The Cowboy Way

Following the cowboy way, exercising basic logic, came Logan Gragg, a livestock major, making his way onto the 2019 Oklahoma State baseball roster.

He broke onto the scene in a big way going 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA in 23 appearances including four starts and 19 in relief. Gragg accumulated 35 strikeouts in 39.1 innings pitched and recorded two saves.

Like a typical cowboy some of Gragg's numbers can be deceiving.

During his high school career at Prairie Grove as a senior coached by Chris Mileham in 2016, Gragg's 4-4 record didn't showcase his effectiveness. His statistics featured 80 strike-outs, 9 walks, 2 wild pitches, 7 hit by pitch, and only 7 earned runs and limiting opponents to 2 doubles, no triples, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice fly, and 13 stolen bases through 756 pitches. While facing 202 batters in 185 at-bats, Gragg held opponents to a .257 on-base percentage and .195 batting average.

"Most often pitchers of that caliber don't get out of our state. Arkansas does a pretty good job of keeping those kids at home. I guess he just slipped through the cracks," Mileham said. "Coach (Mitch) Cameron had done a good job working with him when he was younger. I just had a front-row seat and I'm sure he had other coaches as well."

After high school Gragg spent two seasons at Connors State Junior College in Warner, Okla., near Muskogee where he came back from Tommy John surgery to pitch in 13 games as a sophomore and went 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA. Gragg recorded 56 strikeouts in 48 innings of work. He started 14 games as a freshman and went 11-2 with a 2.50 and racked up 82 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings.

According to a press release issued by Oklahoma State, Gragg was also recruited by Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Gragg chose OSU because of what he considers a great coaching staff and great agricultural program. During an April 24 press conference, Gragg said while attending junior college Oklahoma grew on him and he admired the Cowboys' traditional, strong baseball program.

Oklahoma State won the 1959 national championship, and has appeared in the championship game six times.

The Cowboys have qualified 20 times for the College World Series, which ranks fifth all-time. Legendary coach Gary Ward consistently produced teams that dominated the Big Eight Conference racking up an NCAA-record 16 consecutive league crowns from 1981-96. The Cowboys won a record 23 Big Eight championships from 1953-96.

Under current coach Josh Holliday, the Cowboys have played in seven straight regionals and two super regionals. In 2016, Oklahoma State returned to Omaha and the NCAA College World Series for the first time since 1999, and came up one win short from appearing in the championship series. This season they were one win away from going to Omaha.

Gragg is the son of Scott and Shawna Gragg, and has two older siblings, Loren and Ashtin.

He said one of the differences between junior college and NCCA Division I baseball is having to locate throwing off-speed pitches for strikes as opposed to relying on fast balls.

"I've been through some changes. Worked on mechanics at the beginning of the year starting. Then went to a reliever role, working on my confidence and all that's starting to come together now," Gragg stated during an April 24 press conference. "I've been coming into situations with runners on so I'm having to be a lot more confident with all my stuff."

Gragg helped Oklahoma State finish the regular season with a flush. The Cowboys won 11 of their last 13 games on the way to claiming the Big 12 tournament championship. They won the Oklahoma City Regional with Gragg throwing 1.1 scoreless innings and advanced to last weekend's Super Regional before being eliminated by Texas Tech at Lubbock, Texas.

"I think he had a learning curve going from junior college to the Big 12, but it didn't take him long to figure it out," Mileham said. "He's one to make adjustments, he's one to battle through adversity. He went through Tommy Johns surgery, then to bounce back and take up where he left off, he's a tough, blue collar, hard-nosed kid, who doesn't have any quit in him."

Mileham, who formerly coached on the staff of the Wichita Wingnuts, a minor league team, wasn't surprised the St. Louis Cardinals picked Gragg in the eighth round last week knowing the hurler's work-ethic.

"A kid like that is special. It goes way beyond baseball. It goes back to his parents, Shawna and Scott Gragg, and the way they raised him. They let coaches coach their kids, they are really supportive," Mileham said. "I'm very proud to have had a flash in his (career). We all knew when he was in high school that besides his athletic ability, he was a special young man. He really had his priorities in check."

And that, baseball fans, represents the cowboy way.

MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS REPORTER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER. THE OPINIONS ARE HIS OWN.