North Xtra: Shaler grad helps St. Johns win title
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John Bachman proved to be the ace of the staff for Saint Johns all season long.
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It is 15 minutes before his scheduled start and the most reliable pitcher on the most reliable team in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation League is nowhere to be found.
St. Johns-Lefty's manager Tom McCarthy is not worried that his starting pitcher is still not at the field. He knows that just as consistent as John Bachman is on the mound, he is also consistently late.
"Sometimes he drives me crazy, he gets there 10 minutes before the game," McCarthy said.
"I ask him 'Are you going to warm up?'"
Even now at 26 years old, an older pitcher in the league relatively speaking, Bachman is not a major proponent of warming up.
"I don't believe in that warming up stuff," Bachman joked. "If my arm is going to fall off, it is going to fall off on the mound."
It's tough to argue with his tactics, they have worked to near perfection thus far for Bachman and St. Johns.
As the ace of the staff this year, Bachman helped lead St. Johns to its sixth consecutive Federation League title. It was the team's fifth with Bachman on the roster.
"He is the best we have," McCarthy said. "Johnny is our number one pitcher. He is reliable; he is there when I need him. He will do anything -- relief, long relief -- he is the best we have and he showed that coming down the stretch."
Bachman was 2-0 in the St. Johns playoff run that included a two-game sweep of Bellevue in the semifinals and a three-games-to-one championship series win over the Steel City Black Sox.
"He showed what he had in those playoff games he won," McCarthy said. "I know that when I give him the ball, we will be in the game if we play good defense behind him."
Bachman pitched a team-high 492/3 innings, including two complete games and only allowed three earned runs all season to bring his ERA to a miniscule 0.54.
He struck out 44 and only walked seven in finishing 7-2.
St. Johns now advances to the National Amateur Baseball Federation regional in Buffalo. It opens the double-elimination tournament with two games today. If St. Johns wins at least one game today, Bachman will get the call in the third game on Friday.
Bachman is a 2003 Shaler Area High School graduate and still currently resides in Shaler.
After high school Bachman went on to play at Seton Hill University for four years. He signed a professional contract in the New York State League after college and played for the Oneida Barge Bucs. In 2008 he continued his professional career with the Slippery Rock Sliders of the Frontier League.
Nowadays Bachman works full-time for EQT Corporation Downtown, hence the last-minute arrivals to games.
Taking over the role as the staff ace for St. Johns, Bachman is not the least worried about any pressure that may come with that. After playing professionally for two years after college, Bachman feels at ease in the semipro Federation League.
"[Being the staff ace] is nice. You play in games that matter and you have to turn it on a little bit," Bachman said. "But it is not pressure. You are not playing for a paycheck."
First Published August 4, 2011 12:00 am
