Conversations with the Herd: Willie MacIver

By: Brian Frank

Bisons catcher Willie MacIver is so polished behind the plate that one might assume he's been playing catcher his entire life. But although he's long thought of himself as a catcher, he actually played a lot of infield growing up—including playing third base at the University of Washington.

"When I was like 12 years old, I decided I wanted to be a catcher," MacIver recently told The Herd Chronicles. "But I was a pretty athletic kid, so most of the time it ended up with me playing shortstop."

"I was always a catcher, but I could just do other things," he continued. "It just so happened that whatever team I was on, they always needed an infielder, and I could fill the spot. So that's kind of how I ended up playing third base. But during that time, I was always working on catching. Catching bullpens and stuff like that... During the high school season, I played shortstop. During summer ball, I played only catcher, so I got recruited to Washington as a catcher."

Even though he intended to play catcher when he was arrived on campus at Washington, team needs once again put him back in the infield.

"When I got there, we had a guy by the name of Joey Morgan (at catcher), who ended up being a third-round pick of the Tigers," MacIver explained. "He was a year older than me, so the manager's like, 'Hey, you want to get on the field, you've got to play third base.' And I was like, okay, I'll do whatever to play on the field. So, yeah, I played third base. I like catching a lot more than playing third base, but anything to get in the lineup. So, I played third base. Then I would go to summer ball in college, and I would be a catcher."

MacIver behind the plate at Sahlen Field. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

MacIver starred for the Wareham Gatemen in the prestigious Cape Cod League following his sophomore season at Washington. He played 21 games at catcher, 29 games at first base, and 11 at third base. He hit a pair of home runs, swiped 16 bases, and was named a Cape Cod League All-Star.

"I loved it," he said of his experience at the Cape. "It was so fun. That's something that as a college baseball player, it's always like I want to play in the Cape because that's the best competition. So getting the opportunity to even play in the Cape was awesome for me, and then to be able to play well out there was awesome for me. I met a lot of really great people out there too. So I really enjoyed my time in Cape Cod."

He played three seasons at Washington and helped lead the Huskies to the College World Series in 2018. They defeated Cal State Fullerton in the final game of the Super Regional on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Kaiser Weiss in the 10th inning to advance to Omaha. MacIver had homered earlier in the historic game.

"One of my biggest highlights of my whole career was walking off Cal State Fullerton to win the Super Regional," he said. "I mean, that was about as good of a feeling as you can get, aside from winning the World Series or something. That was definitely a top memory for me, just because it was our first time that Washington had ever even been to a Super Regional. When I got there as a freshman, it was like—Omaha, Omaha, Omaha—that's our thing, that's our goal—and to achieve that, it was just really special."

That same week, he was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the ninth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft.

"That was a crazy day, because that draft was going on—meanwhile, we're trying to prepare for the regionals (against) Coastal Carolina," he remembered. "We kind of had a practice day. So, I'm kind of having my phone with me. I'm in the weight room, doing my lift, kind of going through practice, and really not knowing what's going on, just knowing that my name hadn't been called yet. It's kind of stressful, actually. But then once it finally happened, it was definitely one of the highlights of my life, getting drafted. It kind of felt like a weight off my shoulders a little bit—like, alright, I'm going to get a chance in pro ball, let's go have some fun with the rest of this playoff run we were on."

He reported to the Low-A Boise Hawks in the Northwest League to begin his professional career and finally get his chance to realize his calling as a catcher.

"I would say that not catching in a lot of games in college kind of made the transition into pro ball a little bit tougher," he said. "Just because you have a lot of high leverage stuff going on as a catcher. I didn't really get to experience a lot of that in college."

"The hard part about it was the talent level in rookie ball is good," he continued. "I mean, they've got just as good of stuff as they've got in the big leagues. The problem is they don't really know how to control it. They don't know where it's going. So as a guy who hadn't seen a lot of upper 90s arms as a catcher, to now having a whole group of guys who were in the mid to upper 90s with nasty movement—it took a lot of work, and it took a lot of hard days and a lot of really frustrating days and a lot of mistakes. I think it was important for me to have to go through that, to learn from those mistakes and learn how to slow the game down, and just all that it takes to be a professional catcher. You really have to dedicate a lot of your time to the pitching staff, and that's something that wasn't a hard part for me, because I love catching. I love it. It was just, I wanted to be really good right away, and I just wasn't really good right away. That was definitely a challenge for me, going through short season, Low-A, there's a lot of tough days, but I'm glad that I went through that."

