Tim Zier Chat

Tim Zier is the first year Thunderbolt in 2016. He began his professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he spent a couple of seasons after graduating from San Diego State University. And today, I am pleased to be joined in the press box by Mr. Tim Zier.

Thanks for being here, Tim. Thanks for having me. How are you doing so far today? And so far, your time in Windy City.

Have you been enjoying yourself? I have. I've definitely settled down and got a lot. I got very comfortable.

It's a great place. It's a great venue. People around here are real welcoming. And it's been a lot of fun.

All right. I'll start you with the question I start most guys with when I interview them like this. Baseball, obviously, a big part of your life as you are playing professionally now. When did you first get started in the game?

I would say, to be honest, I probably was throwing a ball around and swinging a bat back when I could just learn how to walk. But probably, competitively, you know, tee ball like most guys. But I think I really fell in love with it and started to get serious about it when I hit the Little League years, definitely. But it's definitely been a big part of my life.

And it's something that I've done for a while now. How much did you dominate the Little League circuit in your neighborhood? Those were still one of the most fun times I could ever remember. Because one, I was blessed to have my whole family.

My coach and my dad is my head coach. I had my two uncles as my other coaches. And I was the only kid at the time throughout our family. So I was kind of the spoiled one.

But it was a lot of fun. And anybody with a good amount of talent definitely has a lot of success at that level. So it was definitely fun to dominate that at such a young age and helped me really fall in love with the game. So you come from a baseball family.

What was your favorite team to root for when you're growing up? I'm born and raised from the best city on Earth, sorry. Chicago people, but San Diego. So I've always been a Padres fan growing up.

I would go back when they were in Qualcomm. I would just go watch games with my family and stuff. So I've definitely been a Padres fan my whole life, I would say. It sounds like you're not gearing up to settle down into Chicago when the season ends and stay here.

Going back to San Diego. I mean, it's always fun to go back home. I always tell myself once I'm done playing this game, unless a big opportunity arises. I'm never going to leave San Diego.

But I'm obsessed with this lifestyle. And I love traveling and living in new areas. And I'm currently blessed to be living in Chicago because it is such a gorgeous place to be as well. So yeah, I'm excited to go home.

But I'm also enjoying my time here. And you get to be here during the summer, which makes a big difference. I'm sure winters in San Diego are much more pleasurable than they would be here. Very true.

I mean, I got a little taste of it right when I got here in April. But I'm sure that was nothing compared to what it can get around here. But it was definitely really cold that first couple weeks I was here. And I was definitely out of my element.

But yeah, San Diego is definitely a sunny and 70 all year round. So I'm definitely spoiled with that. You grew up a Padres fan. You said the Padres had great season in 1998 when they went to the World Series.

You were still pretty young at the time. Was that a fond memory for you? That was a fond memory because I remember just them being not nationally champs and just having that banner and that pent up being around San Diego. It was a good feeling.

Yes, I was very young. But it was just awesome for the city of San Diego because it has been such a long time that they've won anything, to be honest. But I definitely remember that. And unfortunately, I think we lost four straight to the Yankees, but still just to be there and for the city was pretty cool.

Were you into any other sports growing up or was baseball your main thing? Growing up, it was baseball and soccer. My mom wouldn't let me play football. And so I got to high school, which I praised her for that.

Kept me healthy and kept me quick on my feet. But obviously. Were you praising her for it at the time, too? Or is that a recent development for you?

No, not the time. But once I fell in high school, I was like, dang, I wish I would have played a little earlier. But growing up playing baseball and soccer, I formed so many friendships and so many memories. So it was definitely a lot of fun.

Baseball and soccer are pretty different sports just in terms of the pacing. The positions that you play in baseball, you've been an infielder. So I'm curious if any work in soccer that you do helps out with footwork in any way or any of those skills transfer or are they completely different games? Well, most definitely.

Even now, being 24 years old, I wish I still had my young 17, 18, 19-year-old legs back when I would play soccer in high school and stuff, because it definitely would keep me quicker on my feet and quicker side to side. And soccer definitely kept me in better shape and it helped me tremendously also in football in high school because I played running back in football. So soccer definitely helped me with a lot of my quickness and just helped me overall just being better shaped for baseball, too. Escondido High School, is that correct?

OK, so you played soccer football and baseball in high school. You were a three-sport star. But did you always have it in your mind that you were a baseball player purely? That's where your future lies, as opposed to the other sports?

