Baseball | 2/16/2023 5:48:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Clark Candiotti writes each night in his three journals to document his life and remind himself what matters most.
One journal records his baseball activities as a Wichita State pitcher – bullpens, practices, playing catch. One of the spiral notebooks is for prayer and faith life. One is for talking out loud about what happened that day.
"It's that important to me to not fall behind in the things that really matter," he said. "I feel like if I write things down it makes me clear my head and I'm able to express what I have to say and I get to reevaluate it myself. I'm understanding very clearly how I feel."
He keeps the journals so he can learn from previous writing and see progress and change.
"Mostly it's me writing down how I'm feeling," he said. "No time limit. Write until I'm fully satisfied."
That maturity and introspection is one of the reasons Candiotti, a junior right-hander from Scottsdale, Ariz., will start Wichita State's season opener on Friday at Long Beach State.
Candiotti started his journals in 2019 because Gio Diaz, his best friend and teammate at St. Mary's College in California, recommended the routine. They use writing to share goals and track progress in baseball, faith and life.
"It's elevated both of us," Candiotti said. "I've always had a good mindset, but once I started writing and journaling, it's become more real, and I started to see it more and more in my daily life."
Candiotti transferred to Wichita State this season from Grayson County (Texas) Community College and quickly showed pitching coach
Mike Pelfrey that he approaches the sport with a professional attitude.
"If you go out and watch him play catch, he plays catch longer than anybody and he's making every throw important," Pelfrey said. "Baseball is extremely important to him. You barely ever see him smile. Those guys are absolutely fun to be around, fun to be able to work with."
Candiotti is the son of former major-league pitcher Tom Candiotti, known for his knuckleball, current radio analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Clark Candiotti, not a knuckleballer, grew up in big-league locker rooms and stadiums, which explains his single-minded focus on baseball.
"Every time I Snapchat him, he has a baseball in his hands," Shocker pitcher
Cameron Bye said. "While driving, he has a baseball in his truck that he's holding pitch grips with. He has a good edge to him. Very good edge."
Candiotti is serious about playing catch – don't distract him during that practice routine. He is serious in the weight room and in the classroom.
"The one thing I want to do in my career is become a professional baseball player," he said. "It's the one thing I grew up wanting. I take it very, very seriously."
On most days, Bye regards his friend as funny and a good teammate with a positive attitude. On days Candiotti pitches, it's different. He is not one for chatter on days that he pitches, unless a coach or catcher wants to discuss the game.
"No fooling around," Candiotti said. "It's tunnel vision for me. Very limited conversation. No distractions."
Chase Field in Phoenix, home of the Diamondbacks, is where Candiotti's devotion to the sport blossomed. He watched professionals such as Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Max Scherzer and studied their habits and demeanor. Cole impressed Candiotti with his work ethic.
"I got to see what it was like during early work on the field, watch guys take batting practice, take ground balls, throw bullpens and play catch," he said. "That made me realize all the little things that you work on when there's nobody around really translates to success."
Candiotti started his college career at St. Mary's, where his father and brother Casey played, in 2020. He made three appearances in that COVID-shortened season. He transferred to Vernon (Texas) College in 2021 and went 1-3 with a 4.54 earned run average. In 2022, he went 7-1 with a 4.57 ERA at Grayson.
While considering Wichita State, he discovered a coaching staff that wanted him to work and bonded with Pelfrey, himself a former big-leaguer.
"He's coming to come right after you," Pelfrey said. "He has four pitches that he can throw for a strike, but he has a pretty good idea how to pitch, too. How to read the hitter."
Pelfrey, who pitched for Wichita State from 2003-05 and earned All-American honors, recognizes the signs of athletes who need a nap, who aren't eating right, who aren't getting the max out of weight sessions. Candiotti, following the example of his professional role models, builds his habits around diet, rest and conditioning.
"He takes care of his body," Pelfrey said. "The guy doesn't take a day off."
At Wichita State, he found a partner in seriousness in Bye, a junior who earned All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2022. When they go out to eat, they talk baseball. When Bye checks in on Candiotti's day, Candiotti usually recounts a YouTube video featuring a big-league pitcher he watched.
"We learn from each other," Bye said. "When we're doing something, we're 100-percent focused on that task."
On Friday, Candiotti takes the baseball with the duty of starting the season for the Shockers. It is a task he prepared for most of his life.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