In just his second season of his pro career, MacIver, who was playing for the Asheville Tourists, was voted the best catcher in the South Atlantic League. Unfortunately, the next minor league baseball season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, MacIver was able to continue working on the catching craft when he was invited to the Rockies alternate training site.

"I just remember feeling so grateful that they gave me that opportunity, obviously, because in that time you're kind of just doing everything on your own," he recalled of his time at the alt-site. "To get some structure like that, and to be able to be around all these big leaguers and fringe big league guys where I was at in my career as a younger guy—the fact that the Rockies gave me that opportunity to go and just develop and be with the coaches and catch all these pitchers. I'm super grateful for that opportunity—and I learned a lot while I was there."

However, the process of learning at such an advanced level wasn't easy.

"I struggled," he said. "I remember having some tough days there, but I remember also how good the older guys were, and how they would pick me up when I was down. I learned a lot about being a good teammate and a good leader from a lot of those guys with the Rockies. I just couldn't be more grateful for that. We got to play at Coors Field every morning—at that time, I hadn't been higher than Low-A, so it was really cool for me."

In 2021, he had a big first half playing at High-A Spokane, slashing .286/.395/.542 with 10 home runs and a .937 OPS, before being promoted to Double-A Hartford. But the highlight of his season came during MLB's All-Star week festivities, when he was invited to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Making the honor even more special—the game was played at Coors Field.

"That was so awesome," he said. "The Futures Game was electric. It was me, (and Rockies prospects) Michael Toglia, Ryan Vilade—two great guys. It was really cool to be around all the top prospects at that time. Ken Griffey Jr. was in the dugout. It was cool to be recognized. I had a really good first half that year, and to be recognized like that was really nice for me. That's one of my top memories. That game was really fun."

MacIver advanced to Triple-A in the Rockies system, before becoming a minor league free agent following the 2024 season. He then signed with the Athletics organization—leading to the most incredible moment of his career, his major-league debut. Every big-league debut is special—but MacIver's was nothing short of remarkable.

The A's were on an 11-game losing streak when they took on the Philadelphia Phillies in a Sunday afternoon game at Sutter Health Park, the A's temporary home in Sacramento, California. MacIver started the game behind the plate. After grounding out in his first two at-bats, he stepped to the plate at a crucial point in the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with the game tied 4–4.

"Matt Strahm's pitching, runner on third, one out, infield's in," MacIver remembered. "My job is to get him home. I hadn't had a hit that day. We faced (Jesús) Lazardo—you know, he's good. I rolled him over a couple times. But first pitch (from Strahm), a two-seamer, I fouled it straight back, and I was like—dang, that was my pitch. Then he throws me a cutter, and I barely hit it to center—base hit. Obviously, scored the run. At that point in the game, it was huge… Then Bryce Harper, at first, like, 'Nice swing, Mac.'"

But that's not how the story ends. In the top of the ninth, Alec Bohm singled with two outs to put the tying run for the Phillies on base. Speedy Johan Rojas came in to pinch-run for Bohm with Brandon Marsh at the plate representing the go-ahead run.

"We've got Mason Miller on the bump, trying to close it out," MacIver continued. "For me, at that point, it's more like, we've got to win this game, or else what I did means nothing. So, they get a runner on first… and they pinch run Johan Rojas, who's one of the fastest guys in the league. I'm like, he's going to steal. He's the tying run. I got a good pitch to throw on, and I threw him out."

"The funny thing was, I throw, they call him out. I'm super excited, I'm coming out to the mound to Mason, and Mason goes, 'I think he got in there.' Then they challenged it, and I was like... maybe I didn't get him. Then, as we're watching the replay, there's this huge buildup of like, is he going to be out? Then they called him out, and it's just pure ecstasy, is what I felt like. That is the best day of my life."

MacIver had collected the game-winning hit in the eighth and thrown out the potential tying run to end the game in his big-league debut. The fact that the game was played in Sacramento made it even more special. MacIver grew up in Pleasant Hill, California, only about an hour's drive from Sutter Health Park.

"I mean, seeing my parents in the stands, and all my family up there going crazy, because I'm kind of from that area," MacIver said, "it gives me goosebumps just talking about it."

