Long Road, Fast Start

Former McNeese ace makes MLB debut

By Jim Gazzolo

Will Dion waited 26 years to get his chance at living out his dream.

It took him just five pitches to prove he belonged.

The kid from Sulphur who went to McNeese State because it was his home school, and then stayed through Hurricanes Laura and Delta, finally got his chance in the big leagues last Tuesday night. 

After spending the last six years winding his way through the Cleveland Guardians' minor league system, Dion was called up to the show. Five pitches later, he had worked a scoreless inning against the Washington Nationals. 

“I can’t even put it into words, honestly,” Dion said after the game. “It was everything I dreamed of and more as a kid.” 

While he wasn’t perfect, he did more than just get his feet wet, allowing two runs over three innings. Dion made an impression on his new boss as well.

“The bullpen did a phenomenal job,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Will Dion was incredible.” 

His moment came with the Guardians down 4-1 in the top of the seventh, where he worked his quick debut inning despite allowing a leadoff single to James Wood. His first strikeout came when he got CJ Abrams looking to open the eighth inning. 

Dion finished the night throwing 33 pitches and striking out three without walking a batter. 

Twenty-seven of his pitches went for strikes. That was a change for Dion, who struggled at times with control when he was a starter. He moved to a reliever full-time this year. 

Dion entered in the seventh inning with the Guardians trailing, 4-1. He threw five pitches in a scoreless inning when he worked around a leadoff single by Wood. Dion picked up his first career strikeout when he set down CJ Abrams looking to start the eighth inning and worked around a two-out single by Daylen Lile. 

The ninth-round draft pick in 2021 is a product of the old way of getting to the majors. He had to work through all levels of the Cleveland system, which Dion thinks made the call-up that much more meaningful.

“It means everything,” Dion told Cleveland.com. “Everything I worked hard for, the failures I had coming up, it’s just trusting in God and just paying off. Just being here with the fellas, it’s a blessing.

“Just going through different deliveries and getting hit around, walking dudes, all the different failures that you could possibly, probably have,” Dion said. “I think I had them and I think it made me way better, strong-minded.”

Dion posted a 3-0 record with a 4.50 earned run average in 15 appearances at Triple-A Columbus before his promotion. The lefty allowed 24 hits over 26 innings, striking out 36 while walking just five. Opponents are hitting .245 off Dion this year. 

Over his minor league career, Dion has a 25-21 record in 87 starts over 131 games. He has pitched 498⅓, striking out 555 batters with a 3.43 ERA. 

While at McNeese, Dion won Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year honors as a redshirt sophomore in 2021 after deciding to stay with the program after the facilities were destroyed by Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020.

He was also named to the All-Conference First Team and selected for the SLC’s All-Defensive Team. 

During that season, Dion set the school record for strikeouts with 121 over 82⅔  innings, posting an 8-4 record with a 3.05 ERA. Eric Nachtsheim broke his strikeout record two weeks ago.  

Dion finished that year with five complete games and two shutouts. 

While it has taken a long time to get there, Dion hopes he can pitch well enough to stick around Cleveland for at least a little while.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.