Logan Whitaker had long road to the mound for NC State baseball
When NC State baseball takes Doak Field at Dail Park this Friday (weather permitting) against archrival North Carolina, redshirt sophomore right hander Logan Whitaker will be taking the mound to start for the Wolfpack.
Whitaker is listed as a redshirt sophomore, but the truth is he has been with the NC State baseball program for four years.
In 12 games this season, the older Whitaker has started nine of his 12 appearances and has a 3.57 ERA over 45.1 innings, allowing 37 hits and 20 walks while striking out 43. One would think that Whitaker is emerging as a breakout veteran.
The truth is until this year’s season opener, Whitaker had never even taken the mound for NC State. He had not walked out of the bullpen to throw a pitch in an actual game since he was a high school senior at Ledford High in Thomasville, N.C., in the spring of 2018, when Whitaker was the state player of the year for the 2-A class.
“It’s almost like you block out when you hear your name being called over the radio,” Whitaker recalled about opening day 2022. “When you take that first step between the lines and you take a deep breath, all that hard work kind of flashes into that moment.”
The improbable journey dates back to when Whitaker first arrived, when he had the first of two arm surgeries.
“I spent two years of collegiate career under the knife,” Whitaker said.
The first procedure was after Whitaker arrived in Raleigh, which Whitaker described as fixing an unstable elbow.
“Had some joint issues, some synovial fold issues, some little underlying stuff happening that wasn’t right,” Whitaker listed.
The second was full elbow reconstruction in 2020. That came after Whitaker felt the injury on the 21st pitch, a moment Whitaker vividly can still recall, of a bullpen session.
“At that point in my career, I was a 20-year old collegiate athlete who had not played a game,” Whitaker noted. “It was super demoralizing to me, to have worked that hard to get back and in a few pitches you are done.”
Whitaker had people tell him, “You need to find something you like doing outside baseball.”
He was not prepare to accept that. Even when he had a tight deadline to potentially pitch for 2022 and not making it for a scrimmage against Duke in the fall left him upset and disappointed.
Then came a trip to train in New Jersey that forced Whitaker to step out of his comfort zone. He called it the hardest month of his life, partially joking that adding about 25 pounds of weight was a primary reason for that.
The biggest thing he learned from that experience: trust his elbow. Too often, Whitaker admitted that he tended to shut down at the first hint of pain.
“The guys in New Jersey kept reminding me that pain is a good thing,” Whitaker added. “There’s nothing wrong anymore. … I was mentally weak, and Jersey really built that back up for me.”
Against Virginia Tech, Whitaker threw 101 pitches.
“I came out of the game, and I felt fine,” Whitaker noted. “Fastball was same velocity. I didn’t fatigue throughout the game.”
Emerging as a rookie performer in year four of college is a classic feel-good story, and one that has taught Whitaker valuable life lessons.
“What comes super hard to other people, I don’t view hard,” Whitaker admitted. “If you get banged up, have a crap game or the coaches are down your throat, you are making bad throws. So what? All you are guaranteed in this life is time.
“You have time.”
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