It is once again time for the Major League Baseball Draft. As hundreds of prospects prepare to learn their fate and baseball pundits predict the results, former Aledo Bearcat catcher Creed Willems is reflecting on his first year in professional baseball.
On July 12, 2021, Willems was selected in the eighth round as the 227th overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles. On July 23 he had officially signed his contract and reported to the Orioles rookie team in the Florida Complex League.
“Rookie ball was great,” Willems said. “The first couple of weeks was just lifting, hitting, bullpen, and seeing live pitching before they got me in a game. Then I finally got into a few games over three or four weeks before the season ended.”
Willems played 10 games behind the plate in Florida before the end of the 2021 baseball season. Despite a batting average of just .167 in 24 at-bats, his game-calling ability impressed the storied club.
Due to the lockout that delayed the start of the MLB season, Willems got to work with the big league coaches and the other catching prospects for Baltimore during spring training.
“It rolls around and you’re among everybody,” Willems recalled. “From Low-A to Triple-A at one complex. Getting to learn from them and how they go about things was incredible. I got to travel with the big league team to four of the major league spring training games, which was a lot of fun.”
On April 28, 2022, he was assigned to Baltimore’s Low-A affiliate in Salisbury, Maryland, the Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League.
The season got off to a rocky start at the plate, but on May 15 in front of the home crowd Willems’ stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning. The Shorebirds trailed 2-1 to the Salem Red Sox, with right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez on the mound.
On the first pitch of the at-bat Willems swung wide and hit a two-run opposite-field home run over the left-field wall, giving the Shorebirds a 3-2 lead.
“It was surreal,” Willems reminisced. “I was looking for one pitch and one pitch only. I was sitting dead-red on a two-seamer and the first pitch was a 97 mile-per-hour two-seam. I saw it and it just kept going and going. You can dream of it happening, but in the moment it’s a totally different feeling. It was definitely one of my best memories of my career.”
It is rare in baseball for a batter to get a home run ball back as a personal souvenir, but one young kid came up to the bullpen with Willems’ home run ball so he could have it.
“I traded a few autographed balls by the whole team for it,” Willems said with a chuckle. “So I was able to get that ball back. It’s currently sitting right next to my TV at my house in Delmarva.”
He tripled later in the game, driving in another run and later scoring again in the 8-7 Delmarva win, snapping a six game losing skid.
The Shorebirds have eight weeks remaining in the 2022 season and Willems currently holds a .145 batting average with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, 10 RBI and 13 runs scored as of July 11.
Despite a rough early season in the batter’s box, his performance behind the plate has definitely attracted attention as he has thrown out 15 runners trying to steal and has a .988 fielding percentage.
“It’s been a little tough at first,” Willems admitted. “Right now, I've adopted the mindset that my first priority is at catcher. You could have a bad day at the plate, and they’re going to happen more often than you would like. But the fact of the matter is you could go 0-for-4, but if you call a good game and your team wins the game, then you did your job that day.”
Editor's Note: The Community News will continue to provide occasional updates on Willems’ career as it progresses.
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