Growing up, yes. Baseball has always been my first love and I always thought I would go somewhere or go far at least and play in baseball. But come high school, I kind of fell less in love with soccer and fell more in love with football. And I had a lot of success with that.

And then for a while there, I was thinking maybe I would go play football in college, especially once junior year rolled around in high school. And all the offers started coming in. But I kind of sat and waited a little bit. And my dad said, just wait until junior summer.

And then all my baseball offers came in. And that was kind of a sign that baseball was always a much of love. And I should probably stick with that, which I did. And I'm very happy I did.

Yeah, you definitely had some success in other sports, though. I got your college page pulled up on the San Diego State website right now, reading about your high school career. You ran for 1,332 yards, 19 touchdowns as a junior, 869 yards, 12 touchdowns as a senior. And it says you were all avocado league in soccer.

I don't know what that means. I assume it's a conference. But it just sounds great to be all avocado, anything, I think. Yeah, that was our league at the time.

I was actually a four-year varsity letterman in soccer. I was a four-year varsity letterman in baseball. And then I was three in football. But I think I was all CIF and football, junior and senior, maybe just junior, but I'm not sure.

But yet, the high school times definitely was a lot of fun for me. So many people nowadays just try to focus on one sport. But I would recommend against that, because just being an all-around athlete helps you in the future, like whichever road you do take in, whichever sport you do choose to settle down and pursue in the long run. You talked about some of the baseball offers that came into you when you were in high school.

You said that you grew up a Padres fan. And of course, the coach at San Diego State was Tony Gwyn. Was he involved in the recruiting process? Did you get to talk to him when you were in high school and try to make your college decision?

Yeah, 100%. I had quite a few offers that came in. But growing up, Tony Gwyn has always been one of my favorite players growing up and watching. And once I got the call from San Diego State, saying that they want to sit down with me and talk to me about scholarship offers and stuff like that, just to have him sit across from me in that same room was just such an incredible life experience.

Like I can't even imagine the first time I met him and talked to him and shook his hand. And that definitely kind of was in the back of my head. I definitely want to go here and play for this guy. And then another big thing that helped me choose San Diego State.

My uncle Freddie played football there. And I grew up watching him play football at San Diego State. And he would just tell me all the stories of how awesome it was to be in Aztec. So once I got freshman's sophomore year in high school, I was working hard trying to get that call.

And then once I did get that call and meet Tony Gwyn, it was kind of an easy decision for me at that point. Yeah, so it sounds like you, I don't know if you had your mind made up beforehand, but at least you were leaning in one direction even before the recruiting process started. But I'm sure there were other schools looking at you as well. What was the whole process like?

Did you consider any other places? Oh, yeah, I definitely did. My dad was kind of like my mentor during that process. He told me to kind of sit back and enjoy it because it only happened once in your life.

All these schools kind of fighting for you. Because once you choose one, then you're taken. And then now you've got to start all over and win a spot. But it was definitely fun to open letters up and read them and go visit places.

I went and visited Fresno State. I was pretty close to going there. I got a call from UNLV. I got a call from I went and visited University of San Diego as well, the Cross Town Rivals of San Diego State.

And just having all those calls and just going to travel and visit these places, it was definitely an incredible experience, just to go through the whole recruiting process. And it's not all I'll remember forever. Looking back on that now, and now a few years past your college career, you spent four years at San Diego State. You feel now like you made the right decision?

100%. 100%. I would not take my time in San Diego State and my decision, ever for granted. It was I had the most fun there.

And it was far away, enough for me from home. I was 30 minutes down south from where my family lives. So it's like I was far away enough, so they couldn't come check on me all the time. But I was close enough to go home whenever.

And then plus, they almost came to every home game as well. So that was just awesome to have such a family support throughout my whole career. But I definitely am happy that I chose to go there. We talked a little bit as well about Tony Gwyn, who was coaching at San Diego State.

And of course, Tony Gwyn got sick while you were there. And so I'm curious, to your experience with him, how much was he involved with the ball club while you were there in what kind of relationship did you develop with him? My very first year is when he was diagnosed. So he was involved partially.

But when he was going through all that, as a freshman, I was just trying to talk to him as much as I could as when he was there and stuff like that. But once he got better, like during the season, my freshman year is when I really clicked with him, I would make it a priority for me to go sit down with him at least once a week after a three game series and just watch film with him, just try to pick every bit of information out of that man's head. And I did that throughout my whole entire career. And I couldn't ask for anything more from him.

