Parker Messick learned a lot being a part of the Cleveland Guardians' playoff push last September.
When Parker Messick was called up to make his MLB debut last September, the Cleveland Guardians were well out of a playoff spot. However, as the month went on, the Guardians found themselves in the thick of the postseason hunt and eventually won the American League Central to punch their ticket to October.
A playoff race wasn’t what Messick signed up for or expected when he joined Cleveland’s rotation, but he ended up being one of the key reasons the Guardians extended their season into the playoffs.
Messick recently spoke with MLB.com’s Tim Stebbing and reflected on his first stint at the big-league level.
“Yeah, that was actually fun for me. I got to come up in a time that almost felt like we were so far out of it, it didn't matter. We started to chip away; in all reality, every game mattered. We want to win every single game, which you always want to win every single game, but when it comes down to, you either win every game or you're going home, it was pretty fun that we kind of get back back against the wall threw some haymakers and and found a way to found a way to make it in the playoffs,” said Messick.
Sep 7, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick (77) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn ImagesStephen Vogt repeatedly said one of the ways the Guardians found a way to get into the postseason after being 15.5 games back was by showing up to the ballpark every day, the same people, players, and team, and doing what you can control.
That’s something Messick clearly took to heart.
“I learned that like every day you show up to the field, you have to stick to your routine, get everything you need to get done. The one day you slack off, the week of, you know, whatever, if it's a bullpen day or a lift day, that one day that you just don't feel like doing anything and you don't stick to your guns and do your routine and do all the things that that got you there and made you great, then that'll be the one start that you lose and you could lose it for your team,” continued the rookie pitcher.
In Messick's first seven starts, the left-hander logged a 2.72 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP along with a strikeout rate of 23 percent and a walk rate of just 3.6 percent. He’s simplyhoping to build on that in 2026, because his first stint in the big leagues was “the most fun that I've ever had playing baseball.”
“I loved it up there,” continued Messick. No one wants to leave the big leagues. I was just trying to do whatever I could to, to keep the guys playing and keep myself up there.”
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