Baseball – Playing for dad: UL senior pitcher Zach Osborne keeps his father’s memory alive on the mo

Playing for dad: UL senior pitcher Zach Osborne keeps his father’s memory alive on the mound

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • June 4, 2010

The sequence unfolds so quickly prior to each of Zach Osborne’s starts that it can easily be overlooked, ironic given the purpose and meaning behind the ritual.

Once UL’s senior right-hander gets the baseball back after his final warm-up pitch, he takes off his cap and walks to the back of the mound as the opposing hitter digs into the batter’s box. With his head bowed, he recites a prayer for his late father, Thomas Russell Osborne, and kisses the initials "T.R.O." on the inside brim of his cap.

Zach then places the cap back on his head and turns around to face home plate. Briefly, he stops to write the initials "T.O." in the dirt behind the pitching rubber with his right foot.

It’s a touching tribute by one of the top pitchers in college baseball for his father, lost three years ago amid tragic circumstances yet never forgotten by his oldest son.

"I’m always thinking about my dad," Zach said. "During the National Anthem, I’m looking at the flag and thinking about him. After my final warm-up pitch, I say a little prayer and kiss his initials in my hat and tell him, know that I love him.

"I do all of that to honor him."

Zach will honor his father the same way at 1 p.m. today as the Ragin’ Cajuns (37-20) play Rice (38-21) in the NCAA Austin Regional in Austin, Texas.

It will be the 16th time this season that he has done the pre-game tradition, and his mother, Dana Osborne, will be sitting at Disch-Falk Field watching it all happen.

"That’s his thing," Dana said. "He is just talking with his dad. It’s very special to watch."

It’s also a something that forever links a father and son separated by tragedy.

The accident

Zach still remembers the day that turned life upside down for his family.

It was a seemingly normal day on June 22, 2005 when Zach, working as a lifeguard the summer before his senior year at Clear Lake High School in Houston, got a frantic phone call from his mother.

His father, employed at a local chemical plant, had been involved in a car accident while picking up food for co-workers during his lunch break. Fortunately he wore his seat belt but was injured and taken to the hospital.

"A guy ran a red light and hit him in the middle of the intersection," Zach said. "At first, I didn’t think much of it. He was tough, and I didn’t think anything could ever hurt him. I guess this time it was different."

Sadly, it was.

His father had suffered trauma to his spinal cord. The man who had taught Zach how to throw a baseball, hunt and surf was paralyzed from the neck down.

After a year in and out of the hospital and grueling physical therapy, his father came home the following spring yet was confined to a wheelchair. He continued to rehab and was able to attend a number of Zach’s games during his senior year.

"It meant a lot to see him out there," Zach said. "Given everything that happened, it was hard to keep my mind on baseball. It’s definitely hard when you’re not able to ever go out and play catch again with the guy who taught you how to play the game."

Despite the off-field drama, Zach blossomed as a prep senior. He moved into the starting rotation and earned first team all-district and second team All-Houston honors in 2006.

Multiple junior colleges and a handful of NCAA Division I schools, including Rice and Stephen F. Austin, showed some interest in him. He eventually signed with New Mexico Junior College, which was an 11-hour drive away and had won the 2005 NJCAA Division I national championship.

Soon after leaving for New Mexico, Zach suffered the toughest loss of his young life.

More bad news

Barely one month had passed in Zach’s first year of college baseball before he was blindsided with more devastating news.

On Feb. 21, 2007, some 20 months after the car accident, his father died. He was 41.

Then-New Mexico Junior College head coach Ray Birmingham, who altered Zach’s over-the-top delivery to a three-quarters release once on campus, shed tears with the youngster after hearing the news.

"I didn’t know what to think and didn’t know what to do," Zach said. "It was like a dream and just didn’t seem real."

Zach flew back to Houston the following day and spent the next week there with family. He briefly thought about transferring to a school closer to home, but his mother wouldn’t allow it.