He was honestly just such an awesome mentor and taught me almost everything I could ever learn about this game. You ended up having a great career at San Diego State. You became their all time hits leader, spending your whole four years of college there. Do you have any positive memories that stand out above others as part of your college experience?

That stand out. I would definitely, my senior year was our best season when I was there. We had 42 plus wins. We were the favorite.

We won the tournament, went to a regional. But I would say the best memory was my junior year when we were the underdogs. I think we were the third or fourth seed in the tournament. Barely had a 500 average.

And we came in there and we just fought and battled and grinded and won that tournament. And that was the most memorable one or memorable one because no one expected that out of us. And just to make my first regional that year with the season that we had was just an incredible experience because it was just such a good group of guys and no one expected that out of us. Just review some of your college stats here.

You hit 322 over your four years finished with 301 career hits. 341 batting averages, a junior 319 batting average as a senior. And after you finished up in college, you were drafted in the 21st round by the Phillies. That was two years ago.

Tell us about that day that you were drafted and maybe the whole process leading up to the draft in terms of how you felt going in, if you felt that there were any teams that were interested in you and what were your feelings when you did get the word that you were drafted by the Phillies? First and foremost, I want to say the day I was drafted, probably one of the best memories of my entire life. Maybe bar none the best day of my entire life. I can't explain how amazing of a feeling it was just to sit there and hear my name be called and have my dad just start crying and give me a hug.

But besides that, I was kind of very bitter towards the draft because my junior year I did have the best season in my college career and I did get plenty of calls during that draft year. And it's a business and it is what it is that you just kind of have me as a senior sign. But at that time I was just like kind of bitter towards the draft so I just went back my senior year and enjoyed that and just knew that God had a plan for me. And then once the draft came I tried not to watch it at all but just knowing and just hearing my name be called once it actually did happen was the best thing on ever.

I do want to go back to your junior year. Like you said, you had your best year of your college career, 3, 41 batting average, 4, 11. On base percentage that season you stole 18 bases, you drove in 41 runs. You had a really successful year.

And a conventional wisdom and baseball tells you that the top talent gets drafted after the junior year. But for you, you went back to college, you had another great year. I'm sure you had a lot of fun going back to San Diego State and you did end up the next year in affiliated ball as well. So from your perspective, did it kind of work out for the best that you ended up getting drafted the next year instead?

100%. For how saddened and bitter I was towards not getting drafted in my junior year, I just sat down with my family and just realized that ultimately God had a plan for me. And me coming back my senior year was my most fun year I had throughout the entire year or throughout my entire career in college because one, we had our best season. We had our best record.

We won another conference championship. I went back with all my friends. And I was able to become the all time headslider. So and get drafted on top of it.

So it's like it definitely worked out for the best. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though at the time I was a little bitter about it. But now in the long run, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And I'm just very appreciative that I had the opportunity to go back for my senior year. So where were you at the time that you got the call that you had been drafted? To be completely honest with you, after it was kind of like the same thing my junior year, I got two or three calls in the top 10 rounds and then another call on the 14th and saying that they would take me. And they didn't.

And I just left my house. And I went to our church right down the road. And I was literally just sitting on this grass field, not listening, not doing anything. And I sat there for like an hour, just to get away, just to be by myself.

And then check my phone. I had 80 messages, St. concratches and that. Philly's, Philly's, Philly's, and I freaking drove home as fast as I could to see my dad.

And I was just like, wow, it finally happened. So you grew up a Padres fan, but I imagine you became a Phillies fan pretty quickly. You ended up going all the way across the country, starting out in the Gulf Coast League. When did you start compared to when you got drafted?

How was that transition for you going from college athlete to suddenly starting right away in the pros? It's definitely a tough transition because it's almost similar going from high school to college. You got to start all over. You got to start all over, make a name for yourself, grind, try to win playing time.

And just mainly for me, just adapting to the whole minor league professional lifestyle was probably the hardest thing. Like I played summer ball, like I've been prepared, but nothing prepares you for the minor league lifestyle. But it definitely was a lot of fun. I hopped right in and I had a good season my first professional year.

So I feel like I transitioned pretty well. Yeah, you did put up some good numbers your first year. And then you moved up to low A, where you started laughing. Got off to a good start last year as well before getting derailed by an injury.

Had you ever been seriously injured before? That was the first injury I would say my entire life to ever miss any games in any sport my entire life. And it unfortunately happened in my second year in professional ball. But like I said, everything happens for a reason.

