LANCASTER, Pa. — There are many dreams kids have. Out of the many options, one of them is to be a professional athlete. For a small percentage, they're still living that dream.
Barnstormers pitcher Andrew Lee may not be now, but he hasn't given up.
"From five years old to 29, [I've] want[ed] to make it to the big leagues. You want to be a household name, where people see you and they know who you are," Lee explained.
It's a special drive that keeps him wanting more.
Lee went on to say, "I hate to lose, more than anything. It's one of those things where you hate losing more than you like winning and that's just a trust that a lot of these guys have, is to compete. I do it here. I do it on the golf course with my friends and I probably won't let my kids win in the games we play. It's just part of who I am."
That style had 'Stormers Manager Ross Peeples wanting to sign a guy that puts his heart and soul into everything he does.
"Knowing that you can put him out there and knowing what you're going to get every time, is definitely a plus. It makes you relax a little bit and it's definitely big for this league and the position he's in the closing role," Peeples explained, in his 6th year as the Barnstormers Manager.
Lee is a veteran on the mound. He spent eight years in the Washington Nationals organization; with the last three seasons with stints playing on City Island in Harrisburg, playing for the Senators.
Although, he's playing just 38 miles southeast of the Sens. There are some differences between AA and Independent ball but they aren't that much different at all when you have players with experience in all levels of the game.
"The competition is very similar. You have a lot of veterans, which is something that you see at the higher levels of the Minor Leagues. In the Atlantic League, we have so many guys, like we played against Daniel Murphy who I saw playing with the Nationals when I was a Minor Leaguer," said Lee.
The next chapter of his career could start tomorrow. It's a waiting game to get the call from his agent but all he can do is surf this crazy wave and do what he does best. Bring the heat on the mound.
"One of the wildest parts that's hard for people to grasp about Minor League baseball or Independent baseball is the day-to-day uncertainty and when they ask you about it. It's kind of whatever. I guess I'll go where they tell me to go and it's funny because a lot of people like to plan out their stuff," said Lee. "My wife has grown to know, almost every time she plans a visit with me. I've moved. In my first three years with the Nats. Every time I called her to tell her to pack her bags, she's like, 'I was supposed to be there next week' and all of a sudden, she's traveling to a different city and meeting me on the road. It's just something we've taken in stride and honestly, it's just something you learn to grow and it becomes the allure of baseball. To where you never know where the next day may hold."
Lee was an addition to the Barnstormers roster at the beginning of 2023.