The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY 2018 ■ 33 WHEREARETHEYNOW? BY MATT CARTER D an Plesac is in the NC State Baseball Hall of Fame, played 18 years in the Major Leagues, was selected to pitch in three All-Star Games and since 2009 has been a mainstay commentator on MLB Network. However, his original intent was to never play baseball after high school. Like many Indiana natives, Plesac grew up with dreams of being a basketball star, and the 6-5 left-handed shooting guard proved good enough to capture the atten- tion of former NC State basketball coach Norm Sloan and his assistant, fellow Indi- ana native Monte Towe. In September of his senior year, he was hosted by NCSU's 7-5 center Chuck Nevitt on an official visit, during which he went to a football game. Plesac signed with NC State to play basketball starting in the fall of 1980. "I remember thinking this is great," Ple- sac recalled. "I am going to NC State to play basketball. I don't have to worry about my season. "I've made my commitment already, and five months later I am going to NC State to play baseball of all things." The whirlwind started in the spring of his senior year in high school. Plesac had played baseball before as a first baseman and outfielder, but his team was desperate for pitching. His baseball coach, Dick Webb, prac- tically begged Plesac to fill the void. One start turned into a second, then a third and a fourth. By the end of the year, the St. Louis Cardi- nals selected Plesac in the second round of the MLB Draft with the 42nd overall pick. Sloan had also left to take a job as the head coach at Florida, taking Towe with him. Plesac had a decision to make, espe- cially when the Cardinals, one week before he was supposed to enroll at NC State, upped its initial offer of $25,000 to meet Plesac's demand of $50,000. Management drove to his house from St. Louis with the contract to sign, but Plesac had hesitation. "That night I remember telling my mom and dad I don't know what I'm doing play- ing baseball," Plesac said. "I don't know anything about it." Following the advice of his mother, Ple- sac decided he was not ready and worked it out with NC State to transfer his scholar- ship from basketball to baseball, a smooth transition due to the quick friendship of Wolfpack baseball coach Sam Esposito and Sloan's replacement, Jim Valvano. "The first week of school I went down to the rec center at night," Plesac said. "I remember seeing Cozell McQueen and Lorenzo Charles, and thinking I made the right decision. These guys were too big and too fast — I would have never had any playing time. "After seeing the level of player it takes to play in the ACC, I would have been a four-year bench warmer." Plesac ended up joining his brother Joe on NC State's pitching staff. At that time, most would have bet Joe — a two-time first-team All-ACC selection who is still tied for second all time in school history with 16 complete games — would be the future longtime pro. "He was a much better pitcher than I was, without a doubt," Plesac recalled. "He was polished, refined. I was raw. "I like fast and I like moving, and that's why I think basketball was so appealing to me. I was always a high-energy guy, and pitching was slow and thinking. That was up my brother's alley." Beginning with Esposito, Plesac had numerous managers and pitching coaches work to tap into his full potential. Tall, power-throwing lefties do not grow on trees. That upside led Plesac to become a first- round MLB Draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1983 following his third year at NC State. He was a quick success with the Brewers just as he was at NCSU, when he made first-team All-ACC as a rookie. His first year in the minors he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year for Paintsville, Ky. Yet all the while, others saw more in him. "Coach Esposito was tough," Plesac re- membered. "There wasn't anything soft about him. He was a man's man. He taught you like a man and treated you like a man, and sometimes you didn't always like what he said because he was blunt and he was honest. "Several times he would tell me I drove him nuts, that I was turning his gray hair more gray by the day. He would say, 'You need to work harder, you have a chance to be really good, and you're not tapping into the real potential that you have. If I tell you to run 10 laps, you run 10 laps. If I tell you to run two miles, you run two miles. You don't ever do more, and you don't ever do less.' "It was a very valuable lesson." It was also the same lesson that his Class A pitching coach in Stock- ton, Calif., Tim Nord- brook, taught him in his own way during Plesac's second year in the minors. Two days after first telling Plesac he needed to love baseball like his first girl- friend, Nordbrook called him into his office. "He gave me the same speech that Sam Esposito gave me for three years: 'I tell you to run 10 laps, you run 10 laps. I tell you to run two miles, you run two miles,'" Plesac recalled. "'When are you ever going to do more? When are you going to come here early, stay late, and start watching pitching Dan Plesac Baseball (1981-83) Age: 55 Living: Weehawken, N.J. Occupation: Commentator for MLB Network Did you know? Plesac's older brother Joe also pitched for NC State and was selected in the sec- ond round of the 1982 MLB Draft. Dan and Joe's nephew Zach Plesac is a minor league pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Plesac pitched in 1,064 games over 18 years, posted a 3.64 ERA, piled up 158 saves and was a three-time All-Star during his Major League Baseball career. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS Plesac originally signed with NC State to play basketball. He changed scholarships to base- ball after be began pitching as a senior in high school. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS "I remember thinking this is great. I am going to NC State to play basketball. … Five months later I am going to NC State to play baseball of all things." ■ Plesac