Chasing a dream

By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO September 21, 2008 01:45 am

— As a math professor at Minnesota State, Kris Regas understands that the odds of him ever pitching for a major-league baseball organization are slim. As a 28-year-old lefthander who throws hard, Regas is not giving up the dream.
“I see guys get signed, and sometimes I wonder what (scouts) are looking for or what do I need to do,” Regas said. “If I could change one thing it would be the way I tried to get noticed. I didn’t know how the process worked, I just figured that if I played well, I’d get a chance. Now I see that isn’t the case.”
For nine months each year, Regas, 28, teaches college algebra at Minnesota State, but for the last seven summers, the 6-foot-3 lefthander puts away the text books and pitches a baseball.
“Every time I go out there to throw, it’s the best experience of my life,” he said.
Regas is coming off a summer in which he was nearly unhittable, pitching for the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association, an independent league that also features the St. Paul Saints. In 41 games, he was 1-0 with a 1.29 earned-run average and set a Canaries record with 30 saves, which led the American Association. He pitched 42 innings and allowed 26 hits, striking out 72 while walking just eight. Opponents hit only .174 against him.
“He was dominant (in 2007), too,” said manager Steve Shirley, who pitched briefly in 1982 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Last year he did set-up work for another guy, and this year, he closed games. I’ve got no idea (why major-league teams haven’t been interested). He’s had two or three really strong years. Last year, he had `oh, my God’ kind of numbers.”
Regas’ baseball travels have been impressive. The Bourbonnais, Ill., native played three seasons at St. Joseph’s University in Indiana before finishing at Jacksonville (Fla.) University. Undrafted, he played two seasons with Cook County in the independent Frontier League before he got a shot with the New York Mets’ Class A affiliate in Brooklyn. In 72⁄3 innings over four games, he had a 2.35 ERA with 12 strikeouts and one walk.
“When they signed me, I think it was as a favor to a friend I had in the organization,” Regas said. “But I really developed in their system, with their coaches. When (the manager) called me into his office, I thought they were moving me up. Instead I got a plane ride home.”
He spent two more seasons in the Frontier League, then played in 2007 with Gary (Ind.) of the Northern League. He ended up with Sioux Falls last summer, helping the Canaries win the league championship. As he’s gotten older, and transitioned from starter to reliever, he’s gotten more consistent. He’s throwing harder, topping out at 93 mph this summer.
“It’s a matter of what he’s done,” Shirley said. “He has the right body type, he has a good fastball, good command of pitches. I can’t see any risk to an organization to sign him.”
During his baseball career, he came to Minnesota State in 2002 to take a graduate-assistant position in the mathematics department, which turned into a full-time job in 2006.
Shirley said he had conversations with one major-league team about Regas after the season, but Regas sits in his Wissink Hall office, waiting for the phone to ring.
“I’ve been waiting,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. Worst-case scenario, I play for the Canaries again.”
If a professional organization offers him a chance, he’d take it. So far, his teaching schedule hasn’t prevented him from playing, but spring training comes during the spring semester so he’d have to make a decision. Until then, he’ll keep playing as long as his arm holds up.
“I want a chance, but there are so many players with similar or worse stories than mine,” he said. “I know if I get a shot, it won’t be as a fill-in. At my age, the hard thing is getting your foot in the door. It gets harder each season.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.