Lauria rejects Phillies’ offer to coach under Chambers at UNLV

As a Philadelphia native, pitcher Joey Lauria grew up loving the Phillies, and they remain his favorite team.

So when they drafted him Wednesday in the 25th round out of UNLV, Lauria’s dreams were coming true. Or so it seemed.

He had options, and one was to stay at UNLV and be a graduate assistant for two years. So when the Phillies offered the right-hander only a $1,000 signing bonus, that pushed him toward staying with the Rebels.

That’s exactly what Lauria did, choosing instead to work for a coach he once despised.

“I have a great opportunity here at UNLV to get my master’s paid for and be on the coaching staff as a grad assistant,” said Lauria, who recently finished his senior season and will pursue an advanced degree in special education.

“So what the Phillies offered me was not what I was comfortable with, what my family was comfortable with, but ultimately it was my decision, and I think I made a real good decision.”

The decision was a long time coming. The Rebels were at Fresno State on March 1 when coach Tim Chambers approached Lauria about being a grad assistant.

Lauria couldn’t have imagined a few years earlier such a conversation taking place. He signed with the Rebels in 2010 out of Legacy High School, but Chambers wound up pulling his scholarship because Lauria — at 6 feet 4 inches and about 270 pounds — was out of shape with an attitude that could poison a clubhouse.

“You talk about a kid who was lost,” Chambers said.

Getting cut stunned Lauria, who was understandably angry at Chambers but now sees what happened in a different light.

“I was very stubborn at that age,” Lauria said. “I didn’t want to listen to anybody. I hated his guts when he did it, but what he did to me is he made me work my tail off and mature as a person.

“I think a lot of kids would’ve handled it a different way. I thought I wasn’t going to play baseball ever again when it happened, but one morning I woke up and I said, ‘Are you going to let it affect you, or are you going to go out and bust your tail?’ ”

Lauria worked his butt off and went to College of Southern Nevada, where coach Nick Garritano and pitching coach Bryan Gidge gave him a chance to pitch in 2012 and 2013.

After compiling a two-year record of 12-7, Lauria got another chance to play for UNLV when Chambers saw a changed person and recruited him again. Lauria, who liked the idea of playing in front of family, accepted the offer.

“When he came back to us, there was no chip on his shoulder,” Chambers said. “He wasn’t mad. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him was us saying, ‘Sorry about it, you’ve got to go.’ ”

After Lauria signed with UNLV, his relationship with Chambers changed, leading to that moment in Fresno for the player known around the team as Skipper Joe.

“I felt like what Chambers offered me was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Lauria said. “The ultimate goal is to be a college coach. You’ve got to work your way up the ladder, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

Lauria could have gone to work immediately at the high school level. He was offered assistant’s jobs at Legacy and Shadow Ridge.

The lure to keep playing was strong, too. That’s what made his post-draft decision so difficult, particularly because it was the Phillies.

Lauria, who now is listed at 230 pounds, put himself in position to be drafted after going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA this season, striking out 60 and walking 15 in 52 innings.

But Lauria thought about his dad and what he called his “almost fiancee” as he searched his heart.

His dad, Joseph, died at 45 of a heart attack in his sleep when Lauria was a freshman in high school. No matter which direction he went, Lauria believed his dad would have supported him.

As for his girlfriend of five years, Riley Duran, Lauria thought about how their future together might be affected by whatever choice he made. Signing with the Phillies would have meant long bus rides in the boonies while facing long odds of playing in the major leagues.

“I know everybody says ‘Live in the moment,’ but I had to look at what I want for my family in the future because I’m 23 years old,” Lauria said. “I was looking at the future. I wanted to be a dad eventually, a husband eventually.”

Chambers marveled when talking about the Lauria of now compared to the one from the past.

“In 27 years, I’ve never seen a transformation of a young person like this one,” Chambers said. “He’ll be a very, very good coach one day. Those are the stories that keep you going when you do what I do. The person he turned out to be compared to the person he was five years ago means more than any win I could ever get.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.