TL1 San Antonio Missions

Geer's Passion Still Motivates Him

Published on May 21, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release


Josh Geer still has the passion.

It's been 10 years since his professional baseball career began in the San Diego Padres' organization but through the highs, lows and other challenges along the way, the Missions' 30-year-old right-hander's love for baseball and the dream of returning to the major leagues has remained stronger than ever.

As the years go by that determination carries plenty of weight for Geer, who was on the Padres' pitching staff during the 2008-2009 seasons.

"I just love playing," Geer said. "It's fun to me. I love going out there and competing. My body still feels great. I still feel like I can pitch at the big league level. That's my goal.

"I feel great like I did during the 2007-2008 seasons. I'm going to keep going as long as I can."

This season has been encouraging. His 1-5 record is misleading as the Missions' starter owns a 3.31 ERA with 26 strikeouts, while surrendering no home runs. That's quite an improvement for Geer, who gave up 11 homers last year while compiling an 8-5 record and 3.41 ERA with San Antonio.

Though a better record would be nice, Geer can't complain about the overall effort.

"It's going good so far," said Geer, who has spent most of the past three seasons with the Missions. "During spring training, I worked on getting my arm built up to be a starter. I'm staying consistent with my pitches.

"I'm keeping the ball down and getting away from giving up home runs. That's something I have struggled with in the past. The main thing I'm keeping our team in the game. You can't control how many runs your team is going to score. I just want to give us a fighting chance each outing."

The Missions are also pleased with Geer's work. He's been known as a reliable starter since the Padres drafted him in the third round out of Rice in 2005. Only now, the approach is more refined and experience is present.

"Josh knows how to pitch," Missions' pitching coach Jimmy Jones said. "There's no fear because he has been through everything. He finds ways to get guys out. He throws quality strikes. He knows how to get people out. I still think he is a big league pitcher. I'm hoping he gets the chance to get back there."

Being steady on the mound isn't the only good thing happening for Geer. During the offseason he got married. In addition, he and his wife (Katie) became parents to son Jett.

"It's good being a first-time dad," Geer said. "It's definitely been a new experience for me. Getting up and helping my wife feed him every three hours when she is in town and changing diapers. It is a new experience, but I love it. He's come to a couple of games, which was nice."

Through it all, Geer has been surrounded by memorable accomplishments, including the Missions' 2007 and 2013 Texas League championships. During the 2007 title run, Geer was also named TL Pitcher of the Year after registering a 16-6 record with a 3.20 ERA and 102 strikeouts with 27 walks.

"Winning the championships just came," Geer said. "It was fun. I was fortunate to be in the right positions. That first one we got hot at the right time close to the end of the year. We had a lot of team chemistry and that helped us. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

"Last year's was very similar. We were good, but we needed that extra step. We started turning it on at the end and guys started getting excited. We ended up making the playoffs. It took us five games in both series. We were on the grind, but ended up pulling it out."

Although he's had impressive accomplishments on the mound, Geer's biggest victory came away from the baseball diamond when he overcame a bout with cancer during the 2011 season.

Geer was coming off a rough year at Tucson (Triple-A Pacific Coast League) and was hoping for a brighter campaign. After getting a victory in his first appearance, the pitcher was diagnosed with stage three melanoma.

It was a big blow to say the least. Although that ended his season, the setback was unable to destroy Geer's fighting spirit. Despite going through chemotherapy and having his lymph nodes removed from the right side, he became more determined to make a comeback.

"It was definitely an experience," Geer said. "I had no idea what I would have to go through. I was more worried about not pitching again than I was about them taking out my lymph nodes. Going through chemo was tough. All I wanted to do was get back to baseball.

"It did open my eyes. This is just a game. Your life battles and your family are more important. Luckily, I am still playing baseball and the cancer is completely gone."

Geer returned for the 2012 season and put together a combined 7-10 record with a 5.29 ERA during hitches with the Missions and Tucson.

Although the year might not have been successful as far as wins and ERA, it was still a major step in the right direction.

"During the 2012 season I was working out when I was still on chemo," Geer said. "I wasn't fully there. Going into last year I was able to get stronger and get back to my normal self. I felt pretty good. Now, I feel a lot better this year."

Since he is a cancer survivor, Geer uses his experience to help others, who might be going through a similar situation.

"I don't mind talking about it or helping people out," Geer said. "It's inspiration to me to be able to help people through it. You just have to stay positive. To prevent something like that happening, I always tell the guys in the clubhouse to wear sunscreen."

Now, he's hoping to accomplish more. While Geer tries to return to the Padres, the right-hander also makes an effort to help other Missions' pitchers succeed.

After all, Geer knows what it takes to get there. His advice is valuable.

"I try to help them feel comfortable, because I know what I felt like coming through here in 2007," Geer said. "I wish I would have known then what I know now. I try to help them with the same things that I have learned.

"If something is going wrong, I can tell them about the mechanical part or the mental part. The mental part is so important. Whatever happens you have to calm yourself down and take it pitch by pitch. You can't be overwhelmed out there. You have to pitch your game. I want to get back to the big leagues, but I want to help them get there, too. I would love to see that."

No doubt Geer will set the example.

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