Giant leap: From firefighter goals in 2018 to now, Sacramento’s ‘Slingin’ Sammy’ dazzles
Before he went by Sammy Long, he was known as Sam.
His nickname since his youth has been “Slingin’ Sammy” for the way he could deliver a baseball better than anyone around him.
By any name or measure, Long has found out just how rewarding this sport can be, how unforgiving it can be and how satisfying again. He can speak of changes, from name shortening to body and mind makeover.
It all came to a head during an emotional moment Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, when the 25-year old, left-handed Del Campo High School graduate surveyed his surroundings and things seemed to come to a standstill. He walked off a Major League Baseball mound as a member of his boyhood favorite Giants, sparkling in his big-league debut. Long struck out seven Texas Rangers over four-plus innings in retiring 12 of the 14 batters he faced, including five in succession by strikeout.
The Giants lost 4-3 in 11 innings but the winner of the day — the whole spring, really — was Long. So were those who flew to Texas to watch, including his family and Sacramento State baseball coach Reggie Christiansen. They cheered him and waved back at him.
“That was above and beyond right there,” Long told reporters after the game. “Everything that I’ve dreamed of (was) right there. It’s been a crazy few days, but that was probably the most comfortable I felt in these last three days. On the mound, I felt like I was in my element. That was a really awesome day.”
An awesome day to officially scrub away the dreadful conclusion to what Long thought was the end of a short baseball career. He was cut loose by two clubs and was suddenly out of the sport. It was a a jolt for any guy who was so used to being the leading man. His effort with the Giants after dominating appearances with the River Cats is storybook stuff, which is fitting since Long has pondered a screenplay in which he tools around Sacramento on an electric bike as something of an eco-endorsing hero.
Long’s rise and baseball end
Long showed great promise as the ace at Del Campo, graduating early in the winter of 2013 to compete at Sacramento State, where he won 19 games over three seasons on some of the program’s finest teams. The momentum carried into the professional ranks as an 18th-round draft selection of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016.
The Rays released Long on the final day of spring training in 2018. He was spent, done with baseball, ready for a new career at 22. He took classes at Sac State in fall 2018 with aim of becoming a firefighter but. discovered that he wasn’t quite done being “Slingin’ Sammy.”
“He called me one day to say he needed to talk and I told him I was here for him,” Christiansen said. “He said he wanted to give baseball another shot and what do I think? Absolutely! Then he really got back into it.”
On Wednesday after his sparkling Giants debut, Long said, “I think the day I decided to give it another shot was the day I started believing. When I showed up to spring training this year and actually proved to myself that I could go and get outs at that level, I proved myself right.”
Long went to Optimum Athletes, a Sacramento facility designed to work with athletes of all ages to improve mind and body. Getting healthy from a lingering disc issue helped boost Long’s confidence. He impressed Optimum Athletes co-owner Ryan Mattheus, a Galt High School and Sacramento City College product who later pitched in the majors. Mattheus urged Long to keep at it. Long was touching 92-93 mph on his first day working out at Optimum Athletes and soon gained 25 pounds to his current 200.
After signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2019, Long posted a 3.06 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 97 innings for Class A Kannapolis Intimidators in North Carolina.
After not playing in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Long opted for free agency.
Long signed with the Giants in November 2020. In six Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento appearances, including five starts, Long struck out 37 over 22 2/3 innings with a 1.99 ERA. He struck out his first eight batters in his River Cats debut and has struck out 44 of 98 batters he has faced this season at any level of play. Long was awed Wednesday to be on the same diamond and in the same dugout as players he rooted for as a teenager, including catcher Buster Posey. The Giants also shared in some of that awe.
“I don’t think we could have drawn it up any better for Sammy,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said after Wednesday’s game. “I thought he was poised. He obviously used all of his weapons and was able to execute all of them for strikes. He had great carry on his fastball. I think the line is incredibly impressive for the first time out at the major league level. It was just an excellent performance all the way around.”
‘This game can be cruel and it spit Sam out at one point’
Paul Martinez has seen Long’s act for years. The longtime area high school baseball coach first met him when Long’s father, Trent, brought him to a summer baseball practice. Long was 12.
“His dad brought him out one day and said, ‘Can Sam work out with your varsity guys?’ Sure,” said Martinez, who was Long’s high school coach at Del Campo. “It’s been a really good relationship since. We went to dinner when he told me he was ready to give baseball another go. He knew it’d be incredibly difficult, but he was determined.”
Martinez grabbed a seat behind home plate during one of Long’s sparkling River Cats outings.
“My mouth was open for three innings,” Martinez said. “I could not believe how good Sam was. I was in awe. It was the best pitching performance I’d seen at that level. Ten straight batters, he slayed those guys. We were all just sitting there in awe. That was special. We knew he wasn’t going to be here very long and two weeks later, he’s with the Giants.
“He’s not even the same guy he was in college. Physically, Sam’s a totally different person. He worked for it and earned it. He texted me the other day, ‘Coach, I’m starting Wednesday!’ Watching what he did to the Rangers, it was the thrill of a lifetime. Next to my kids being born, it was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Christiansen said he was thrilled at what he saw Wednesday, as was his high school senior son, Ryan.
“Sam was awesome,” Christiansen said. “He was so good. Just his story, his ups and downs, his journey to where he is now, how much he’s grown as a person, how he’s changed his body, and how difficult it is to get into the bigs, it’s just all amazing.”
Christiansen added, “Everything came so easy for Sam early. He graduated early in high school, started big games as a freshman. He was rolling. Sam had a bad taste with baseball when it ended. The time off allowed him to get healthy, to get stronger. This game can be cruel and it spit Sam out at one point. He one day decided he wanted things to be different, to change his story.”