Minooka retires Foltynewicz's No. 25

CHANNAHON – As Minooka baseball coach Jeff Petrovic said, "Once an Indian, always an Indian. Go Braves."

The jersey number 25 of the favorite son of the Minooka baseball program, pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, was retired Friday night in a ceremony preceding the Indians' boys basketball game against Plainfield East.

Foltynewicz, the first-round draft pick of the Houston Astros in 2010 out of Minooka, got his first taste of the major leagues late last season, making 16 relief appearances. Armed with a 100-mph heater, he was the central figure going to the Atlanta Braves in the recent trade for power-hitting outfielder Evan Gattis.

"This is a pretty big deal to me," Foltynewicz said of his jersey being retired. "A lot of hard work and dedication went into getting where I am, and a lot of that started in high school.

"Tonight, I have so many people showing their appreciation, so many family members and friends. Everyone is congratulating me a lot. Like this guy."

That was the moment Scott Parzych walked by and offered his best wishes. Parzych was the all-state center on Lockport's unbeaten state championship basketball team in the late 1970s and his son, Blake, and excellent football player, is Minooka's starting center this winter.

Foltynewicz said several of his former teammates and classmates were on hand, along with some who went before him in the Minooka program.

"I still haven't lost all those friendships one bit," he said. "It's always nice – this is like a reunion."

Petrovic is much more to Foltynewicz than his high school baseball coach.

"He's good to me. He's a friend," Foltynewicz said. "We play golf together. It's cool to talk to him. He pushed for this night. That's the kind of guy he is. I thank him and Mr. Tyrell [Bob Tyrell, the Minooka athletic director] for making this happen."

As for his Petrovic's golf game, "It's crazy how good he is," Foltynewicz said "I'm a big guy and can hit a golf ball a long way. As small as he is, he'll get up there and hits it farther than me. Then his short game, he just nails those shots. I love getting out and messing around with him on the course."

Petrovic has warm feelings for Foltynewicz as well.

"Mike deserves to be the first in our program to have his number retired," Petrovic said. "He has meant that much to our program. Having to buy a new jersey, that's a small price to pay."

Foltynewicz has donated sports memorabilia items to the Minooka athletic program. In the offseason, he throws with current pitchers in the program.

"It's always great to see Mike around and talk with him," Petrovic said. "The guys like having him around."

Foltynewicz will be leaving soon for spring training in Florida. The Braves have told him they want him to compete with Wandy Rodriguez and maybe a couple of others for the fifth-starter spot.

"They want me to be a starter, which is what I've been practicing to do," he said. "If I'm not, I might be in the pen with [Craig] Kimbrel in an eighth- and ninth-inning thing."

Regardless of his role, Friday's ceremony suggests he always will have plenty of support back home.