BELLVILLE — Before he was a rising star in the New York Yankees farm system, Travis Hissong was a kid from Bellville with a big league dream.
The 2010 Clear Fork graduate wants to share his dream with his hometown.
A hard-throwing right-handed reliever, Hissong will host a pitching clinic Sunday afternoon at Clear Fork High School along with Colts’ coaches Rusty and Joe Staab. The event will run in two sessions and is open to players age 12 to 18.
The first session, for players age 12 to 15, will run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. High school-aged players (16 to 18) will receive instruction from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cost for the clinic is $50 and players can register the day of the event.
“This is a chance to give back to the community and interact with young players from the same area where I grew up,” Hissong said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
Hissong led Clear Fork to a state championship in 2010 before heading to Wright State University. He wasn’t drafted coming out of college, instead signing a rookie free agent deal with the Yankees in the summer of 2014.
Last year was Hissong’s most successful season as a pro. He was a combined 6-1 with a 1.88 earned run average and 84 strikeouts at Class A Charleston, Advanced A Tampa and Double A Trenton.
Three years in the minors have taught Hissong a lot about baseball — and life. He plans to impart some of that knowledge Sunday.
“When I was coming up, I don’t remember a lot of camps or clinics where you could learn about what college and pro baseball are like,” Hissong said. “I want to share my experiences and hopefully answer any questions the kids might have.
“I plan to talk about college baseball and what life is like the in minors.”
Joe Staab, who was a member of the 2010 championship team, isn’t surprised to see his former teammate giving back to the community.
“He’s talked about doing this before, but it was never the right time. We finally decided to pull the trigger,” said Staab, who played at Heidelberg University and was the head coach at Wynford before returning to Clear Fork this year. “We had a lot of great support when we played, so Travis wants to return the favor.”
As a member of the Yankees organization, Hissong is no stranger to working with young players.
“We’ve done a lot of camps for the Yankees and have taken part in Hope Week,” Hissong said. “This is the first time I’ve been able to do something for my hometown.”
Hissong won’t have much time between the clinic and the start of spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 14 to the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, Florida. The organization hasn’t announced its non-roster invitees to big league training camp yet.
“Right now I’m a minor league spring training invitee, but there is a chance I could be in the big league camp,” he said. “This is a World Baseball Classic year and we have a lot of guys who will be leaving to pitch for their countries. They will need pitchers on days when there are split squad games, so hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to face some big league hitters.”
