Standing at the altar on Dec. 6, 2008, Chantilly native and current Chicago White Sox reliever Jon Link wasn’t nervous. He couldn’t be. Better yet, in his profession he’s not allowed to be.
“I can’t get nervous,” Link said. “My wife probably doesn’t want to hear that, but I wasn’t nervous … I was ready. That’s what I tell her.”
Link recorded a league-best 35 saves last summer for the AA Birmingham Barons of the Southern League and was added to Chicago’s 40-man roster on Nov. 20. In addition to marriage, he and his wife recently purchased a house near Fair Oaks Mall.
Conducting two youth baseball clinics last Saturday at Frozen Ropes Training Center in Chantilly, Link lectured on everything from basic mechanics and pickoff moves to arm and body care and how to field the position. He closed the session with a 15-pitch bullpen session to his high school catcher, Billy Cushman.
“One of the things that impressed me and our staff about Jon was his knowledge,” said owner and general manager Craig Koch. “It’s a matter of access to the proper information to help these kids stay injury-free and give them a competitive edge.”
“When I talked to people about doing this everyone said, ‘That’s such a great move for your career,’ and I had to explain to them that it’s not about me. It’s about the kids,” said the 24-year-old Link, a 2002 graduate of Chantilly High School.
“If I can see one of these kids on TV one of these days in my shoes,” Link added, “I will have felt a part of that, and as a coach that’s what you want.”