have met a lot of great people,” he said, but admitted there were tough times playing for a struggling franchise.
Eshelman added, “While with the Birds, I’ve had some rough years and struggles, when the stadium sells out it is a great place to pitch for the fans are in the game and know what is going on.”
Not an overwhelming pitcher, Eshelman’s strength was control and his ability to work the edges of the plate.
After three years with the Orioles, where he accumulated a record of four wins and six losses with a 5.77 ERA and 1.475 WHIP over 31 games, Eshelman became a free agent in 2022 and signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres before retiring last December.
In January, he became a pitching coach for the Padres organization. Although his MLB career was not what he had hoped, Eshelman looks back fondly on his time in the Majors and Minor leagues.
“While in the Minor League system, I got to see the country along with big cities,” he said. “I was in Norfolk, Syracuse, Buffalo, Jacksonville, and San Antonio while pitching for the Texas League what a unique experience while taking a tour of the country.”
There is a fine line between a long or a short MLB career. Now Eshelman will have a chance to teach other young pitchers, and at only 28 years old, he has plenty of time to make another MLB run, this time as a coach.
