Austin Pope Reflects on his New Year's Miracle, 2024 Resurgence

It was well after 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, and Aces reliever Austin Pope was ready to call it a night. Just before his buddy Jack headed home, Austin gave him a bear hug goodbye.

“Something in my side popped,” Pope said, “and it sounded like a gunshot.”

Months before he was celebrating the iconic ball drop in New York City, Pope’s 2022 season with Double-A Amarillo ended in pain, and it wasn’t just the 9.97 ERA over his last 13 outings. He was running out of options to cure his aching side and back area, which he thought was a minor lat strain and attempted to pitch through in September.

“I went back home (after the season) and rehabbed. I was trying to do everything. Cupping, needling, chiropractor,” he said, “like, literally everything you could think of.”

“I remember saying to my PT staff like, guys, we need to figure this out ASAP,” he said.

Jack had his back.

“It was loud enough for him (Jack) to – when he did it – he was like ‘Oh my God what was that?’”

“I went to my knees,” he said, “I couldn’t breathe. I lost my breath. I couldn’t get air for a good 20 to 30 seconds and then I stood up and it felt unbelievable."

It was a long night of celebrating the new year and his fiancée's birthday, but Pope felt as refreshed as ever. He threw a bullpen the next day at his local training facility and saw the radar flash 96 mph, back to the upper end velocity he established before the injury.

The 26-year-old from Yonkers thinks it was an out of place rib sitting rather uncomfortably for four to five months.

“After being a little hungover, It was not a great day. So I was like ‘okay, we’re good.’”

Reversals have become customary for Pope, who summarily flipped his 2024 season after a very rocky start. He owned an 11.44 ERA through his first 20 appearances with the Aces, walking 20 in 19 ⅔ innings. He ended his season with a 2.68 ERA and a 28% strikeout rate over his final 44 innings of the campaign.

“This is the guy we’ve been waiting for,” manager Blake Lalli said in the midst of Pope’s outstanding run.

His right knee barked throughout the year and was enough of a nuisance to require surgery this winter. He just walked for the first time since the procedure, but said he’ll be ready for the start of the season.

“I pride myself on staying on the field through everything. There were some parts throughout this year and past years where, like, I had to convince people,” he said, “I’m staying on the field. Like do not put me on that (injured) list.”

Pope has a chance to make history this season. He attended Fairfield University, a Jesuit Catholic college with a student body of just over 6,000. Keefe Cato, who, like Pope, hails from Yonkers and was also a right-handed reliever, became the first and only Fairfield product to play in the big leagues in 1983. Forty years later, Pope is aiming to join him on an exclusive list.

The Reno Aces will open the 2025 season on the road in Las Vegas on Friday, March 28. They will make their home debut at Greater Nevada Field on Tuesday, April 1, hosting the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, at 2:05 p.m. PDT.

Season memberships for the 2025 season are available via RenoAces.com by texting "MEMBER" to 21003 or calling (775) 334-7000.

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