Despite the departure of Joe McCarthy from the Virginia baseball program after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in June, there will still be a player from Scranton, Pa. donning number 31 in the Davenport dugout this season. Freshman Jake McCarthy has enjoyed his first semester at the University, saying that “it is a lot… busier and obviously more competitive than high school... [but] I think I have been acclimating pretty well. ...I am really enjoying it so far.”
Jake identified one reason for that acclimation — the guidance and advice that he received from his older brother, Joe.
“[I] kinda knew a lot more about the program than most recruits coming in do because [Joe] knew what was going on in the locker room,” the younger McCarthy said. “He [could] give me a personal opinion on the program.”
Joe is fairly humble regarding his influence on Jake’s college choice and transition.
“He just knows a little bit more [about] what to expect coming into the program,” the elder McCarthy said. “I mean, I have just been trying to help him out as much as I can, but he will be fine.”
He seems to be just fine. Jake was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in addition to breaking records as his high school’s star running back.
“Jake is ... [a] really, really good athlete,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “I am really glad and fortunate that we are going to have three or four more years with a McCarthy in our dugout.”
Virginia baseball fans have high hopes that the new McCarthy, who, in the words of O’Connor, is from the “same mold” as older brother Joe, will pick up right where his brother left off. Joe, referred to by his coach as “a rock for us in that lineup everyday,” has enjoyed his transition to professional baseball, playing with the Rays’ short-season Class A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades.
“I didn’t really have too much time to like transition into it,” Joe said. “I mean right from the College World Series, [I] signed a couple of days later. I was playing my first game within the next week. I kind of just hit the ground running, got out there and started playing again. It was a lot of fun.”
Despite his successful transition into the big leagues, which included being named a midseason All-Star in the New York-Penn League, he mentioned that he didn’t have it as easy as Jake since he missed “[having] an older brother to let me know what to expect or how to handle certain things.”
Both young men, however, consider themselves lucky to have another role model and support system outside of each other — the original number 31, Joe McCarthy, Sr.
“Yeah, a lot of guys on the team bust me for [wearing the same number as Joe],” Jake said. “But I have been doing it for 18 years now. We have always worn 31, like my dad did.” Joe Sr., who played at South Carolina and was drafted three times, wore that number back when he played at Scranton High School, where both brothers graduated. This past October, the jersey was retired in honor of all three McCarthy men and Joe and Jake’s sister Morgan.
Although Joe Sr.’s days in the dugout have come to an end and Joe Jr. wears number 43 for the Renegades, one McCarthy remains wearing a number forever associated by Virginia fans with the McCarthy name.
“Some people still think I look like Joe when I am wearing it, so I find that kind of funny,” Jake said with a smile. “But, I mean, it is pretty cool. I mean, he was pretty successful in it, and hopefully I can be too.”
Jake and the Virginia Cavaliers open their season Feb. 19th in Myrtle Beach, S.C. against Kent State, and return four days later to Charlottesville for their home opener.
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