Pat Neshek played three years at Butler before moving on to MLB. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.

SAWYER GOLDWEIN | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu 

In 1998, a right-handed shortstop with a bizarre windup took the mound to show off his pitching in front of scouts at an open tryout in Minnesota. Pat Neshek reached velocity in the high 80s,  an impressive mark for any high schooler, let alone one who was primarily not a pitcher.

Neshek’s velocity and funky delivery caught the attention of Steve Farley, the head coach of Butler baseball at the time. However, it was a personal touch that made the kid from Park Center Senior High School stand out from the crowd.

Farley, who had never met or even heard of Neshek before, was caught off guard when the All-State infielder approached him after the tryout.

“I was walking away,” Farley said. “Pat came walking up [and said], ‘Hey, Coach Farley! Did you get my letter?’ I had to play dumb because I had no idea what he was talking about.”

Farley eventually returned to his office, where Neshek’s letter was waiting for him. It read similarly to a short college application essay, expressing interest in Butler, explaining some past interactions with Indianapolis and even telling Farley about him and his dad’s affinity for the Indy 500.

“It was like he was recruiting me more than I was recruiting him,” Farley said.

As the recruiting process continued, Neshek whittled down his list of options, eliminating schools like Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Creighton. He also had the option to go pro, having been drafted in the 45th round by the Minnesota Twins. He declined, opting to refine his game at the collegiate level.

“I think if I had signed out of high school, I don’t know if I would have made it,” Neshek said. “I learned so much at Butler.”

Despite the other routes available to him, Neshek chose to attend Butler.

“Butler felt a lot more [like] home,” Neshek said. “Farley was a very good recruiter. I ultimately picked him because he was on me non-stop and promised me coming in freshman year [that I would] pitch a lot.”

Farley stayed true to his word, and Neshek led the team with 21 appearances in his first year as a Bulldog. 

Neshek spun a few gems, but it was an inconsistent first year — not out of the ordinary, especially for a player who did not have much pitching experience. Not only was Neshek not a polished pitcher yet, but an injury forced him to make his already awkward windup even more unusual.

“I got hit by a pitch while I was batting; it hit my wrist,” Neshek said. “It forced me to drop down to sidearm.”

Changing his release point was a primary cause for Neshek’s struggles in his first year. He led the team in walks by a landslide and posted a pedestrian 4.63 ERA.

Neshek’s unconventional pitching technique presented a unique coaching dilemma for Farley. Despite his non-traditional delivery, Farley decided to embrace Neshek’s uniqueness.

“He was kind of a mechanical train wreck,” Farley said. “But as we got into the first year, I remember having this breakthrough with him. I said, ‘Pat, what you do is different and not what I would teach every pitcher. But keep doing what you’re doing. The best coaching I can give you is not trying to change you.’”

Farley quickly demonstrated belief in his young pitcher, putting him in big-time situations, including against Notre Dame, which was No. 27 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings. His toughest challenge was during his sophomore year — a road game against South Carolina, ranked No. 2 in the country at the time, according to Collegiate Baseball. Neshek took the opportunity to prove himself against stiff competition, pitching an extremely strong game despite a 1-0 loss.

Neshek also demonstrated incredible durability, pitching a remarkable game against the University of Illinois Chicago in the consolation bracket of the conference tournament — which Butler went on to win. Neshek gave up two runs but pitched a complete game, with Farley recalling him throwing a whopping 160 pitches to keep the Dawgs alive.

Former Butler first baseman Paul Beck — a teammate and longtime friend of Neshek —  noticed the right-hander’s poise in the spotlight.

“His competitiveness and confidence are what really stand out,” Beck said. “He always pitched in the big games for us. He never backed down and really made us all feel like we could beat anyone at any time.”

Neshek’s confidence manifested itself in the form of a historic sophomore season. Neshek made 13 starts, throwing four complete games and setting a Butler record by striking out a conference-leading 118 batters. His crowning performance came against Detroit Mercy, when he struck out a Butler-record 18 batters.

Neshek particularly enjoyed facing high-caliber opponents and was always excited to prepare for his starts.

