Bryce Jarvis Inside and Outside the Lines
May 21, 2021 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
"Arizona wants you here, you cool with that?"
That is Bryce Jarvis' interpretation of his draft day call from the Arizona Diamondbacks. With about a 20-second heads up from his agent, Jarvis found out he was being drafted into the first-round of the big leagues. A dream he's been chasing since childhood, becoming a reality. Just like that: professional baseball player.
Well, not just like that. Entering the MLB draft during a global pandemic and after a canceled college baseball season are just a few of the hurdles Jarvis and every other drafted player had to go through, but when the call came in-it made it all worth it.
"It was a good day spent surrounded with friends and family and it's something I won't ever forget," said Jarvis. "I came back in the room after taking the phone call, and I think everyone kind of knew...it came through and it was awesome."
Bryce Jarvis, 23, was born into the game of baseball. His dad, Kevin Jarvis, was a Major League reliever for 12 years and that upbringing shapes a lot of Jarvis' outlook on the game and life. Even with his dad's Major League career, he says he didn't feel pressure to pursue baseball. In fact, when selecting colleges, he was mainly looking at schools with good engineering programs.
Jarvis did end up going to school to play baseball, and he landed at Duke for two reasons: 1) their engineering school and its reputation. 2) his ability to make a strong impact on the baseball program.
And Jarvis certainly made a dent in both of those areas. In his three years at Duke, Jarvis studied mechanical engineering and pitched the program's first-ever perfect game.
Jarvis said he always been interested in figuring out how things work. He also loves all the data and analytics that come with the pitching side of things and thinks his insight into that even helps with his pitching performance.
"I always thought it would be really cool to get into some sort of job at NASA, be an astronaut...maybe, maybe not...it's always been something that intrigues me," he said.
As far as the perfect game goes, Jarvis is reflective yet humble when retelling that story.
"It's definitely one of my favorite memories, between the lines," he said. "No one ever does something like that alone...getting to share that with my teammates was really special."
In the 8-0 win over Cornell, Jarvis logged a career-high 15 strikeouts and managed only one three-ball count. "I ended up punching the guy out on a front door slider, and then from there I pretty much knew I had it," he said with a smile.
For now, Jarvis is putting his outer space dreams aside and chasing his baseball career-and so far-it's working out pretty well.
Jarvis got his first start with the Hops on May 6. He pitched again on May 14 where he logged 6.2 innings, giving up only two runs. In his latest appearance on May 20 against the Vancouver Canadians he pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. He has a 1.20 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 15 innings so far in the season.
"[Baseball] is definitely something that I feel like I was put here to do," said Jarvis.
Northwest League Stories from May 21, 2021
- Bryce Jarvis Inside and Outside the Lines - Hillsboro Hops
- Frogs Drop Third in a Row, 3-2 - Everett AquaSox
- Indians "MacIver" Way to Three-Game Streak - Spokane Indians
- Van Eyk Shines as C's Win Eighth in a Row - Vancouver Canadians
- Yerzy's Return Spoiled by Canadians 2-1 Victory - Hillsboro Hops
- Ems Fall in Extras After Wild, Wacky Eleventh Inning - Eugene Emeralds
- Dust Devils Notch Eleventh Inning Walk-Off Win - Tri-City Dust Devils
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