Midway through his second professional season, Indians minor leaguer Ty Kovach spoke to his hometown Akron Beacon Journal about his future with the organization.
He'd made high-A that year and he hoped to make AA - with his hometown Canton-Akron team.
"I suppose Cleveland has a plan for me," Kovach told The Beacon Journal. "They said I'm going to finish out the year in Kinston, so I guess it doesn't matter if I go 20-3 here."
Kovach ended up making Canton-Akron the next year, but Cleveland's plan for him proved limited. He played a total of five seasons and he didn't make it higher.
Post-baseball, however, Kovach has gotten into planning himself - funeral planning - as an assistant funeral director.
Kovach's baseball career began in 1988, taken by the Indians in the fifth round of the draft out of Central Arizona College.
Kovach first hit the field with the Indians in 1989, at short-season Watertown. He went 7-4, with a 3.61 ERA in 15 starts. That May, he got summoned from the Indians complex in Florida to pitch in an exhibition game in against Canton-Akron, The Beacon Journal wrote.
"This doesn't seem possible, but it's surely happening," Kovach told The Beacon Journal before the exhibition. "This is like a dream. A dream come true."
Kovach moved to high-A Kinston for 1990. He went 12-3 there in 18 starts, with a 2.56 ERA. His season ended on a leg injury. He saw Canton-Akron for 11 starts in 1991. He went 2-7, with a 6.02 ERA.
He then played 1992 completely back at Kinston. He went 3-11 in 35 outings, 15 starts, with a 5.95 ERA. He returned for one more look in 1993, with the Mariners at single-A Appleton. He gave up seven earned in 8.2 innings to end his career.
In August 1993, Kovach spoke with The Beacon Journal about what he wanted to do next: go to school for mortuary science.
"Ever since I was in about seventh or eighth grade, I've been interested in it," he told The Beacon Journal. "I saw a couple stiffs and thought it was pretty wild."
Kovach continues in the field in 2022. He's listed as a pre need associate and funeral director assistant at a Cleveland-area home.
- Akron Beacon-Journal, May 8, 1989: Kovach on mound for Indians against Canton-Akron
- Akron Beacon-Journal, July 15, 1990: Going places, but not at the moment
- Akron Beacon-Journal, Aug. 27, 1993: Kovach rebounding from dead end
Made the Majors:1,333-33.3%
Never Made Majors:2,676-66.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:547
10+ Seasons in the Minors:329
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