ARLINGTON, Texas — When Justin Sterner made his big-league debut on May 31, 2024, with Tampa Bay, he became the 35th BYU product to reach the major leagues. And for Sterner, 28, who is now with the Athletics, the moment wasn’t lost on him.
“Everyone says it’s really hard to get here but it’s even harder to stay. Just that mentality of OK, I had a good outing yesterday, but I got to earn it again today. That’s kind of the mentality that I try to approach each day with.”
— Athletics reliever Justin Sterner on making it to the major leagues
“That was one of the main things going (to BYU) and getting into the minor leagues, working out there in the offseason, you’d go through the main tunnel and there’s jerseys of all the guys who played in the major leagues,” Sterner said. “I always thought it would be cool to have my jersey hanging up in there forever. Gotta make that happen.”
Not only did Sterner join the fraternity of BYU players to reach The Show, but he’s also in another pretty exclusive club of big leaguers who served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “That number’s less than 10. Jeremy Guthrie, he’s one,” Sterner said. “He’s a great guy, been able to chat with him a few times. Just a unique brotherhood.”
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Life-changing experience
Before arriving in Provo in 2018, where he pitched for the Cougars till 2020, the young right-hander from Southern California served a two-year church mission in Samoa. It was an experience that changed his life.
“It was amazing. As an 18-year-old kid growing up in an affluent area of Southern (California) Orange County to go to a third world country, yeah (it was full culture shock),” Sterner said. “But I fell in love with the place. I was more emotional leaving Samoa than leaving home just because I’d become so connected with the people.”
And like many who serve Latter-day Saint missions, he left the experience with even more gratitude and perspective.
“Just (the Samoans’) gratitude for everything when they’re living in huts with no walls, $40 a year is their electricity bill,” Sterner said. “They’re going out every day and fishing for their dinner, little things like that where you take a step back and realize how much we have here.
“Those people are still happier than most of us. That was the biggest thing; you don’t need much in this life to be happy and to be grateful for what you have.”
From BYU walk-on to major leaguer
Fresh off his mission, Sterner came to BYU as a walk-on and had a 3.24 ERA in eight relief appearances as a freshman. That summer, he played for Chico in the Great West League, a short-season wooden-bat summer league, where he posted a 7-0 record with a 3.03 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts).
His summer success in Chico set the stage for a strong sophomore campaign with the Cougars, as he finished the season with an 8-3 mark, a 2.92 ERA, a 1.113 WHIP, 71 Ks and only 23 BB in 15 appearances (13 starts). That performance also earned him a scholarship. In 2020, he made four appearances for BYU and signed a free agent deal with the Marlins that summer.
“Yeah, I loved (my time at BYU). It was the only school that offered me anything out of high school,” Sterner said. “I loved it, grateful to the coaching staff there. One of my brothers (Jack) was on the team (from 2019-23) and has now moved on and my second brother (Luke) is still on the team.
“I live 20 minutes from campus in the offseason and am still very involved in the program. Spend a lot of time there helping them and they also help me.”
After making two appearances with the Rays last season, Tampa Bay placed him on waivers last fall. In November, the Athletics claimed him and after earning a spot in their bullpen during spring training, he’s made 15 appearances thus far and is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 1.024 WHIP, 19 K and 9 BB.
Getting noticed
And even though he’s only been an Athletic for a few months, he’s already turning heads.
“He’s been fantastic for us,” said fellow reliever TJ McFarland, a 12-year MLB veteran. “He’s come up in big spots, showing a lot of confidence in big situations and he’s been a staple in our bullpen.
“(His path to get here) is unique. He told us the story. It‘s inspiring,” he continued. “I don’t think I’ve met very many people who‘ve stepped away from baseball for personal reasons and then they come back and be as good as he is with his perspective and (be) a mainstay on his team like he’s doing. The fact that he’s been able to come back to the big leagues has just been incredible to watch.”
Sterner has also made a believer of his manager, Mark Kotsay.
“Kid’s had a lot of success. It‘s not often you find someone that you can look at his track record, a limited amount of big-league time, put into leverage roles right away and has had success,” Kotsay said. “It‘s been nice to watch. You know there’s still going to be ups and downs, but he did a great job of this and helped us win a lot of games.”
More than a cup of coffee
Sterner is happy to be part of a big-league bullpen with the Athletics, but realizes that reaching The Show is only one step, that the real challenge for most who realize their lifelong dream of playing in the bigs is to figure out how to stick there and have a long, productive big-league career.
“It honestly started before college. Even as a little kid in Little League, there were a couple times where I was left off an all-star team or in high school, I was worried I wasn’t going to make the varsity team,” he recalled.
“Honestly, from the second I fell in love with baseball I had to work hard. Yeah, just that work ethic of nothing’s given, you got to work for every little thing that you get, especially at this level.
“Everyone says it‘s really hard to get here but it‘s even harder to stay. Just that mentality of OK, I had a good outing yesterday, but I got to earn it again today. That‘s kind of the mentality that I try to approach each day with.”
Rookie duties
Since his time with the Rays was short, according to his big-league service time, Sterner is still considered a rookie, which means he has certain rookie duties with the Athletics, responsibilities like getting beers for teammates for the plane or bus, or lugging around a speaker, which he handles with enthusiasm.
“Honestly, it‘s not too bad. In Tampa last year, Taj Bradley had to carry a speaker that was about the size of him around and lug it everywhere,” Sterner said. “We’ve got a little turtle box speaker that is pretty loud but thankfully is pretty compact.
“Yeah, I got to charge it, make sure it‘s on the bus, on the plane, at the card table. The game before we leave, I usually have it charging somewhere.”
Justin Sterner is incredibly grateful to be living his dream of pitching in the majors and even still considers the experience of walking onto a big-league field somewhat surreal. He also knows, however, that were it not for his three seasons at BYU, he might not have reached such heights in professional baseball.
“Super grateful to have gone there and I know it will just continue to be an impact in my life as I get older,” he said.
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.
