Phillies prospect Josh Tols has taken an unconventional journey to pro ball

ALLENTOWN — Rugby and cricket are among the most popular sports in Australia, where baseball is considered second-tier. Phillies pitching prospect Josh Tols didn’t care, and he still doesn’t care.

How exactly did a kid from Australia’s Gold Coast get introduced to baseball?

His parents and their friends wanted an excuse to hang out with each other, so they put their kids on the same T-ball team.

Living less than two minutes from a baseball field, where his Little League team would practice as he got older, only strengthened his love for the game.

Tols said that when he was a sophomore in high school he knew he wanted to play baseball in the United States.

But how do you get the attention of coaches almost 10,000 miles away? Have a little faith and determination, and send more than 200 emails to coaches around the United States.

“I had a list of pretty much every junior college in the country,” Tols said. “Sent the email and put some stats in.”

Tols cast his net all over the country. The only condition his parents had for him was to have his tuition fully paid. They would cover his living expenses.

John Wood Community College in Quincy, Ill., offered to cover his tuition. Without really knowing much about the program or the city, Tols said he got on a plane to the States. The John Wood pitching coach picked him up in St. Louis and drove him the two hours to campus.

“Going from a little beach community in South Australia to a farm town in Illinois was a bit of a culture shock,” Tols said.

After two years at John Wood, Tols transferred to Division II Rockhurst University in Kansas City, where he spent three years. After he graduated, Tols still wasn’t ready to give up baseball.

Tols said he played three years of independent baseball. He got paid $53 a week, he didn’t have a clubhouse, and he had to wash his own uniform and drive himself to road games.

“If you can survive that, you can survive anything,” Tols said.

He went to Japan for a year, but Tols didn’t really enjoy the experience and quickly returned states-side.

“The way they play and run things is kind of traditional and old. It’s just a different style of baseball. Didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Tols said. “Glad I did it. Don’t know if I’d go back for that specific league.”

After almost 10 years in the United States, Tols signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies in February 2018, at age 28.

“I didn’t really think I’d experience [this], going to college and being a small, soft-throwing lefty,” Tols said. “I was being realistic about my baseball career the whole time.”

Even though independent baseball posed some challenges, he was happy just to play baseball. He never imagined he would one day attend Phillies spring training and play for their triple-A team an hour away from Philadelphia.

Right before he joined the Phillies, Tols said, he signed a contract to play with an independent team, but when the Phillies came calling, he was in disbelief.

“I was like. 'I’m 28 years old. This is not real, How is this happening right now?’ ” Tols said.

All of his experiences allowed Tols to appreciate playing for the IronPigs and getting invited to spring training with the Phillies.

“It was the greatest experience of my life. The facilities, the coaching, weight room, everything you could ever want to get better all in one place,” Tols said. “Every day, I could go to my locker and I had a Phillies jersey there. I had to pinch myself.”

The 5-foot-7 left-hander has appeared in 17 games for the IronPigs this season, with a 5.92 ERA, 19 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 24⅓ innings.