MESA, Ariz. – The last time Ryan Pressly and Tommy Hottovy shared a spring training complex field, Pressly had no gray in his beard, and Hottovy wasn’t nearly as composed.
“I just remember going through stretch and this guy is just acting like an absolute clown,” Pressly said. “And being 19, you’re trying to keep a straight path, you’re not trying to goof off. But when you see a 27-year-old rehabbing with all the [Gulf Coast League] guys, it’s like, ‘OK, this is awesome.’”
Seventeen years later, Hottovy is the Cubs’ pitching coach, and Pressly is a two-time All-Star bringing a veteran presence to the back end of the bullpen. The pair were reunited when Pressly waived his no-trade clause to complete a deal between the Astros and Cubs this winter.
“He was always an uber-competitor,” Hottovy said. “He always wanted to beat you – whether it was a sprint, or we were doing some workout, [in the] weight room, he’s always had that competitiveness in him. But now to see the ability to control it all, and to harness it when he needs to instead of being the wild stallion, that’s the fun part I’ve been able to see, is the growth.”
They agreed they were essentially able to pick up right where they left off.
“Tommy is such a great guy, and he’s learned a lot in this game,” Pressly said. “And I can always learn from him. I did when I was 19, watching how he went about his business and how he prepared himself for games.”
Both in the Red Sox organization, Hottovy was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in Fort Myers, Florida in 2008, when Pressly got his first taste of professional baseball in the GCL.
“I was trying to keep it light down there,” Hottovy said with a smile. “I did some things I probably wouldn’t want a lot of people to know.”
They spent time together that winter and the next spring as well, before both opening the 2009 season in Single-A Lowell – Hottovy on rehab assignment and Pressly having graduated from rookie ball.
Even then, Pressly said he could see the qualities that steered Hottovy into a coaching career.
“I think he always had it,” Pressly said. “When they tell you that you’re done playing, it’s, how else can you help in this game? And I think he’s found his calling, for sure.”
Pressly is a favorite to close games for the Cubs, along with 23-year-old Porter Hodge, who debuted last season and quickly earned manager Craig Counsell’s trust in high-leverage situations.
“I told Porter Hodge, ‘You should be in [Pressly’s] hip pocket every day,’” Hottovy said. “I see a lot of similarities of a young Ryan Presley in the young Porter Hodge. That’s going to be a fun dynamic for me to watch that kind of relationship bloom as the year goes on.”
The similarities include their arsenals, which are both highlighted by a cut-ride fastballs and a quality breaking ball. But they extends into their work, mindset and competitiveness.
While Hodge’s career is just beginning, Pressly has earned two All-Star selections, recorded a 2.78 ERA in 47 postseason appearances, thrown the last out of the Word Series.
Back in camp with Hottovy last Monday, Pressly threw a couple pitches and asked, “Do I look like I’m 36?”
“No,” Hottovy said. “I see the 19-year-old I saw in Fort Myers.”
Hottovy took a guess at Pressly’s velocity. He was “right on the button,” according to Pressly.
“That’s why we were celebrating,” Pressly said. “I said, ‘We might as well just walk it off right now.’”