And now I'm where I'm at and I'm enjoying every bit of it. So I mentioned last year, though, was fairly difficult for you trying to rehab from that injury. What was the process like for you? Were you able to adapt to it quickly?

Or did it take some time to process the fact that you were going to be out for a second to come out of time? The first month was definitely, I would say, the hardest with physical pain. Like I was very painful during rehab, trying to get my range of motion back and strength back and stuff like that. But mentally, it became harder and harder once guys the months would go on because I've never just sat there and not been a part of a team or been a part of a competitive atmosphere.

But I definitely locked in and I definitely got my work done and worked hard. I worked my tail off. And I got healthy and cleared two months before they projected me to. And I made it a point that I would get as healthy as I could so I could play as soon as I could.

So you came back from your injury. Did you rejoin the Phillies for spring training this year? I came back from my injury and I was ready to go and spring training. I was playing well.

And I was playing really well, actually. I was hitting well. I was playing good defense. I was doing everything.

And then, unfortunately, while I was going through rehab, they signed quite a bit of guys for a lot more money than they signed me. And just kind of how anything goes, it's how the business goes. They released me halfway through spring training. And it was kind of a shocker, but almost kind of a relief as well, because for so long, except for my first year, I've been out playing a lot of people.

And I felt like I wasn't getting the time or the innings that I deserved. But at the same time, being released was a blessing in disguise because I was healthy. And I was ready to go play anywhere. And I was blessed to get signed to here.

And I'm having almost as fun as I had in college. It's an amazing atmosphere. It's a great group of guys. And I just enjoy being able to get up and compete every day.

So. How soon after your release from the Phillies do you first year from Rambiga? I would say probably probably two weeks. I didn't know how the independent professional baseball leagues worked at the time.

But everything happened for a reason because usually you have to make a lot of, like I heard you kind of have to project yourself and make some calls and try to find any team that could sign you or any team that needs your certain skill set or position like that. I didn't know that. So I kind of just went home, enjoyed myself, and I didn't make any calls. But luckily for me, I was told at the exact right time that, hey, you need to start making some calls.

And then I had a connection who knew Will Flint, our pitching coach, and called him. And then Ron called me the day after and said, if you would have called me last week, I would have said that there's not a spot for you. So it's amazing how that worked out, like me, not even knowing that I should be making some calls to try to find some teams. But then he called me and said, hey, there's a spot open.

Are you ready to play? And I'm like, yes, I'm ready to play. Let's go. Yeah, that's amazing.

Timing really is everything. If you had been making those calls, you probably wouldn't have been a different team. Yeah, well, I hope that you're happy that you didn't. Very.

I'm very happy. And that's just a perfect example of how God's time and God's plan is everything. Because just one day earlier, I could have found a different team somewhere. And I could very well be there and not enjoy it as much as I enjoy it here.

And I'm very blessed and very happy of where I ended up, for sure. You mentioned having the connection with the pitching coach Will Flint, who is a San Diego native as well. You talked about how being here kind of reminds you a little bit of being in college. And I'm sure at least a small part of that is it seems like almost half the team is from out west somewhere, a lot of guys from California.

So you kind of have that base of familiarity with certain people, even if you don't know the guys here. I'm going to understand. Yeah, I checked the roster right when I signed. And the first name that came up to me honestly was Corey Bass.

I played with him with the Phillies organization for two years. And we were decently close. We hung out a few times. But it's like I gave him a call.

And he was like, all right, let's go strap it up. So that was my first familiar face. And then now being here and talking to a lot of guys, I always tell anyone who is in a part of the baseball world that the baseball world is the smallest world out there, compared to any sport. Because someone, somewhere you've always played with or have a similar connection to.

And it's just like any baseball team I've been on. You just connect with the guys and just enjoy yourself and just make more memories to come. It's amazing that it seems like the team goes through cycles in terms of bringing in people from different organizations. And I'm sure part of that has something to do with the connections that you have with a person in an organization.

But I know a couple of years ago, it seemed like half of the Thunderbolts team at some point played for the San Diego Padres system. And right now, there are several players from the Phillies organization, several players from the Tampa Bay Rays organization on this team as well. So it seems like a lot of guys knew each other coming in. And certainly they've gotten to know each other better while they're here.

And one thing I've gotten from talking to a lot of players on this team is that it's a great clubhouse. Have you gotten that sense as well? Most definitely. I do right away that first week in spring training, you kind of just get that vibe.

