These Gamecock greats could be Yankees’ next stars. How they’re staying ready

Jordan Montgomery spends most afternoons in his parents’ backyard in Sumter, flipping through a World War II book while his golden retriever, Tuck, sprawls out in the shade. It’s a peaceful existence, though not quite the one Montgomery expected to be living.

A few mornings each week, the 27-year-old former South Carolina pitcher grabs a pack of Clorox wipes and drives down to Sumter High School. Charlie Barnes, a hometown friend and former Clemson pitcher, meets him there. Together, after carefully cleaning the equipment, Montgomery and Barnes lift weights in their old high school weight room, then grab their baseball gloves and throw bullpen sessions on the Sumter High diamond.

“I’m actually pretty lucky to live in a small town like I do and have the relationships that I have,” Montgomery said. “I have access to the high school. I have the varsity catcher catching for me.”

Still, it’s not Yankee Stadium.

If life were normal, if COVID-19 hadn’t shut down the world as we know it, Montgomery would be pitching in front of 50,000 fans in New York right now. Instead, an empty high school field in his hometown will have to do.

Montgomery isn’t complaining. He knows the threat of the coronavirus is far bigger than baseball, and he also knows what life is like away from the game he loves. He’s lived it for the last two years. After posting a 3.88 ERA in 29 starts in his rookie season with the Yankees in 2017, Montgomery tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left arm in May 2018 and hasn’t started a game in the major leagues since.

A month ago, before COVID-19 effectively canceled sports, the buzz out of the Yankees’ spring training facility in Florida was that Montgomery had returned to full health and was throwing even harder than he did before having Tommy John surgery. He struck out 16 batters in 11 spring training innings and was well on his way toward securing a spot in the big-league starting rotation.

Now, it’s back to waiting.

“This is a different scenario, so it’s easier to handle,” Montgomery said. “There’s nothing I can control. It was nice to get my feet wet during the spring just to see that I could do it again and see that the hard work I was putting in during the offseason was paying off. … That’s one thing that’s helping me not be itching to pitch again, because I know whenever the time comes I’ll be ready to pick up right where we left off.”

With the virus yet to hit its peak, there’s no telling when or if the major league season will begin this year or what form it will take.

Whenever baseball does resume, Montgomery should fill a prominent role on the Yankee pitching staff — and he isn’t the only Gamecock poised to make a splash.

Backyard hardball

Clarke Schmidt almost broke his brother’s thumb. There’s video evidence. Pull up Schmidt’s Instagram profile, and you’ll see him wearing his Yankees hat and a sleeveless shirt, firing 95 mile-per-hour bullets in his backyard in Acworth, Georgia. After Schmidt’s final pitch, the catcher hops into view, hobbling away in obvious pain.

That pitch hurt, but Clate Schmidt will be OK. He’s willing to take the risk. He’s always been.

Anyone who has followed baseball in South Carolina in recent years should be familiar with the Schmidt brothers. Clate pitched for Clemson from 2013 to 2016, while the younger Clarke threw for the rival Gamecocks from 2015 to 2017, adding a fun sibling element to an intense college rivalry.

These days, the Schmidt brothers find themselves at vastly different points in their lives. A first-round pick by the Yankees in the 2017 draft, Clarke is an ascending talent on the cusp of breaking into the big leagues. Multiple outlets rank the right-hander as the top pitching prospect in the Yankees organization. Clate, meanwhile, has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue becoming a pilot. He spent four years in pro ball, pitching primarily in the Detroit Tigers organization.

Now, Clate gets his baseball fix through his connection with his younger brother.

“I was down in spring training and watched every one of his outings,” Clate said. “My job was to watch film and kind of critique what we saw and elaborate on it. That was something really cool to be able to bounce off of each other how that outing went or what he could’ve done to improve — even though all his outings were stellar. His stuff has definitely taken another level right now.”

Pitching in big league camp for the very first time, Clarke showed why the industry is so high on him, flashing a mid-90s heater, a hard-biting breaking ball and posting a 2.57 ERA in four appearances. With every outing, his confidence grew.

