This story is featured in the 2024 AppleSox Program. View the full program now at applesox.com/program
The 2024 season represents the 24th summer of Wenatchee AppleSox baseball. Fans have been accustomed to a competitive, high-level team taking the field.
AppleSox fans are also accustomed to seeing a largely different team from one season to the next, which makes players like Quincy Vassar even more special.
This will be the third consecutive summer that he suits up for the AppleSox. Each time that he toes the rubber on a warm summer night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, Vassar fulfills a childhood dream.
“As a kid, playing for the AppleSox was always my biggest dream,” Vassar said. ”I know that not a lot of guys who play in the West Coast League get the opportunity to play three seasons, nevertheless, for the same team. I remember (former head coach) Ed Knaggs telling us when I was a kid at the camps that some of us might get the chance to play for the AppleSox one day if we worked hard enough. The older you get, the more you realize it could be a reality. It’s a blessing, and I’m grateful for it each summer.”
Vassar has carved up hitters in the West Coast League over the last two seasons. His 87 strikeouts are the most by any pitcher since the start of 2022 and are tied for the third-most in AppleSox history. Vassar has also eaten up innings, firing 82.1 innings, which are fourth-most among all WCL hurlers in the last two summers.
Not only has Vassar pitched a lot in the last two seasons, but he has also pitched in some noteworthy games for Wenatchee. The southpaw got the ball for Game 2 of the 2022 North Division Series, and he delivered seven strong innings, only allowing two runs while striking out eight.
Vassar also got the ball for the AppleSox’ next home game: the 2023 home opener at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The AppleSox lost the game but it was a game he sought the opportunity to get the ball and was thrilled to get the nod from head coach Mitch Darlington. He and fellow three-season AppleSox teammates Evan Canfield have both joked about who deserves to be the starter for the first game in Wenatchee this season. The connection between Vassar and his teammates as well as Darlington are big reasons for why he wants to keep coming back to play for the AppleSox.
“He has extremely good baseball knowledge,” Vassar said about Darlington. “He’s a younger guy, which makes him more relatable, especially for the older college guys.
“He just rides for us every single day. He’s not a coach who asks for your best and doesn’t give his best. Another thing I enjoy about Mitch is that, everyone makes mistakes on the field but he is the first to make up for any mistake that he makes. That’s a completely respectable thing from a coach. A lot of guys view summer as a time to get some reps or innings in but to him, winning is everything in Wenatchee. I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s the way I want to play the game and that’s the way that he coaches the game. He’s super enjoyable to play for.”
A great example of the connection between Darlington and his players came last summer during the team’s annual Fan Fest. Vassar, wearing a microphone for a video later posted on AppleSox social media, went up to Darlington asking if he could take some swings during batting practice. Holding back a smile, Darlington sternly told Vassar that he didn’t want him anywhere near a bat all summer. Vassar pressed on, begging for a chance to earn a round of swings in batting practice every time he recorded a quality start (pitched at least six innings while allowing three earned runs or less). Darlington countered by wagering that he would let Vassar step in the cage so long as he fired a complete game shutout. It was a wager that Vassar deemed “unreasonable.”
Darlington appreciates bringing back a talented arm and a local product. The AppleSox skipper grew up in Leavenworth, graduated from Cashmere High School, lives in Chelan and works in Mansfield. As he seeks to bring the most talented players to the Apple Capital of the World, Darlington also wants to bring players who bleed AppleSox colors.
“I feel like Quincy is the kind of guy who summarizes AppleSox baseball,” Darlington said. “He’s that local kid who grew up watching the AppleSox and always wanted to be part of it. Now, he’s had his time the last two summers to be a huge part of us. He’s coming back to put his mark on not only the wins and the losses but also the record book, and he is creeping in on a lot of AppleSox records. He’s a guy who, when I look back at my first two seasons, I can’t help but look back and smile because of the dedication and commitment he has for the AppleSox. He’s always the first guy when the season ends who tells you he’s coming back when you haven’t even offered any contracts yet. It will be awesome to have him back for a third summer.”
Under Darlington’s leadership the AppleSox have tied for the fourth-most wins (64) and fifth-bestwinning percentage (.593) among the 16 WCL teams over the last two seasons. The AppleSox broke single-season team records for walks, runs, stolen bases and RBI in 2022 and then proceeded to break team records for home victories (21), home game winning streak in league play (12), three-game series sweeps (eight), most home runs hit in a league game (four on July 13) and walks drawn (299) in 2023. The 2023 AppleSox won 10 more games than the 2022 version and tied the franchise’s second-best regular-season record with 37 league victories.
Vassar has also been a big part of the team’s success. AppleSox starting pitchers tossed at least five innings in six of his nine starts last summer after achieving it in six of eight starts in 2022. His 42 strikeouts also tied with teammate Jadon Williamson for the seventh-most in the WCL.
Despite his success over the last two seasons, Vassar is still committed to continuously improving his game. While he lowered his ERA from 2022 (4.73) to 2023 (4.26), he issued more walks last season (28 in 44.1 innings) than he did two summers ago (12 in 38 innings).
Nevertheless, he doesn’t allow himself to be wound too tight. On a starting pitcher’s scheduled day to pitch, you will typically see them in the same spot at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, regardless of who the player is. In fact, you won’t see them until about a half hour before game time because they typically spend it alone in the locker room or in the dugout. Many pitchers prefer the quiet and the opportunity to mentally prepare for the evening.
Vassar is not like every other pitcher. He is very visible and undergoes many of the same normal activities of other players on game days. Many times last season, he enjoyed helping Canfield out with infield practice. Canfield would hit fungos to the infielder, and Vassar caught the baseballs thrown back in before tossing them back to Canfield to restart the cycle. That routine continues on days that he is the starting pitcher. Vassar knows that his success comes from his ability to stay focused and relaxed.
“I don’t understand the whole ‘it’s my start day, gotta isolate myself from the team,’ thing that some guys do,” Vassar said. “You’re just another player. It’s just your turn to pitch. Are you going to psych yourself out by sitting alone in the clubhouse for an hour, or are you going to chop it up with the guys who are about to play defense for you? Maybe you make ‘em laugh once, and maybe they make a good play for you. I just never understood isolating yourself. I don’t wear headphones when I warm up or any of that stuff. It’s about keeping the same mentality every day and preparing the same way regardless of what day it is or what situation it is. It becomes easier and more repetitive after that.”
This season will carry with it perhaps extra sentimentality since it is his final year of eligibility. Vassar has not completely committed to pitching in the spring of 2025, so this summer could be the end of his baseball career. What better way to wrap it up than by raising the WCL Championship trophy for his hometown team?