How's the vibe going to be in this clubhouse? It's going to be an easy going vibe. Or is it going to be kind of a tense vibe? But right away, a lot of the guys kind of collect.

And I was like, this definitely could be something great and is going to be a lot of fun this season. You talked about after you had been released by the Phillies, you kind of just sat around for two weeks. At that point, did you have any thoughts about maybe what comes after baseball? Or were you focused on getting back into the game at some point, getting ready for this summer?

I always have a backup plan ever since I signed. But not one thought came through my head that I was done playing because I've been in the professional level. And I've been mentored by one of the greatest hitters of all time. And in my heart and in my head, I believe I can hit with the best of them.

And I did. And professional ball and things just didn't work out for me as in playing time and just signing bonus and stuff like that. But not once did I think that I was done playing. And I'm not going to be done playing for a while there.

Honestly, I think I'm going to keep it rolling until my dad always tells me you'll know when it's time. But as far as I see it, as long as I'm young, healthy, and I can keep playing this game, why not? Because the real world's nothing. And not even close to as much fun as it is to come out here and play every day.

Yeah, I'm certainly not trying to push you out of the game or anything. But it also sounds like you've got a pretty good base of knowledge from talking to people in the family, and you talked about your relationship with your coaches in college. And it sounds like at some point in your future, you may have some coaching aspirations. Oh yeah, I've definitely thought about that as well.

I mean, just sitting around with Coach Gwen and just grasping every bit of knowledge from that man, I feel like I can take that and take my experience as well to a coaching standpoint and to a coaching level. And once I'm done playing this game, I definitely feel like there's a big possibility if the opportunity arises that I could coach as well. But we'll see. I'm not trying to think about that right now.

No, no, again, I'm not trying to push you out of the game. You did qualify or you were voted into the All-Star game this year, the 2016 Frontier League All-Star game. That had to have been a nice honor for you as well. Very nice honor.

I've only All-Star team. I've made my entire career, honestly, was back in literally. My first year in professional, I was named the minor league organizational All-Star for second base. But that's not like an All-Star team or an All-Star game.

So seeing my name on that All-Star team this year is definitely just a very good feeling. And just to experience an All-Star game will also be just memory that I will cherish always. All right, Tim, I'll let you go in a few minutes. Just want to get a few questions about you personally.

We'll step away from the game with baseball for just a couple of minutes. Let's talk about your favorite forms of entertainment. What kind of movies do you like to watch? Ooh, I'm a big, big movie guy.

But I would say I'm not biased to anything. I honestly like all movies. I like from action to comedy. Even a couple love flicks thrown in there.

I'll watch anything, honestly. But a couple of actors that stand out, because I can't just name one movie. Will Ferrell is one of my favorite comedy actors, Jim Carrey. I like Mark Wahlberg.

I love his movies. Let's see, who else is out there? Ryan Reynolds. I love Ryan Gosling.

Ben Affleck. I'll watch any and every one of their movies. But I definitely enjoy watching movies. So you like all kinds of movies?

If I were to say put on a 1950s musical on the bus one day, you wouldn't complain about that? That's a question in it a little bit. Everybody is going to draw the line somewhere, right? True.

I say I'm a huge movie guy, but I'd say I'm a big movie guy from up to 90s to now. Pretty much your life time. Like the present, yeah. Movies you can remember coming up.

How about music? If you're getting ready for a game, what kinds of things do you like to listen to? I'm a big hip hop guy. I love hip hop and rap.

Also, from California, I'm a big reggae as well. I love iration and revolution. But I'd say before a game, I definitely put on some hip hop, some Kevin Gates, some Fetty Wop, something like that. All right.

I'll ask you one more question. And I'll let you answer it however you like. But your favorite off-day activity, and you can go either way with this either your favorite off-day activity in terms of any time you've ever played, or maybe something specific to the Chicago area? I would say back in Provo in Florida, my favorite off-day activity would be probably grabbing a couple beers and going to the beach and just hanging out.

I love the beach, you know, being born in rain since San Diego. But here I would say just going downtown to the city, it's such an amazing nightlife in Chicago. Much different than San Diego, so I've definitely enjoyed that as well. So that's definitely been a lot of fun.

Well, Tim's here. I've had a pleasure talking to you for the last half hour. Thank you so much for stopping by. And speaking with me, I wish you the best of luck both personally and with the team the rest of the 2016 season.

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.