"Just all the sacrifices that the people around me made for me to be able to get to that point at all. It was just the best thing ever. To have my dad there. I had a goal in the minor leagues, I want my dad to see me play one day in the big leagues, that's all I want. Because it's hard. It's really hard to get there. And just the support that I had. My dad coached me since I was like six years old all the way up until high school. And as you get older, you kind of realize he really sacrificed a lot of time for me, and it just means so much to me. To be able to kind of pay it back a little bit was awesome."

"He kind of got his moment in the sun a little bit there too, because all of his friends were talking to him. So that just made me so happy to see how happy he was. I just couldn't be more grateful for that. That whole day was just like a dream come true. I can't even put into words how happy I was."

After moving to the Texas Rangers organization last offseason, MacIver was traded to the Blue Jays in late April. It's always tough for any player to join a new team midseason, but particularly for a catcher, who must learn an entirely new pitching staff.

"That's a tough thing, because you spent the whole spring learning a different pitching staff," he said. "It's really important as a catcher to know just all the little things about the pitchers, and that takes time. So I got here, and my main goal here is that I've got to learn this pitching staff as quickly as I can. I can't say enough about Drew (Bisons pitching coach Drew Hayes) and Hank (assistant pitching coach Henry Leake), the pitching coaches here, just giving me any kind of information I needed on these guys, and really communicating well with me."

"On top of that, it's like I need to be out there catching bullpens as much as I can, and talking to the guy as much as I can. I'm lucky because I can talk. And it made it a really easy transition because the guys in this locker room were so welcoming to me and made me feel comfortable right away. So I felt like I could build those relationships easier. Where it's like, if you're a little standoffish at first, it can be kind of hard. And just the patience that the pitchers have had with me, just in terms of, like sometimes they'll have to shake me more than they're used to, just because I don't quite know their ticks yet, you know. They've done a really good job about coming up to me—like, hey, this is what I want you to do. And it makes my job so much easier when I've got guys who are willing to talk about what they want me to do, where they want me to set up, what pitches I like to throw here versus here. Coming into it, I was nervous about that. That was (the thing I was) most I was nervous about. It's like, all right, now I've got to get all these pitchers to trust me. I feel like we're still kind of in that process, but I feel like it's going well because of how great of a pitching staff we have from a person standpoint."

"Our starters are some of the best I've seen at just being great teammates," he continued. "They're in the dugout, cheering us on every game, all of them… Then being able to spend time in the bullpen with the guys and figure out what their strengths are, what makes them tick. It was hard, and it's still a process, but the guys have made it as easy on me as they could."

Chatting on the mound with Austin Voth. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

In 26 games with the Herd, MacIver has slashed .271/.336/.427 with a pair of home runs. He's also been impressive behind the plate. Even though he's only been a full-time catcher since joining the professional ranks, MacIver looks like a natural at the position. One of his many skills that stands out is his ability to successfully challenge pitches that are strikes but called balls by the home plate umpire.

"That is something that comes with experience," he explained. "I was in Triple-A when they first implemented (ABS) in '22. I wasn't great at it at first, trust me. You come up from Double-A, and the zone's bigger down in the lower level, so you get up to this (level)—this is a very small zone compared to what guys are used to seeing at the lower levels. I think it's an experience thing, like the more pitches you see, and the more times you go in and check the iPad, or I challenge it and lose, then you kind of start to develop a feel for the zone a little better. That's something that in spring training we worked on it a lot. Just sitting, having the machine throw pitches, like breaking balls, fastballs, sinkers, whatever, and then you're calling it. Because it's a big deal. You can't be out here losing challenges all the time because it kills the team. So I would say experience is probably the thing that plays into it the most, as well as just really wanting to get better at it, and wanting to know what's a strike and what's not a strike. It can really swing things big, so I take a lot of pride in that, in getting my pitcher into a better count."

The 29-year-old has also been impressed with what he's seen so far from his new team.

"A lot of guys that love baseball," he said when asked what stands out about this year's Bisons squad. "And when you're in the minor leagues, and you've got guys who don't love baseball, it can make it hard. But when you've got guys who love the game, like this team does, it makes it really fun. That's probably the biggest thing that I've taken away since being here, is from position players to starters to bullpen guys—the guys want to be here every day. They want to get better. They don't take it for granted. I think that's a really important thing. It's definitely been my favorite part of this team so far."