Jimmy Serrano Joins ‘From Phenom To The Farm:’ Episode 109

Image credit: (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Growing up in Grand Junction, Colorado, Jimmy Serrano had one big baseball dream. Not the big
leagues, not even NCAA Division I baseball. With his hometown being the site of each Division
I Junior College World Series, Serrano dreamed of being able to suit up for a juco in his
hometown event.

However, reaching that level was easier said than done. An undersized player at any position (as
a professional, Serrano was generously listed at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, he had zero college offers
upon finishing high school in the spring of 1994. With no opportunities, Serrano had to make his
own opportunity, walking onto juco powerhouse Mesa Community College in Arizona.

“A good friend of mine in high school talked me into going down to Mesa,” said Serrano. “We
found an apartment, and he talked me into trying out for the baseball team there.”

In high school, Serrano spent most of his time in the infield. At Mesa, he realized quickly if he
wanted to stick around, his opportunity might not be with a bat in his hands.

“At the time I thought third base was my position—unfortunately found out there were guys much
more equipped to play third base than I was,” Serrano said. “As soon as the pitching coach came
walking around asking if anybody could pitch, I raised my hand pretty quickly, even though I
had limited pitching experience in high school.”

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Serrano took to pitching, despite his diminutive frame. On the contrary, he made his stature work
to his advantage.

“I wanted to play into that,” said Serrano. “I wanted the other team to see, ‘Who’s this short guy
on the mound? He’s probably not going to throw that hard,’ then out of nowhere, boom, 90-plus
fastball.”

Two standout years at Mesa took Serrano first to McNeese State, before finishing out his senior
season at the University of New Mexico. He had a clearer path to the next level of baseball out of
college than he did out of high school, but not by much—Serrano resembled the pro baseball
version of a walk-on as an 18th-round senior sign of the Expos, with a $1,000 bonus.

Serrano settled into the closer role early in his MiLB run, turning his perception in the Expos
organization from 18th-round senior sign to legitimate potential contributor. He earned multiple
trips to the Arizona Fall League and pitched his way to Triple-A by his third full pro season.

A trade at the end of 2002 Spring Training sent Serrano to the Mets organization, and a year later
he was carrying a 2.39 ERA in the Triple-A bullpen, but getting limited chances to pitch.

“I felt like I was throwing the ball really well, I just wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities,” Serrano said. “My agent went to work and started talking to the Royals, and the Royals were interested.”

The Royals acquired Serrano midway through the 2003 season to bolster their pitching depth in
anticipation of a playoff run, but the following year he found himself stuck among a glut of
Triple-A bullpen arms. Serrano found himself once again needing to evolve in order to stay on
the field.

“They had a pitcher coming down from the big leagues, and I was going to be the odd man out,”
Serrano said. “They said they were going to send me down to Double-A to become a starter.”

Knowing that being demoted and pushed into the rotation wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence,
and more a sign that it might be his last chance, Serrano took the assignment with gusto. He took
the ball 11 times with Double-A Wichita, clocking a 1.96 ERA over 64.1 innings.

“It was just motivation—try to put up the craziest numbers that I can, what else can I do to get
back up to Triple-A,” said Serrano. “I didn’t see myself getting called up.”

Months after being shuttled down to Double-A, Serrano debuted in the big leagues, logging 32.2
solid innings for the 2004 Royals.

He never made it back to the show, retiring after the 2009 season after Triple-A stints in multiple
organizations, as well as a stop in Korea. Despite never returning to the big leagues, Serrano
looks back fondly on his journey, especially considering where it started.

“I’m definitely grateful for it, having that perspective,” said Serrano. “It’s helped me moving
into the next chapter of my life, knowing that I was able to ring the bell, being able to share those
stories, and I think the biggest thing is never really expecting it from growing up in Grand Junction going to those juco games.”

On the latest episode of ‘From Phenom to the Farm’ former big league righthander Jimmy
Serrano talks his journey in going from a juco walk-on to the big leagues.