Former Lynn English lefthander Ben Bowden is finally going to “the show.”
Bowden, 26, a 6-foot-4-inch relief pitcher, got the word Tuesday that he has made the Major League roster of the Colorado Rockies and will join the team Thursday in Denver in the team’s season opener against the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Rockies played their final spring training game Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox before breaking camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., and heading for Coors Field in Denver. Bowden pitched an inning a day earlier, throwing 28 pitches in a Cactus League win over the San Diego Padres. In that game, Bowden loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks, but reared back to strike out the final two batters.
Bowden, who spent four years on the mound at Vanderbilt University, has been very impressive during spring training with the Rockies. In 8.2 innings of work this spring, Bowden only allowed one run on four hits with 14 strikeouts for an ERA of 1.04. Bowden currently leads all Rockies relievers in appearances with 10, and he went seven straight appearances this spring without allowing a run.
“He just called me up and said ‘hey, coach, I’m going to the Major Leagues,'” said Joe Caponigro, who coached him in high school.
“It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid, and I know that gets tossed around an awful lot,” said Caponigro, who is currently the baseball coach at Swampscott High. “But in this case, it’s true. He’s a great kid.”
Bowden was drafted by the Rockies in 2016. Caponigro and his son were invited over to his house to wait out the results of the draft, “and it was the most surreal thing I’ve been through,” he said.
“I remember that being such a thrill,” Caponigro said. “But this is, too. Maybe even more.”
Caponigro, as a senior at English, was the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year. A year earlier, he pitched a perfect game against Marblehead.
“We knew we had something special,” Caponigro said.
Bowden’s uncle is Derek Dana, a former catcher for the back-to-back state champion St. Mary’s baseball team in 1987 and 1988.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the kid, or happier,” said Dana. “The whole family is. We’ve been waiting a long time to see this.”
Dana said that it hasn’t always been easy for Bowden in the minors.
“He had a couple of bumps due to his (injuries), but here he is. All his dedication has come through,” he said.
At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Bowden was a relief pitcher when the Commodores defeated Virginia to win the College World Series. A year later, Vanderbilt made the CWS final again, and this time lost to the Cavaliers. The Rockies took him in the draft after his junior season.
This spring, Bowden appeared in 10 games and had a 1.04 earned run average in 8⅔ innings of work.
This will be Bowden’s first stint on a Major League roster. He has had issues with injuries twice in his career. He suffered a herniated disk and then injured his shoulder helping a passenger on an airplane. As a result, he missed virtually the entire 2017 season. Last year, there was no minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He was all set to go last year,” said Dana, “but then COVID hit.”
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].
