MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s been almost two years since Preston County native Jimmy Galuksi was chosen by the White Sox in the 20th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft. On that June day, everything had come full circle for the then-West Virginia shortstop, and a few days later he was off to Scottsdale, Ariz., for training camp before he played his first professional season split between the Great Falls (Mont.) Voyagers and the Arizona League White Sox.
But after his inaugural pro year, Galusky tore a ligament in his thumb while training in the offseason and teaching at Pro Performance Rx at Mylan Park.
“[I was] trying to give back because people like Jedd Gyorko gave back to me when I was that age,” Galuksy said. “I’m always trying to give back, that’s why I’m here. I planned on going to spring training and playing another season where I was, but I ended up, while I was training in the winter and doing lessons at Pro, tearing a ligament in my thumb. I had surgery about a month ago, so I can’t really do much right now. The surgeon is trying to get me back to about 80%, but I just got out of a cast and have zero mobility in it right now.”
While trying to get his affairs in order after the thumb injury, Galusky was contacted by Morgantown’s first-year head coach Pat Sherald asking if he’d want to join the staff — “I wasn’t going to help them [because] I was going to go back to play another season, but that didn’t end up working out because of the thumb injury,” he said — and after finding out that his recovery window was going to be five to six months, he obliged and dawned the red, white and blue.
But like the rest of the sports world, COVID-19 turned Galusky’s world upside down. He trusts what’s going on at the top of both MLB and MiLB, but he is concerned about how things are going to play out if a deal is struck to have a season.
“It’s a really tough time, and I think the higher-ups have taken care of what needs taken care of,” he said. “You know, just being a baseball guy, you hope to get out there and play but it’s hard to get people in the stands with social distancing. And when you’re in the locker room with a bunch of guys, it’s hard. You’re around guys every day, you brush your teeth beside a guy every day. But you never know what can happen. I guess they’re trying to make a season without fans, but when your family and fans can’t be there, it’s hard to have hope for playing baseball the way you know it should be played.”
His pro job aside, Galusky is also upset he likely won’t be able to work with the Mohigans. As a former Post 2 player, he was excited to work with Morgantown’s group of Post 2 guys and make this one of MHS’s best seasons to date.
“I felt like I could’ve helped out coach Sherald,” Galusky said. “I wanted to be able to give back to the kids we had. I think we would’ve had a good team.”
While things seem bleak now, Galusky has hope for the sport and especially for the talent-rich Mohigans under the direction of Sherald.
“It was cool to be out there and see how high school baseball was played again after a bunch of years away of not seeing it. It’s a little bit slower pace than what I’m used to, but it was nice seeing kids get out there and work toward a common goal. There’s a lot of talent in Morgantown and I think coach Sherald is going to be able to do a lot with it,” he said.
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