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Tournaments  | Story | 7/21/2019

Carlson cashes in on opportunity

Cory Van Dyke
Photo: Max Carlson (Perfect Game)
HOOVER, Ala. -- Maxwell Carlson made the short walk to the mound, delivered several warm up pitches, and began his outing at the 2019 WWBA 17u Elite Championship, attempting to push Canes National 17u into the semifinals.

A horde of scouts gathered behind the backstop, waiting for Carlson to unleash that low 90’s fastball. Instead, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound righthander deceived everyone with back-to-back changeups to begin the game.



“That was a mistake,” Canes head coach Jeff Petty said with a laugh explaining that his catcher had the wrong pitch card in his wristband.

Mistake or not, it was the beginning of a dominant performance for Carlson as he tossed five shutout innings, scattering two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The Canes defeated East Coast Sox 17u Select 5-0, setting up a chance to take home the title on Sunday.

Carlson’s array of pitches includes a hard fastball that runs in on righties and broke three bats in the first two innings, a fading changeup that may be his most advanced pitch, and a combination of a biting slider and soft curveball. 

“We had to pry the ball out of his hands at the end,” Petty said. “He wanted to keep going. That just talks about his competitiveness and his pitchability. That changeup I feel like is big league ready right now. It’s good. He’s the kind of guy you want on the mound when you’re trying to win a big game.”

It’s clear that Carlson is made for big moments on the bump. That competitiveness is an ode to another Max.

“Professionally, I try to model my game after Max Scherzer,” Carlson said. “I love his intensity and how he throws with intent every single time. Dominates hitters, I love that.”

On Saturday night, the Savage, Minnesota native did exactly that, dominating hitters from start to finish. It was just another example of why Carlson is currently ranked the No. 47 overall player in the 2020 class and why he was selected to compete in the Perfect Game All-American Classic next month in San Diego.

“I try to take after my brother,” Carlson said. “He’s such a hard worker. He wasn’t an All-American, but I try to take after his hard work. Being named as an All-American and having that pay off, that was a really good honor that makes me feel really good about myself.”

That brother isn’t just any ordinary brother. It’s Samuel Carlson, the second round selection by the Seattle Mariners in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Growing up together as two competitive athletes, it wasn’t quite the sibling rivalry that one might expect. 

“When I didn’t have my driver’s license and he did, he’d bring me to workout every day,” Carlson said. “We’d throw together and do arm care together. Everything like that.

“We really didn’t have a sibling rivalry. We built each other up. We helped each other out, we threw together. We did everything together.”

That’s exactly why it’s been so tough for Max to see his brother be hampered by arm injuries since beginning his professional career. As the Mariners pitching prospect recovers from Tommy John surgery, it has finally created some friendly feuding.

“He texted me the other day, and there is a little bit of a rivalry now because he said, ‘We throw the same speed now,’” Carlson said. “He’s bringing it back.”

Sam’s recruiting process allowed Max the opportunity to really walk in his brother’s shoes and see that he could be doing the same one day. Through Sam’s recruiting visits, Max tagged along and began to imagine what the future held for him.

“It all starts with my brother,” Carlson said. “When he started getting recruited, I was like, ‘Wow, I can really do that too if I work hard enough and put in all the work. I can be just like him.’”

It’s why once Carlson finishes his senior season of high school, he’ll be attending North Carolina to play under Mike Fox. The Tar Heels have planted themselves as one of the premier college baseball programs, making the College World Series seven times since 2006.

“Carolina has been my dream school since I was a little kid in fifth grade,” Carlson said. “It started with their basketball team and then my brother started getting recruited and I got into their baseball team. That was it from there. I always wanted to go there.”

That is of course assuming Carlson doesn’t follow the same path as his brother. Sam was committed to Florida before getting drafted and signing his contract out of high school.

It’s a path that Carlson could certainly be headed down, but one that will only be settled with time.

“I don’t really think about it now,” Carlson said. “It’s a little under a year away. We have plenty of time and things can change. You can go up or you can go down. I just try to go out there and have fun, do what I do, and hopefully it works out well for me.”

Carlson is certainly having fun on the field, playing with a loose attitude. That was on display Saturday night where after every inning pitched, one of his teammates would meet him halfway between the mound and the dugout, embracing Carlson with the stuffed animal that he bought the day prior.

“He’s level headed,” Petty said. “His brother played for us. A lot like his brother. He probably learned some things from his brother… He just wants to go out and have fun and compete and win baseball games.”

Equipped with supernatural ability on the field, Carlson is still your typical teenager off the field.

He’s an avid frisbee golfer, noting that he plays pretty much every day when he’s home. He still looks back and laughs at his tee ball picture with the oversized pants and belts. That was the team where he formed some of his best friendships that have survived all these years later. 

His parents, Eric and Monica, played high school sports, but they were never star baseball or softball players. Instead, they have offered the full support of their two sons who have spent the better half of their lives turning heads left and right on the baseball field.

“My parents are just living the dream,” Carlson said. “They love watching both of us.”

Max’s parents may be living their dream, but he’s right in the midst of his own. In fact, that dream nearly reaches full fruition every time he can toe the rubber and do what he does best.

“[Baseball] is just a passion,” Carlson said. “I love the game, love to play it, love to throw baseballs.”
 
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