Former USC Salkehatchie pitcher, Joe Winkelsas has seen it all since his days at the university. Winkelsas came to USC Salkehatchie from Buffalo, New York, straight out of high school back in 1992, nervous and not knowing what to expect.
“Here I was an 18-year old kid from the streets of west Buffalo; I thought that I knew everything and that I was as tough as they come. I soon learned that I wasn’t as tough as I had first thought. Coach Baxter at USC Salkehatchie taught me that I had to be both tough on the outside and mentally tough. I always tell everyone that USC Salkehatchie made me the man that I am today, with all the lessons I learned while attending,” said Winkelsas.
Winkelsas said that when he first came to USC Salkehatchie, he could have easily gone the wrong way. It was the love and support he received while attending the university that made the difference in his life.
Winkelsas said, “Back in New York, I was used to being on my own. I didn’t understand when I first came down that people wave at you all the time and actually care about one another. When I was in school, I studied in order to pass, so that I could play baseball. When I got to Salkehatchie, I had teachers that taught me how to study and I learned that an education would be the key to getting out of the wrong side of town.”
Winkelsas went on to say that he was shocked how people around the university would actually care about his well-being. It was all new to him but for the first time, he felt as though he was part of a family.
Despite leading junior college Division II in ERA as a sophomore, Winkelsas wasn’t drafted. Instead he went to Elon College to keep his dream of playing in the major-leagues alive.
Then in 1996, he thought all of his dreams had come true; he was given an opportunity by the Atlanta Braves as a free-agent. It wouldn’t be an easy road for Winkelsas as he would move around from one minor-league team to another for several years until 1999 when he would finally get the call.
It was April 10, 1999 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Turner-Field. He lasted all of one-third of an inning. He gave up two runs on four hits and left with a 54.00 major-league ERA.
Winkelsas would pitch with the Braves farm system through the end of 2003, then he moved to the independent leagues. He caught the attention of the Chicago White Sox and was in their farm system until an arm injury cut his 2005 season short.
Winkelsas was out of work and out of ideas when he returned home to take a job as a garbage man. At first he looked at his job in a negative light, how had he come so far to such a low point in his life, when in fact this new job would be a blessing in disguise.
He firmly believes that the constant physical activity related to his job as a “trash man” as he calls it, tipping garbage cans and dragging them through the thick snow, helped heal his arm injury.
When he started to feel his arm come back to full strength, he served as pitching coach with Niagara University and was clocked in the low 90-mph range in an intra-squad game.
When the Milwaukee Brewers came through town in 2006 to take a look at some of his players at Niagara, Winkelsas accepted a dare from his players to try out. The dare turned into an invitation to the Milwaukee Brewers training camp in Arizona.
On May 23, 2006, Winkelsas was back in the show. He would make an appearance against the Cincinnati Reds, a scoreless third of an inning. He would remain with the Brewers until June 21, 2006.
On July 4 , 2006, he announced his retirement as he arm wouldn’t hold up for any more of those 90-MPH fastballs or so he thought.
Never one to give up, Winkelsas would give it one more try in 2007, combining to go 2-2, 3.00 in 19 outings between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Richmond in the Atlanta chain. He had a stretch of 26 scoreless innings, with more than half of those against White Sox affiliates. So the Sox took another chance on him and put him back in Charlotte, where he had previously pitched in 2004 and 2005. He retired from baseball in June of this year.
Joe Winkelsas will be the guest speaker on January 29, 2009 at the USC Salkehatchie annual “First Pitch Dinner” held to kick off the 2009 baseball season.
“I feel like my life has taken me in a complete circle, it will be great to return to USC Salkehatchie and maybe touch someone’s life. I can’t wait to get back down there and look around; I hope to see some of the people that touched my life. I have always had a special love for the people at Salkehatchie and no matter where baseball took me, I knew that I owed everything to the people at USC Salkehatchie and the surrounding area for helping me become the man that I am today,” said Winkelsas.
