Christian Botter’s international success is helping him become one of Ohio’s best relief pitchers.
When the NCAA Division I baseball season kicked off in February, more than 10,300 student-athletes hit the field to compete for their respective schools.
Only 118 of those student-athletes are Canadian. Ohio sophomore relief pitcher Christian Botter is one of them.
Growing up playing youth baseball in Vaughan, Ontario — a suburb of Toronto — Botter understood he was much less exposed to NCAA schools than American players. For as long as he can remember, however, playing collegiate baseball in the United States has been his goal.
“It’s just the next level,” Botter said. “That’s what everybody usually does unless you’re good enough to go right away to the draft.”
Facing challenges unknown to American high school players, Botter developed his game on the international stage and is now one of Ohio’s most dependable weapons on the mound.
Botter’s main obstacle was the structure of his high school baseball seasons, in which cold spring weather limited some seasons to 10 games or fewer. Some of his current teammates played as many as 30 or 40 high school games each year.
At 16, Botter joined the Toronto Mets of the Premier Baseball League of Ontario. The Mets traveled to the U.S. for games on most weekends, which was exactly what Botter was looking for.
“It’s all about coming down here,” he said. “You don’t get much exposure up (in Canada), so as much as you can, you’ve got to come down here.”
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Botter’s success with the Mets, including tossing two no-hitters, helped him earn a spot on Team Ontario, a provincial all-star team. Coached by Canadian baseball mastermind Marc Picard, Botter began quickly developing as a pitcher.
“He’s one of the guys who taught me the most about pitching,” Botter said of Picard, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience and was twice named Canadian Coach of the Year by Baseball Canada. Picard also spent eight years as the Eastern Canadian scout for the New York Yankees in the 90s.
“Playing for Team Ontario gave Christian the opportunity to compete against many of Canada’s top players,” Picard said in an email. “A number of which go on to play at the collegiate and professional levels.”
Botter was selected to Canada’s Junior National Team in October 2012 after earning a gold medal in the Canada Cup with Team Ontario.
While playing for the national team, Botter traveled to the Dominican Republic and Florida to face off against junior and low-level professional teams.
More importantly, Botter gained confidence and continued his growth as a pitcher by facing higher-quality opponents than he would have back home.
“Obviously, playing internationally, he’s seen some good teams, and he’s faced good hitters,” said Ohio coach Rob Smith.
Smith signed Botter as a part of his first recruitment class in November 2012, just more than a month after Botter landed on Canada’s Junior National Team.
Smith, now in his third year coaching the Bobcats, first saw Botter play with the Mets in Columbus during the summer of 2012. He said Botter’s athletic build — he stands at 6-foot-3 and 180-pounds — caught his eye.
“On so many levels he’s grown up, and it’s been fun to see,” Smith said.
In his sophomore season with Ohio, Botter has become one of the team’s most reliable relief pitchers. He ranks first on the team in appearances (20) and third in ERA (2.78.). He has also posted a 2-1 record.
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Botter has shown more consistency this season than he did in 2014, his first season with the team.
“Last year was definitely rough,” said Botter, who had a 6.59 ERA in 10 appearances in 2014.
Smith said Botter was unsure and passive as a freshman, causing him to struggle.
“This year, really from day one — even in the weight room, conditioning and on the baseball field — he’s just been a much more aggressive player,” Smith said.
If Botter was initially unprepared to play Division I baseball, despite achieving success at various levels both in Canada and internationally, that’s no longer the case.
“Regardless of the travels that he had, he still had some growing up to do, and he’s certainly done that,” Smith said. “You’re starting to see his previous experiences helping him out a lot more now.”
@JordanHorrobin
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