Baseball: Sebby turned failure into great success

Sometimes failure actually is an option.

Michael Sebby's moment arrived early in his baseball tenure at Glenbard East. So early, in fact, that failure morphed from an option into an opportunity.

Sebby was a sophomore making his varsity debut on the mound against Lincoln-Way East. He retired the first two batters he faced, and then the wheels fell off.

"It was horrible," Sebby said. "I didn't want my high school career to be like that."

Five hits, a walk, three hit batters and 7 earned runs later, Sebby remained on the mound trying to escape the nightmare. Rams coach Joel Pelland left him out there, knowing the experience would pay future dividends.

"He kind of looked at me to see if I'd take him out, but I didn't want to rescue him right away," Pelland said. "He learned from that. He knew he was good, but he also knew how much better he needed to get and how hard he had to work."

It's two years later, and Sebby's reaped the fruits of failure.

The area's most dominant pitcher this season also proved to be one of its most potent hitters. It's a combination the Illinois State-bound senior left-hander used to lead Glenbard East to its most successful season in more than a decade.

It's also earned Sebby selection as the 2016 Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Baseball Captain.

"First and foremost, he just competes out there," said Glenbard West coach Andy Schultz. "He's tough. He's the real deal. There's a reason he's been so dominant this season."

'I don't go light'

Pelland once checked in on Sebby on a day he was scheduled to pitch. Sebby said his body was sore from lifting a little too hard in the weight room earlier that day.

"I asked him why he didn't go light," Pelland said. "He told me, 'I don't go light.'"

The work ethic born during his first years at Glenbard East carries over to this day. Sebby was consistently the first one to arrive for early-morning workouts in the off-season, and after every game day he'd stick around to either lift or work on his swing in the cage.

"I don't see it as a routine, it's just how I feel I need to approach the game," he said. "It's the way it needs to be for me to keep getting better."

Sebby's relentless schedule rubbed off on the entire team. It helped Glenbard East win 28 games this season and an outright championship in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division.

"He's always the first one there and the last to leave," said senior teammate Ryan Schefske who, like Sebby, was promoted to varsity as a sophomore. "What he did this season doesn't surprise me at all given how hard he's been working. We all expected this from him."

This season Sebby led DuPage County in wins by going a perfect 11-0 with 3 saves and 95 strikeouts. His 0.78 ERA in 72 innings was the lowest in the county thanks to a dazzling combination of an upper-80 mph fastball, a changeup and curveball.

Sebby also showed surprising pop at the plate. He batted .431 with 8 home runs, 33 RBI and a 1.407 OPS. Sebby's improved so much at the plate that Illinois State, which offered him a scholarship as a pitcher, is thinking about using his bat in the lineup.

"We knew we were going to be a good team this season, and we just had to take it one game at a time," Sebby said. "Working hard every day was what made it happen."

'I won't take a day off'

As hard as Sebby's worked at baseball, he's also worked hard in the classroom to graduate with a 5.0 grade-point average and score a 28 on the ACT. At Illinois State, which he chose from a college list that included Northern Illinois, Columbia and Arkansas, he's planning to work toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

The desire for excellence never fades.

"I'm extremely hard on myself, and that's why I won't take a day off," he said. "It's been a process to get to this point, and I'm going to keep working at it."

Memory won't let the desire fade.

There's the memory of Sebby being cut from a youth team in back-to-back years. There's the memory of a freshman summer league game when he gave up a home run at Benedictine University that rocketed so far over the right-field fence that it hit a building.

The ability to work past failure allowed Sebby to ultimately enjoy a level of success that far outweighs the negative.

"He's one of the hardest workers I've ever coached in any sport at any school," Pelland said. "You see guys who work hard and then you see guys who work hard with a focus."

Every setback story is countered by five that feature Sebby's brilliance. The string of six straight starts where he didn't allow more than 4 hits or 1 earned run. The complete-game victory he gutted out against South Elgin that helped seal the UEC Valley title.

Good and bad, the last four years have prepared him for what's to come in the future.

"This is probably what I expected of myself, but I know I'm not finished," Sebby said. "As hard as I've worked to get to this point, I know I still have to work so much harder."

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