Aug 26, 2021 4 min read

Zach Strecker returned to the Wild Things this year – his fourth season in Washington – with two goals in mind:

• Set the Frontier League record for career saves.
• Win a Frontier League championship.

Consider the former box checked. The latter remains a work in progress.

Strecker set the Frontier League’s saves record Tuesday night by pitching a scoreless ninth inning in the Wild Things’ 5-2 series-opening victory over Tri-City.

It was Strecker’s 19th save of the season, which tied him for the league lead, and the 71st of his career, one more than former Evansville closer Eric Massingham (2011-14).

And you can give Strecker’s mother, Elaine, a big slice of credit for the league record.

“This was only supposed to be a one-year thing,” Strecker said about playing in Washington. “When I was released by the (Minnesota) Twins and signed to play here in 2017, my mother told me, ‘One year. Have fun with it.’ That year, we make the playoffs and I give up a walkoff home run to Florence in Game 3. If I had called it quits then, that would have been my last pitch. My mother said, ‘You can’t quit on that. Go back for another year.'”

So Strecker returned in 2018 and helped Washington make it to the league championship series before losing to Joliet in Game 5 of the best-of-5 finals. He had a 6-5 record, 1.48 ERA and 21 saves that year, but you can’t call it quits when your last game was a loss in a winner-take-all championship contest, right? That’s what Strecker’s mother thought and told her son he should play another year.

Strecker believed the Wild Things were on the brink of a championship so he returned for one more season and saved 11 games with a 1.29 ERA in what was a miserable 2019 for Washington. However, the 11 saves gave Strecker 52 for his career and put the league record within sight.

Again, Strecker got his mother’s blessing to play one more season. But the 2020 Frontier League season was canceled because of the pandemic. He returned this spring, four years after he first arrived at Wild Things Park. Strecker is glad he returned but says there won’t be a 2022 season in his future.

“This is it for me. This is the farewell tour,” Strecker said. “There is much to like about playing here. This is the best group of guys I’ve played with. I’m not going to remember all the wins, losses, saves and blown saves. What I am going to remember is the friendships. I had so many texts in the 24 hours after breaking the record from guys who played here in 2017 and 2018. That’s why you do this. You do it for the camaraderie.”

Some players who spend a season in independent baseball as a closer and don’t get signed by a major league organization choose to return for a second year in a different role as a starter. That has happened to before in Washington. The easy-going Strecker, however, is comfortable in his role and that is a reason for his success pitching in tension-filled high-leverage situations.

“Streck is a different type of guy,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “The role fits his personality. He focuses really well when he has a chance to close out games.”

“I’m the complete opposite of what you think about when you think of a closer,” Strecker said. “You think of those guys as high-intensity, in-your-face guys. I’m the opposite of that. I’m laid back.”

Strecker is different from most Frontier League closers in more than one way. Many teams have gone to harder-throwing pitchers as their closer, even if those guys aren’t sure where their pitches are going. Strecker is a thinking-man’s closer, one who relies more on grit and guile than sheer velocity. His out pitch is a split-fingered fastball, which has led to many ninth-inning double play grounders.

“I don’t have aspiration of returning to affiliated ball,” Strecker said. “Not many teams are looking for right-handers who throw 88 mph. I’m not like (former Wild Things reliever James Meeker) who throws 95. I’m doing this for fun.”

“Streck is good at moving the ball around and giving hitters different looks,” Vaeth said explaining his closer’s success. “He has movement on his pitches. He stays off barrels. He gets ground-ball outs, quick outs.”