For more information on tickets to the dinner, contact Coach Bubba Dorman at USC Salkehatchie at 803-584-3446, ext 143.
“Here I was an 18-year old kid from the streets of west Buffalo; I thought that I knew everything and that I was as tough as they come. I soon learned that I wasn’t as tough as I had first thought. Coach Baxter at USC Salkehatchie taught me that I had to be both tough on the outside and mentally tough. I always tell everyone that USC Salkehatchie made me the man that I am today, with all the lessons I learned while attending,” said Winkelsas.
Winkelsas said that when he first came to USC Salkehatchie, he could have easily gone the wrong way. It was the love and support he received while attending the university that made the difference in his life.
Winkelsas said, “Back in New York, I was used to being on my own. I didn’t understand when I first came down that people wave at you all the time and actually care about one another. When I was in school, I studied in order to pass, so that I could play baseball. When I got to Salkehatchie, I had teachers that taught me how to study and I learned that an education would be the key to getting out of the wrong side of town.”
Winkelsas went on to say that he was shocked how people around the university would actually care about his well-being. It was all new to him but for the first time, he felt as though he was part of a family.
Despite leading junior college Division II in ERA as a sophomore, Winkelsas wasn’t drafted. Instead he went to Elon College to keep his dream of playing in the major-leagues alive.
Then in 1996, he thought all of his dreams had come true; he was given an opportunity by the Atlanta Braves as a free-agent. It wouldn’t be an easy road for Winkelsas as he would move around from one minor-league team to another for several years until 1999 when he would finally get the call.
It was April 10, 1999 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Turner-Field. He lasted all of one-third of an inning. He gave up two runs on four hits and left with a 54.00 major-league ERA.
Winkelsas would pitch with the Braves farm system through the end of 2003, then he moved to the independent leagues. He caught the attention of the Chicago White Sox and was in their farm system until an arm injury cut his 2005 season short.
Winkelsas was out of work and out of ideas when he returned home to take a job as a garbage man. At first he looked at his job in a negative light, how had he come so far to such a low point in his life, when in fact this new job would be a blessing in disguise.
He firmly believes that the constant physical activity related to his job as a “trash man” as he calls it, tipping garbage cans and dragging them through the thick snow, helped heal his arm injury.
When he started to feel his arm come back to full strength, he served as pitching coach with Niagara University and was clocked in the low 90-mph range in an intra-squad game.
When the Milwaukee Brewers came through town in 2006 to take a look at some of his players at Niagara, Winkelsas accepted a dare from his players to try out. The dare turned into an invitation to the Milwaukee Brewers training camp in Arizona.
On May 23, 2006, Winkelsas was back in the show. He would make an appearance against the Cincinnati Reds, a scoreless third of an inning. He would remain with the Brewers until June 21, 2006.
On July 4 , 2006, he announced his retirement as he arm wouldn’t hold up for any more of those 90-MPH fastballs or so he thought.
Never one to give up, Winkelsas would give it one more try in 2007, combining to go 2-2, 3.00 in 19 outings between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Richmond in the Atlanta chain. He had a stretch of 26 scoreless innings, with more than half of those against White Sox affiliates. So the Sox took another chance on him and put him back in Charlotte, where he had previously pitched in 2004 and 2005. He retired from baseball in June of this year.
Joe Winkelsas will be the guest speaker on January 29, 2009 at the USC Salkehatchie annual “First Pitch Dinner” held to kick off the 2009 baseball season.
“I feel like my life has taken me in a complete circle, it will be great to return to USC Salkehatchie and maybe touch someone’s life. I can’t wait to get back down there and look around; I hope to see some of the people that touched my life. I have always had a special love for the people at Salkehatchie and no matter where baseball took me, I knew that I owed everything to the people at USC Salkehatchie and the surrounding area for helping me become the man that I am today,” said Winkelsas.
For more information on tickets to the dinner, contact Coach Bubba Dorman at USC Salkehatchie at 803-584-3446, ext 143.
