Phillies sign area baseball trainer Mike Adams to contract

Archie Bradley is not the only right-handed pitcher the Philadelphia Phillies officially signed this week. Pitching in front of Major League Baseball scouts from all 30 teams at the annual Maplezone Sports Institute Baseball MLK Pro Invite Day on Monday, Egg Harbor Township native Mike Adams put together an impressive bullpen session, topping out at 98 miles per hour.

Before the holiday was over, Adams — who grew up a Phillies fan and attended the team’s World Series parade in 2008 — earned a professional contract from the team and a ticket to Clearwater, Florida, for spring training.

The Phillies may have found their very own “Vince Papale” in Mike Adams.

Graduating college four years ago, Adams, 26, has spent his time in recent days as a baseball trainer and co-owner of the Baseball Performance Center in Pleasantville. Adams told NBC10 that the opportunity is “just something” that he cannot turn down.

“It’s something I wanted to do since I was a little kid. It’s always been a dream,” Adams said. “Out of college, I thought there was an opportunity but it didn’t happen. I remember how upset I was about that.”

Also a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers, the 26-year-old will have to leave his professions up north behind as he travels to Florida next month for the planned start of spring training. He will be assigned to one of the team’s affiliates.

One of the players Adams coaches in New Jersey, Fordham Baseball commit Gannon Brady, told That Balls Outta Here that it will be interesting to see the right-hander’s journey in the Phillies system. “His story has been incredible to watch, as he has been training and coaching us for years, having been removed from his professional career,” Brady said.

After playing baseball and graduating from Holy Spirit High School in 2012, Adams went on to have much success at Wagner College, finishing with the ninth-most strikeouts and 10th-most innings pitched for the Division 1 school in New York. Afterward, he pitched for the independent Rockland Boulders, but never earned his way into an MLB organization until now.

If Adams continues to impress, he could very well quickly rise in the ranks within the organization.