Lola Quigley ’20, Raina Kuzemka ’20, Devon Whitaker ’20: Mark Washington, Episcopal Academy Class of 2014, recently decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking his baseball career to the next level. Washington began his baseball career when he was four, playing Tee-Ball for the Chichester Baseball League. The father of Anthony Feliziani ‘14 taught Washington the basics of baseball, such as the rules of the game, while Washington’s father helped him with the rest. Ever since his childhood, Washington’s idols have been Dontrelle Willis and Pedro Martinez. Some of his favorite moments were spent playing for the Brandywine Youth Club.
At the age of eleven, Washington and his team were playing for the Pennsylvania state championship against the Tri-Township baseball team. Washington remembers, “It was Tri Township’s last chance to try and win the game in the sixth inning. The lead off ripped a hard ground ball down the third base line.” He recalls that the highlight of his young career was, “fielding the ball and throwing the runner out”, a play that won his team the championship.
Washington took his baseball career all the way to Lehigh University, where he became a “preferred walk-on” as opposed to being recruited out of highschool. The adjustment to becoming a freshman in the classroom as well as on the field was challenging for Washington. Washington explains, “As a freshman at Lehigh, I got the opportunity to be a weekday starter, eat up innings, and get experience at the collegiate level.” During his freshman year, his team beat Navy for the Patriot League Championship.
Washington states his sophomore year was crucial because it put him on “radars of area scouts of MLB organizations.” His success at Lehigh helped him get the opportunities with these scouts. Unfortunately, Washington received an injury his junior year with a sprained wrist and mildly strained UCL. Although this was a setback, he was able to fully recover.
With the help of the Lehigh coach, Sean Leary, and his advisors, Washington was invited to multiple MLB workouts, one of which led to his drafting by by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The day of the draft, Mark and his father sat anxiously waiting to hear a call from his agent to tell him what round he would be put in. When his name was called, he was most excited to tell his teammates, as they have, in Washington’s words, “pushed and helped along the journey.”
When he was drafted he discussed his options with his father and his advisor to decide what would be the best fit. “After I made the decision to accept,” Washington explains, “the Dodgers flew me out to Arizona to officially sign and start my career in the minors as an AZL Dodger.”