Alford’s Ascent: From Junior College to A Call Away

Peyton Alford has quickly become a hot arm for Tacoma. After spending three seasons and appearing in 112 games for Double-A Arkansas, the left-hander was assigned to Tacoma on May 26. He signed a minor league contract with the Mariners in 2021. Previously, he spent two years at Walters State Community College before heading northeast to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. At Walters State he helped lead the program to the 2018 NJCAA National Championship while earning NJCAA Tournament MVP honors. Coming out of high school, Alford explained that he “wasn't too sought after” and only had a handful of scholarship offers. He landed on Walters State, a junior college located about 45 minutes away from his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, because of its rich history of developing players to a higher level. Looking back on his time there, Alford credits the program with shaping both his mindset and his overall outlook on the game. Alford then explained that junior college taught him not to look at the shining lights, saying it helped him become “not the preppy D1 guy” and instead gave him “a tough mentality” that he stuck with throughout his entire career. When he transferred to Virginia Tech, he found himself in a rebuilding phase of the organization filled with players who shared similar backgrounds and upbringings. Alford explained, “We were a very gritty team. We had a lot of guys that transferred in the first year because we had a rebuilding staff,” adding that there were “probably 15 to 20 guys from junior colleges.” The shared experience helped build a culture that fit him and his game perfectly. “It was a gritty environment. It was fun, though.”

Having spent nearly a decade climbing the baseball ranks from junior college to Triple-A, Alford believes the biggest change in his game has not been physical, but mental. Looking back on his journey, he explained that his time at Walters State feels like a lifetime ago, saying, “It's probably 2017, 2018, so we're coming up on almost 10 years.” He has adopted a mentality of challenging opponents head-on. “I'm just going to go after guys. I'm going to dare you to hit it,” Alford said. “If you hit a home run, I'll tip my cap, but I'm going to go right back after you.” Through his ten years of experience, he realized that success often comes from getting ahead in counts and trusting his stuff rather than pitching with fear.

After being named the Mariners' Minor League Reliever of the Month for May, Alford recognized his success and impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio was a very simple philosophy: attack the strike zone and trust the people around him. “You've just got to go right after guys,” Alford said. “If I give up a hit, so be it.” That confidence comes from a strong belief in his own arsenal and an ability to live with the results when hitters make quality at bats. Alford also credited his success by having the high level of trust he has in his teammates, being a key factor in his ability to continually attack hitters without hesitation. He also believes that strong chemistry throughout the clubhouse allows pitchers to focus on executing pitches rather than worrying about the outcome of every ball batted in play. “I know I've got a ton of great defenders behind me”.

For Alford, the offseason is not just about preparing for another season of professional baseball, it is also an opportunity to spend time with family. A big part of that preparation involves his two brothers, Tyler and Taylor, who have both taken turns serving as his bullpen catchers over the years. Alford joked that his older brother may have gotten the better deal after moving to different states, saying, “He got a little luckier. He moved a little farther away.” When his older brother returns home, he still serves as Peyton's catcher. His younger brother, meanwhile, remains much more involved in the day-to-day offseason routine. Alford laughed that every winter his brother already knows what is coming, explaining, “Every offseason, even this year, he knows what's coming.” Alford acknowledged that catching bullpens is not always glamorous, especially during cold Tennessee winters. “It's not fun getting catching gear on and going when it's 40 or 50 degrees in Tennessee to do bullpens,”

Although baseball consumes most of his time during the season, Alford makes a point to get outdoors whenever he has a chance. He described himself as a “big fisherman” and “big outdoorsman,”, even stating he went the morning of this interview! While visiting the coastline recently, Alford heard reports that orcas had been spotted nearby and went looking for them himself. “They said there were orcas, so I was looking for them the other day, but I saw some seals, which are massive. I didn't realize how big a seal was.” While hunting is another passion of his, Alford acknowledges that it is difficult to fit into the baseball season. He especially enjoys experiencing parts of the country that are different from his home state of Tennessee. “Being back in the Pacific Northwest, there are so many great places to explore and places that I would obviously never see being in Tennessee.”As Alford put it, “Every time I get an off moment or some off time, I'm going to find some water to jump in or wet a line.”