“I got a little bite of it, and now I want the whole thing,” Clarke said. “It’s definitely motivating me during this down period.”

Clarke, like everyone else in the sports world, was disappointed when COVID-19 forced him into quarantine. But he’s also grateful for the time he’s able to spend with his brother and parents, Dwight and Renee, in Georgia. The Schmidts have long been a tight-knit family, pushed closer together through the challenges of life. A Marine colonel, Dwight served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while the boys were growing up. In 2015, at 21 years old, Clate was diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Clarke supported Clate through every step of his treatment, helping him beat cancer and strengthening an already unbreakable bond.

Those experiences have certainly helped the Schmidts remain positive and levelheaded during this anxiety-inducing pandemic. For the past few weeks, Clarke and Clate have played catch in their backyard and in the street in front of their house, and Dwight just put the finishing touches on a homemade pitcher’s mound. The whole family takes part in game night, playing card games, Cranium and Family Feud. Like much of America, the Schmidts found themselves mesmerized by Netflix’s smash hit “Tiger King.” And Clate, somewhat unexpectedly, got Clarke hooked on watching “Gossip Girl.”

“If I was to not take advantage of this moment and being around my family and spending time with them, I would be doing myself a disservice,” Clarke said. “If I sit here and say, ‘I wish I was doing this or I wish I was doing that,’ it’s not healthy.

“We all get to take a step back and realize where we are in our lives and just kind of stay where your feet are and be with your family or whoever you’re with and enjoy their company. It makes you value those relationships a lot when you’re able to spend time with them.”

Staying connected

Montgomery and Schmidt never had the opportunity to play on the same USC team. The Yankees drafted Montgomery in the fourth round in 2014, and Schmidt began his Gamecocks career a year later.

Still, the parallels between the two pitchers are undeniable. Both served as Friday-night aces during their respective USC tenures. Both belong to the same circle of college friends. Both had Tommy John surgery, with Schmidt having his just before the 2017 draft. And both are with the Yankees now.

The two crossed paths with the Yankees’ Double-A Trenton squad last season while Montgomery was rehabbing and Schmidt was working his way up the minor league ladder. They connected again in Tampa this spring and remain in steady communication.

“I’ve been getting to know him more and more,” Montgomery said. “I’ve just been talking to him and getting to know him and helping him through spring training a little.

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders and understands. If there’s any way I can help him, just kind of be a friend for him, any bit of advice I can give him, I’ll give it to him. Sometimes it’s intimidating getting into a new locker room like that, so I wanted him to at least have someone to talk to. Just wanted to be available.”

Availability is a little bit different now, of course, with Montgomery in Sumter and Schmidt in Georgia. After spring training ended prematurely and the team scattered across the country, first-year Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake set up a Google Doc for his pitchers to log their workouts and throwing sessions. The Yankees’ team trainers frequently check in with each player, making sure they’re staying in sound shape and not expressing any COVID-19 symptoms.

The Yankees are staying connected — and competitive — in other creative ways, too, with several players taking part in a Madden NFL dynasty league.

“I’m pretty bad,” Montgomery said, laughing. “I’m tanking this year so I can draft (Clemson quarterback) Trevor Lawrence. I need somebody to build around.”

Fortunately for the Yankees, Montgomery is much more adept at pitching than he is at video-game football. He hopes to prove it on a major league mound sooner than later. So does Schmidt. Both pitchers continue to work diligently from home, waiting out the nationwide lockdown along with the rest of us. They know baseball will be back — eventually. And when it does return, both Gamecocks could finally have the chance to pitch in the same starting rotation.

“I would say that’s not too far-fetched,” Schmidt said. “I think that’s gonna be a lot of fun to be representing for the school and for the city. It’s a lot bigger than ourselves. There are a lot of people who have supported us and helped us to where we are, so to be able to go out and pitch for those guys is going to be a lot of fun.”

For now, they’ll just have to settle for their backyards.