Joey Krehbiel’s mom’s dream was for him to pitch in the major leagues.
“She wanted me to make it more than anyone in the world,” he said. “I don’t think she missed more than a handful of games even though she worked every day. She still made time to take me to practice.”
And two years ago, he lost her to cancer.
To celebrate her legacy and show his faith, Krehbiel got a tattoo of Jeremiah 29:11 — “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
And Krehbiel, 24, is still seeing exactly what those plans are going to look like.
He was drafted out of high school in Florida by the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 in the 12th round and traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in 2014. He played for Visalia in the California League (High–A) in 2014 and 2015 and Mobile in 2016.
During the 2016 season he had a 1–1 record, 2.75 ERA and was a midseason Southern League All-Star. He tied for first in the league with 52 appearances.
Promotion to Reno
He was selected a midseason Southern League All-Star in 2017 for the Jackson Generals where he played 44 games before his promotion to Reno on Aug. 31. Reno is Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.
This season in Jackson he had a 2–4 record, 3.27 ERA in 44 games. He allowed 45 hits, 23 runs and struck out 74 batters.
Jackson manager J.R. House said Krehbiel relished the opportunity of getting the Generals out of tough situations.
“He competes,” House said. “As a pitcher you look for velocity. He brings that. He is up to 95 to 97 mph. He has a good breaking ball and quality change-up.”
While Krehbiel’s goal is similar to every minor league pitcher’s goal — to pitch in the major leagues — he has learned to be patient.
God’s plan
“I have been in the minor leagues seven years now,” he said. “I want my time to come sooner than maybe God’s plan for me. Patience is putting my faith and trust in Him. That has got to be No. 1 before anything. I know where He wants me to be is where I am supposed to be.”
A former girlfriend led Krehbiel to Christ when he was 20.
“At the time it was go to church with her or not date,” he said. “That was maybe not the right way into church but whatever gets you there is the right way. It ended up working for me. I have stuck with it. It has helped me through my tough family times and it is something that I never want to let go in my life.”
He has dealt with his mother’s death by resting in God’s sovereignty. “It was not Him doing anything bad; it was my mom’s time to go,” Krehbiel said.
Jesus is his rock, he said.
“I know that salvation is the best gift anyone could ever have,” Krehbiel said. “You have to put everything around Him, even baseball, relationships, anything you want to do has got to go through Him. He has got to be the center point for your life.”
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