“It was a challenge to me,” Neshek said. “I liked to scout and read up. [The big schools] would print stats online, which was kind of uncommon at the time. I would dig into it and see which guys had weaknesses and who were the home run hitters.”

Experience against high-quality offenses helped Neshek hone his craft, making him increasingly tough to hit. Beck had his fair share of battles against his college roommate.

“I was lucky enough to face numerous pitchers in college [or] summer leagues that went on to play in MLB, and Pat was definitely the toughest,” Beck said. “Even when you had an obvious hitter’s count like 2-0, it felt like 0-2. It was never a comfortable at-bat, and even if you knew it was coming, his slider was dominant. We had a lot of good battles, but I don’t ever remember hitting a ball very hard off him.”

As Neshek’s junior season began, it became increasingly more apparent that he would soon be drafted once again. He pitched better than ever, as his stellar 3.08 ERA and seven complete games were both the best marks in his Butler career. Neshek also etched himself into Butler’s history books one more time, finishing with 280 career strikeouts. That record stood until 2019, when it was broken by now-Tampa Bay Ray Ryan Pepiot, who also broke Neshek’s single-season strikeout mark.

Neshek’s college career came to a close with a win against Youngstown State in the Horizon League tournament at Jacobs Field, formerly home to Cleveland’s MLB team. As the game ended, Farley could not help but picture his star pitcher’s future.

“I said, ‘The next time Pat’s on this mound, I bet he’s wearing a major league uniform,’” Farley said. “It was giving me goosebumps to think about.”

Neshek was drafted by Minnesota again in 2002, only this time in the sixth round, with a six-figure signing bonus. Immediately upon joining the Twins’ organization, Neshek underwent another major alteration in his baseball journey: a move to the bullpen.

Despite being a starter for his entire Butler career, scouts pinpointed Neshek’s unorthodox delivery as an intriguing asset to the bullpen. Neshek first pitched as a reliever in the Cape Cod Baseball League, a prominent MLB-affiliated summer league.

“When I got to Cape Cod, it was like, ‘Hey, you get to go one inning at the end of a game,’” Neshek said. “I said, ‘Is this a real thing?’ I thought it was such a simple task, and it was really fun.”

Moving Neshek to a relief role proved to be a savvy move. He went on to pitch 13 seasons as a reliever in MLB, receiving All-Star honors twice and finishing with a 2.82 career ERA when he retired after the 2019 season.

While Neshek no longer gets to make memories on the mound or in the clubhouse, he stays connected to the game in other ways. One of those avenues is card collecting, a hobby that stems from his and Beck’s penchant to collect autographs, which they did in college at Indianapolis Indians games and hotels that teams stayed at in Indianapolis.

Neshek even kept up with an online forum of autograph collectors throughout his career, which eventually led him to rekindle his passion for collecting cards.

“It was kind of cool to have that perspective,” Neshek said. “I was always interested in what players thought about autographs. There was a pretty cool community that thrived for it, and that brought me back into collecting.”

Neshek also coaches his son’s baseball teams, keeping the pitcher in touch with the game in a new way. Coaching even allows him to travel, including back to Indianapolis, where he stays with Beck, who notes that Neshek has not changed since college despite his admirable career.

“Pat is really still the same person he was at Butler,” Beck said. “Even after all the success in MLB, he hasn’t changed. He has the same sense of humor and is extremely down to earth.”

Neshek maintains close ties to Butler too, including on an academic level. He was just two classes short of graduating when he turned pro, but could not find a school that would let him finish out his degree. Finally, Butler approached Neshek and offered to let him complete his studies online. He accepted, graduating with a degree in finance in the spring of 2024.

While Neshek is currently focused on family, he may be open to considering a return to his alma mater if a coaching opportunity arises after his kids have gone off to college. 

“That would be really fun,” Neshek said. “I really enjoy the scouting aspect, finding gems that nobody else sees.”

Whether Neshek ever joins a Butler coaching staff or not, his impact on the program and dominance on the mound will live on as the prized product of Bulldog baseball.