Athletes in Action caught up with Mineral Wells Steam closer Andy Womack (Wichita State) to get his thoughts on this summer in the Texas Collegiate League. Unfortunately, Womack felt pain in his elbow last week and will possibly miss the rest of the summer.
What does the typical Andy Womack game day look like?
Andy Womack: “The typical Andy Womack day would be sleeping until about 11:30, getting up, doing laundry, and going to discipleship for two hours depending on if it’s at 1 p.m. or noon. I do that for two hours, go home, get stuff ready, play my guitar, maybe take a quick power nap, get up, go to BP, hang out at BP, go home, take a nice cold shower to refresh myself, and then come to the game ready to go. So that’s a typical game day for Andy Womack.”
Do you have any superstitions on the baseball field?
AW: “I have plenty of superstitions. I drink an energy drink around the third or fourth inning of every game and about the same time, I clean my cleats and I polish my cleats to shine them up. Then I lace them up about the fifth or sixth inning. That’s about my superstition routine.”
Why did you come to Mineral Wells this summer?
AW: “The other doors closed and I just knew that God wanted me to be here this summer and to influence these guys and share my knowledge of the game. Being able to influence these guys and come down and play good baseball, I’ve really enjoyed it down here this summer.”
How does it feel to play for a prestigious college program like
Wichita
State ? What is your role on that team?
AW: “It’s pretty incredible to be playing there. I didn’t start out there, so I don’t take it for granted. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. Playing in the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals is something that I’ll remember for years and be able to tell my grandkids someday. So it’s definitely been a blessing. God has blessed me with that talent to do it. My role next year will actually be the closer role. (
Wichita
State head coach) Gene (Stephenson) has left that up to me. We lost our closer this last year to the draft, so he’s leaving the bullpen up to me I guess you could say. I’m ready to step into that role. I’ve done it before, and I’ve done it this summer, and I love closing. It’s something that I enjoy doing, so I’m looking forward to it.”
You didn’t go to
Wichita
State directly out of high school. What was the road like for you leading up to WSU?
AIA: “Coming out of high school, I wasn’t recruited for baseball really. I went to a small NAIA school in Missouri called
Evangel
University . I went there just to be playing a sport while I’m in college. I was there for a semester and things fell through, so I ended up going to
Tabor
College in
Hillsboro, Kansas . I don’t know if people have heard of it, but it’s about a mile each direction and even smaller than Mineral Wells. I went there and played two seasons there and did really well. During the summer I would come back to Wichita and play with the Wichita Braves, and a lot of guys from
Wichita
State were on the team or were on teams that we played. I always did really well and always thought I could do better. Tabor was a great experience. It prepared me for pitching everyday or every three days and being able to dominate. It’s always been my dream to be at
Wichita
State , so it’s something I wanted to do. I just prayed about it. God opened the door and got me on there, so the rest is history.”
The summer with the Steam is full with both spiritual things and baseball. How are you able to mix the two?
AW: “For me, it’s easy. For a lot of guys, they really struggle with how God can help you do this and that. But for me, it’s easy. He’s given me the talents to do this. He’s blessed me with the ability and opportunities that I’ve had to come out and play this great game. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to throw. A little more on my side is that I throw the ball out there, but I think God helps them miss a little more than I throw it by them (laughing). I just try to thank Him and give Him glory and just rely on Him for everything. For me, it’s easy. I just go out there everyday knowing that I can do just do my best and He will be proud of me.”
What are your career aspirations?
AW: “Obviously my career goal is to play professional baseball. I’ve had a few talks this year, but I’m looking forward to coming into this year as a go-to guy and being able to have an opportunity to hopefully get drafted and play pro ball, however long that takes. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be graduating in May. So I’ve got a lot of things ahead of me and am just interested to see what God has in store and see what else he is going to bring to the table. I’m looking forward to it.”
What do you say before every inning when you kneel behind the mound?
AW: “What I say on the field is pretty much a prayer, and it’s almost the same prayer every time. I kneel down and I say, ‘God, give me the strength I need to do this. Let it be Your will. Be my strength I need to go one pitch at a time. Help me be able to focus and let this be for Your glory.’ That’s pretty much about it. I just try to keep it simple like that because baseball is a simple game when it comes down to it.”