Severna Park's Banks Still Pitching for Pay in Baseball

When Josh Banks was a teenager he began working out at the , a baseball facility on Penrod Court in Glen Burnie.

And about 15 years later he still works out at B.A.T.T., even though his baseball travels have taken him to Florida for college, with three teams at the Major League level and a stint this past season in the independent Atlantic League with the Long Island Ducks.

“That is where I can go to throw,” Banks, 29, a 2000 graduate of, said of B.A.T.T. “I have been going there since I was about 15 years old. That is the place where I can throw.”

After graduating from Severna Park, the right-handed pitcher played in college at Division I Florida International near Miami. He was drafted by Toronto in 2003 out of college and made his Major League debut with the Blue Jays in 2007 when he pitched in three games at the end of the season.

After pitching in one game for Houston in 2010, he began this season with the top farm team of the San Francisco Giants. But Banks was released earlier this year after he had an ERA of 7.27 in 78 innings at the Triple-A level with Fresno, CA.

“I hurt my knee the beginning of July while swinging the bat. It was the first time in my career that I was on the disabled list. It was kind of unfortunate. [The Giants] said they were going to go a different route with younger players," Banks said.

He was picked up by the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in late August. Teams in the Atlantic League are not affiliated with Major League organizations, though the goal of most players in the league is to get signed by big league clubs.

“Josh will be a great addition to our pitching staff,” said Ducks’ president/general manager Michael Pfaff, when Banks was signed. “We are confident he will help make a positive contribution as we chase the Atlantic League Championship.”

And the Ducks almost did just that.

Long Island advanced to the Atlantic League championship series against the York (PA) Revolution and Banks was the starting pitcher for the Ducks in a Game 2 loss on Thursday in New York. The series shifted to York and the Revolution won Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday to take the league title three games to one.

“It really surprised me. The level of play was what I expected but the fields and fans were better than what I expected,” Banks told Patch on Sunday.

One of his teammates with Long Island was Kraig Binick, a former minor leaguer with the Orioles.

Banks returned Sunday night to his home in Severna Park, where he lives with his wife, Lindsey, and young daughter, Lola. His parents, Chuck and Judy, still live in Severna Park.

Banks made three starts in regular-season play for the Ducks and was 1-1 with an ERA of 4.24.

After a few weeks off he hopes to play in the Dominican Republic later this fall. He played for Licey in the Dominican last season and his teammates included Welington Castillo, a catcher for the Cubs.

Banks hopes to be signed by a Major League organization prior to spring training in 2012. He has also considered trying to play professionally in Japan or Korea, though that did not transpire last season.

Banks, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, was 1-1 with an ERA of 7.15 in 2009 with San Diego as he pitched in six games, with three starts. He signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros after the 2009 season and he made one appearance with the team in 2010, as he gave up six runs in four innings in his only start and suffered the loss.

That remains his last big league appearance. Banks was granted free agency after the 2010 season and was signed by the Giants on Jan. 31, 2011.

The B.A.T.T. Academy has several of its products playing pro baseball, including major leaguers of the Cubs and Steve Lombardozzi, a second baseman for the Washington Nationals who is from Howard County.

Catcher Clevenger, who lived in Glen Burnie for about 10 years, is a former Mount Saint Joseph standout who made his big league debut Sept. 26 and had one hit in four at bats last month for the Cubs.

Ironically, Clevenger could battle Castillo—a teammate of Banks last year in the Dominican Republic—for playing time with the Cubs in 2012.