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Xavier Scruggs continues to leave his mark on MLB
Following seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins, Xavier Scruggs is continuing to make an impact on the game of baseball.
When the Cardinals Caravan stopped in Cape Girardeau on Monday, Scruggs talked to the crowd about his time with the Cardinals as well as how he’s staying involved after his playing career.
Scruggs was initially drafted in the 50th round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners but decided to attend UNLV to further progress as a player.
“It was huge for me,” Scruggs said. “Because when I was drafted out of high school I had an opportunity to at least be a professional at some point. It was a huge confidence builder and it motivated me like no other.”
Scruggs said he knew no matter what happened in the 2005 draft that he would go to UNLV.
“I knew I wasn’t mentally or physically ready yet for professional baseball,” Scruggs said. “College education was important to me and my family as well.”
After three seasons at UNLV, the St. Louis Cardinals selected Scruggs in the 19th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
“I remember that day extremely well,” Scruggs said. “I was told I was going to get drafted a little bit earlier than I was so naturally round after round after round I was getting more anxious and more nervous. I remember leaving the computer and I just went to go workout some frustration and I remember being on the stair master and getting a call from the Cardinals.”
Just six-years after being drafted by the Cardinals, Scruggs would make his MLB debut in 2014.
“It was indescribable,” Scruggs said. “It was a moment where all the emotions come out. I was fortunate for it to come and capture a dream.”
After spending 2014 and 2015 with the Cardinals, Scruggs played 2016 with the Marlins and following that he went on to play for the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).
“You go to a KBO game and it’s like a party in the stands,” Scruggs said. “Everybody is screaming and yelling for the whole game. I tell people it’s like a Duke vs North Carolina basketball game. It’s really special because you can tell how passionate they are about the game.”
Despite his playing career coming to an end, Scruggs is continuing to have an impact on the game, serving as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant for the Cardinals baseball operations team and as a member of the media.
Scruggs covers the MLB for ESPN and he is also a panelist on the MLB Network show “Off Base”.
The interest in media came from being able to dig deeper into the lives of players and what helped get them to where they are.
“It was an opportunity to learn about guys’ stories and then tell those stories via broadcasting,” Scruggs said. “That’s what excited me most because I love finding the details that maybe somebody else can’t find. As a former player, I know there’s a lot more we can be doing in media for baseball to help elevate the game.”
Scruggs said the fact he is a former player helps him develop deeper questions for players and coaches.
“I just thought about some of the questions I wished I got asked,” Scruggs said. “It’s definitely helped me in that sense.”
On top of his work at ESPN and MLB Network, Scruggs recently started a podcast, Show N’ Go with X, where he sits down with current and former players for an extended conversation.
“The idea came from just wanting to give guys a platform to talk about some of the things that maybe we don’t get to talk about as much during the season,” Scruggs said. “I’m just trying to use the opportunity to give guys a platform to really market themselves.”