Salem Red Sox pitcher Jay Allmer. Photo: David Driver
As a young boy, Jay Allmer lived in Wrigleyville near the famed home of the lovable Chicago Cubs.
But at the age of 12, he moved with his family to Cary, N.C., near Raleigh. The move was precipitated mostly by the careers of his parents: his mother is in real estate, and his parents are also involved in event planning. Baseball, however, played a role for Allmer, who is a reliever with the Low-A Salem Red Sox in the Boston system.
“I knew baseball would be a passion of mine, and it was hard to do it” in Chicago due to the colder weather, said Allmer, 23, standing next to the Salem third-base dugout before Friday’s suspended game against the Carolina Mudcats. “It was easier to play ball there” in warmer North Carolina.
Another bonus was that Cary is the home to the USA Baseball National Training Complex, and for years some of the top amateur players in the country have spent part of the season training at the facility. “It is about a 10-minute walk from my house,” he said of the training center. Some of his friends’ parents hosted USA players in the past and Allmer was able to meet them.
Allmer began his college career at UNC Asheville then transferred to Seton Hall in New Jersey, though he went undrafted after his senior year. He signed with Lake Country last year in the independent American Association but had not appeared in a game with them when he signed with Boston in April.
When he reported to Salem, he met for the first time fellow pitcher Joe Vogatsky, a Fairfax native who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of JMU in the 19th round in 2024. A right-hander, Vogatsky played for two summers with Purcellville in the Valley Baseball League and appeared in the Cape Cod League while in college.
“That is my guy. He is one of my closest friends,” Allmer said of Vogatsky, who played at Kettle Run High in Prince William County.
Vogatsky started the season in Salem and posted an ERA of 4.87 in 30 games out of the bullpen before he was promoted to Greenville in early August. The former JMU pitcher has a 3.38 ERA in his first five games with High-A Greenville.
Other former JMU pitchers in pro ball this season include Kevin Kelly, a reliever for the Tampa Bay Rays who played at Paul VI High in Fairfax County; and Nick Robertson, from Franklin County – about 45 minutes south of the Salem ballpark – who was with Triple-A Omaha in the Kansas City system after appearing in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays from 2023-2024.
Another former bullpen teammate with Vogatsky in Salem is Calvin Bickerstaff, who was born in Weirton, W.Va., and grew up in nearby Steubenville, Ohio.
“He is a competitor. He loves to strike guys out,” Bickerstaff said of Vogatsky. “He has pretty electric stuff.”
Weir High in Weirton has produced several NFL players, including Bob Gain, who won the Outland Trophy in 1950 at the University of Kentucky; and Quincy Wilson, who starred at West Virginia and was with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2004-2007. Wilson has coached at West Virginia State, Fairmont State, Glenville State and at his alma mater, Weir High.
Bickerstaff, 22, went to Steubenville High – a school that has produced a ton of football talent, including Calvin Jones, another former Outland Trophy winner who is in the College Football Hall of Fame after starring at Iowa.
Steubenville is also the hometown of several former Major Leaguers, including catcher Paul Hoover, who was in the bigs from 2001-10; Hall of Fame pitcher Rollie Fingers, who won three World Series rings with Oakland from 1972-1974; Eddie Kazak, who played with the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals from 1948-1952 and was an All-Star in 1949; and Moses Fleetwood Walker, considered the first African American player in the majors. Kazak was teammates on the Reds with Richmond native Willard Marshall, who hit 130 homers in the majors and is in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Mike Gulan, from Steubenville, played for the Cardinals in 1997 and the Florida Marlins in 2001 as a third baseman. “He was my next-door neighbor for 14 years of my life,” Bickerstaff said of the Kent State Hall of Famer. “His daughter is the same age as me.”
Allmer was 5-1, 2.96 with four saves in his first 27 games out of the bullpen this season for Salem.
Bickerstaff was 2-2, 4.06 with three saves in his first 22 games. The Kent State product got the save Aug. 22 with two scoreless innings as Salem beat Milwaukee affiliate Carolina 3-1 at home. Bickerstaff appeared in four games with Salem in 2024.
“I love it here. It is very similar to Steubenville, where I am from,” Bickerstaff said of the Southwest Virginia locale.
His bullpen teammate agrees. “It’s awesome. I love Salem and I love the mountains. I do a lot of hikes,” Allmer said.
The regular season ends Sept. 7 for the Red Sox with a home game against Fayetteville.
Notes
Billy Sample grew up in Salem and went to Andrew Lewis High School. He was the first former JMU player to appear in the Major Leagues, spending time as an outfielder for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves from 1978-1986. Sample also played for the Harrisonburg Turks of the Valley Baseball League while at JMU. Outfielder Fenwick Trimble, drafted in the fourth round out of JMU by the Marlins in 2024, reached the Double-A level this season. The Virginia Beach native from Franklin W. Cox High played for Winchester in the Valley League.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo, who helped the Cubs win the World Series in 2016, played for Salem while in the Red Sox system in 2009. He last appeared in the majors for the Yankees in 2024.
Right-hander Justin Verlander (Goochland, ODU) fell to 1-10 on the season as the San Francisco Giants lost Aug. 21 at the San Diego Padres, 8-4. Verlander allowed seven hits and seven runs in 4.1 innings. The Giants had lost the last five outings by Verlander and were 5-17 in games he started this season. Verlander was stuck on 263 career wins. “This was one of the more frustrating games of my career. Especially the season I’ve had, scratching and clawing to find a way out of it. Feel like you kind of found something to grasp onto and you have a game, inning like that, I’m being tested for sure,” Verlander told reporters after the game against the Padres. “You just have to deal with it.”
David Driver is a Harrisonburg native who played baseball at Turner Ashby, Harrisonburg Legion Post 27, EMU and for Clover Hill in the RCBL. He is the co-author of “From Tidewater to the Shenandoah: Snapshots from Virginia’s Rich Baseball Legacy,” which is available on the websites of Amazon and Barnes and Noble and at daytondavid.com. He was the sports editor of the Daily News-Record from 2019-21 and worked for the paper in the 1980s.