In fact, Zach remembered what his father said after helping him move into his dorm room as a college freshman: "No matter what happens to me, I want you to keep playing baseball and never give up."

Eventually, Zach returned to New Mexico. His role on a loaded team was limited in 2007 — he went 1-0 in four appearances — as the Thunderbirds finished second at the NJCAA Division I national tournament.

"As the year unfolded, there were times when he wanted to go in the tank, but we wouldn’t let him," said coach Birmingham, who now leads the University of New Mexico program. "We used some tough love, but I knew that he was going to become a better man because of it.

"I’m so proud of him because he stuck with it."

His mother knows it wasn’t easy for Zach to be away from home, especially with younger brother Logan being only 14 when his father died.

"It tore Zach apart to be off at school when all of this happened because he was concerned about how his brother was doing," Dana said. "But what they’ve been through has brought them closer together."

Finding inspiration

The following fall, Zach caught the attention of then-Cajuns assistant coach John Szefc after pitching in the Texas Junior College All-Star game at Baylor University.

At least a dozen other NCAA Division I schools contacted Zach after that game, including LSU, Miami and Texas Tech.

Eventually, Zach narrowed his list to UL and Lamar. He signed with the Cajuns in the fall of 2007 after an on-campus visit, partly because it was a winning program close to home and he would have a chance to pitch immediately.

His numbers improved with more playing time at New Mexico Junior College as a sophomore, when he first started the pre-game routine to honor his father. Improved velocity and pitch movement due to his new release point translated into a 5-1 record in 17 appearances in 2008, largely as a reliever.

"Going to New Mexico was a tough step for him being that far away, but he grew up, matured and became so much more determined when he was out there," Dana said. "His dad was tough and strong, and I think he got more like that every day because of what he went through."

The Atlanta Braves drafted him in the 35th round in 2008, but Zach decided to join the Cajuns in an effort to gain experience and improve his pro stock.

In his first season at UL, after splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, he finished the year as the Friday starter. He led the team in multiple categories and posted a 5-3 record.

Zach continued his progression this season as a senior co-captain, helping the Cajuns earn a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title and secure a regional berth for the first time since 2007. He was first team all-conference as the anchor for a pitching staff with the nation’s sixth-best ERA and led the league in innings pitched (112.2), strikeouts (108) and starter ERA (2.56).

His 8-4 record is somewhat misleading as the team scored a total of two runs in his four losses.

UL coach Tony Robichaux, though, admires Zach for more than just his pitching ability. He needs 12 credits to earn his undergraduate degree and is also a positive influence in his everyday life.

"I love his dependability and the fact that he’s moved forward and decided to honor his father," Robichaux said. "I never met his father, but I can see in Zach what his father stood for. He leads by example, has a good moral compass and is a good person, and that matters more to me than what he does on the field."

The next step

While his time as a college pitcher will soon come to an end, Zach will likely get a shot to continue his career at the next level.

Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis expects Zach to get picked sometime after the 10th round in next week’s Major League Baseball first-year player draft.

Coach Birmingham believes that Zach has the confidence and ability to pitch in the big leagues someday.

Zach’s dream is to play baseball "as long as I can until somebody forces me to stop." Whenever that happens, he is thinking about becoming a coach.

Some say that would be a natural fit.

"Zach has found inspiration from his father, and through that he has inspired other people, too," UL first baseman Justin Robichaux said. "He is a great player, a great teammate and someone that will be a lifelong friend."

As a late-bloomer, his best playing days might still be ahead of him. Zach knows his success wouldn’t be possible without the love and support of his mother and brother, who will be a senior next fall at Clear Lake High and also dreams of playing college baseball.

"He’s always waited his turn and got overlooked for so long," Dana said. "It’s going to be a challenge at the next level, but given what he’s already been through I don’t think there’s anything he can’t handle."

Along the way, Zach will continue to honor his father every time he walks on the mound.

"He’s definitely what drives me and inspires me and pushes me when I think I can’t do something," Zach said. "Whenever I think I can’t do it, I know he’s there telling me that I can."