Of all the luxuries Major League Baseball players are afforded, there’s one that Joey Cantillo keeps turning down.
It took Cantillo eight seasons of professional baseball to accomplish an ambitious life goal: Pitch in the major leagues. Following his senior year at Kailua High School, Cantillo skipped college to turn pro following the 2017 MLB Draft in which he was selected in the 16th round by the San Diego Padres. He steadily climbed the minor league ladder and finally made his MLB debut for the Cleveland Guardians on July 28, 2024.
In Cantillo’s journey to the big leagues, he pitched in five different minor league levels for a total of two organizations. Over the years, he’s continued to wear the same exact glove: A blonde Wilson A2000 with Kailua Surfrider blue trim and stitching.
“That glove has got the Kailua blue on it. I will say I’ve gotten a lot of crap about getting a new one. A lot of people say, ‘Hey, make sure you get a new one,’” Cantillo told Aloha State Daily. “I do get new gloves but that’s kind of the main glove. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it, but as of right now, I’m going to keep pitching with it. There’s no way I was gonna not pitch in the big leagues this past year without that glove. That’s always been my game glove at every level of pro ball. Definitely when I’m done playing, that glove’s gonna be kept in a special place.”
With the wear and tear the glove has received, Cantillo only wears the glove when he pitches in a game. It’s currently sitting in Cleveland’s spring training facility in Arizona. Cantillo wears different gloves on days he’s not pitching.
The glove was a gift from Cantillo’s high school coach, Corey Ishigo, who remains Kailua’s head coach to this day. Cantillo assisted Ishigo at multiple camps for three straight years, and Ishigo decided to thank Cantillo with a custom glove of his choice prior to his junior season.
“From that day, I don’t think I’ve faced a hitter without that glove on,” Cantillo says. “It’s always been my gamer. It was a gift and it was something I appreciated from him. He’s done a lot for me.”
The prep version of Cantillo intrigued MLB scouts because he was a lanky left-handed pitcher with a 6-foot-4 frame. In his senior season, back when the glove was still relatively new, an 18-strikeout masterpiece in a 5-0 win against Kalani upped his pro stock exponentially.
Although he was set to enroll at the University of Kentucky on a baseball scholarship, the Padres convinced a 17-year-old Cantillo to turn pro, awarding him a $302,500 signing bonus.
Though Cantillo didn’t reach the majors as soon as he had hoped, he survived the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which were particularly unkind to the minor leagues. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the MLB to cut hundreds of minor leaguers. In 2021, three leagues within the minors were eliminated.
The 2020 season was also the year in which Cantillo was traded by San Diego to Cleveland, a move he points to as pivotal in his journey. Cleveland’s reputation in developing pitchers extends to Cantillo, who saw his fastball velocity increase from the high 80s as a high schooler to a heater that now reaches 98 miles per hour.
Now 25 and still considered young by MLB standards, Cantillo admits his journey to the big show wasn’t as linear as he initially imagined.
“I’m definitely someone that's always had high, high aspirations for myself and set the standard high for myself. As a 17-year-old kid when I got drafted, I was like, ‘There's no doubt I'm a big leaguer.’ I'm gonna be in the big leagues when I'm 21, 22 years old. And the reality is, if you perform that way, who knows what can happen, and maybe, but that's just not how God had it planned,” Cantillo said.
“Everyone just has a different journey in life. And in baseball, some people have success early on and then don't have it as much later. Or some people, it takes a little bit, and they find it later on. I just think that my journey just had different things along the way.”
Cantillo was certain 2023 was his year. But as it came and went without an MLB appearance, he continued to trust that his dream would happen. After battling a hamstring injury to begin the 2024 season, Cantillo finally reached the majors with the Guardians.
Ishigo was in Las Vegas helping his son relocate when he got the call from Cantillo, who was set to start against the Philadelphia Phillies in a road game. He then booked a flight to Philadelphia.
Ishigo met Cantillo when he was 10. He knew even then he had something special, citing his work ethic. But when he him saw go through his pregame routine at Citizens Bank Park, he didn’t know how to react. Nobody else he coached at Kailua has reached the levels Cantillo has.
“It was surreal, even though he made me fly to Philly,” Ishigo said. “When I saw him warm up (in Philadelphia), I couldn’t feel my hands, I was so nervous.”
Cleveland won 4-3, although Cantillo received a no-decision after surrendering three runs and three hits in 3.1 innings.
Cantillo continued to pitch to major league hitters with the baseball in his left hand and his vintage glove in the other. In his first career victory, he struck out 10 against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 9, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning.
The Guardians reached the American League Championship series in the 2024 postseason, with Cantillo making three playoff appearances.
After getting a taste of the major league lifestyle in 2024, Cantillo is set to enter his first full season in 2025.
“You just got to keep going,” he said. “Failure is a part of success. When you fall down, make sure you're not just jumping back up. You're seeing why you fell down. Make the adjustment. Especially the kids in Hawaii, you know, there's a certain fighting spirit, that pride. The strength that the kids here have, I think, is special, and especially for the athletes, that's why we're seeing so many guys do special things.
“I think you can look down the road and there's all these different things you want to do, but I think I'm most looking forward to just spending the whole year up in the big leagues and establishing myself, contributing to this team that wants to win a lot of ball games next year. I think there's not really anything else I can say other than just being a Major League Baseball player and helping Cleveland win games.”
The Guardians were three wins shy of reaching the World Series in 2024. In 2025, they’re set to return one of the deepest pitching staffs in baseball, which also features former University of Hawaii pitcher Cade Smith. With pitchers set to report to spring training in less than a month, Cantillo has been raring to go, balancing his time spent at home while enduring rigorous offseason workouts at Tactical Strength.
“When you're up in the big leagues, it all reminds me of playing at Kailua. Reminds me of playing a high school baseball game, the passion of just like, OK, you win, it's a good day. You lose, it's a bad day. And that's how the game should be played,” Cantillo said. “That's the competitive nature of it. So that's awesome. Just play this game as long as I can and do that and enjoy it and come home in the offseason and enjoy this island and the people, and just keep doing that as long as I can. I mean, that's all I really want to do.”
Another reminder of Kailua? The relic in time he wears every time he lives his dream.
“I think any athlete from Hawaii, especially us in baseball, we're always trying to represent Hawaii, and that's always in our hearts and minds when we're out there, especially competing in the Mainland. Everyone knows we have a certain sense of pride and a certain sense of community and togetherness,” Cantillo said. “There’s always things in daily life where I'm always thinking of home and always thinking of everything, especially when you're out there. This truly is the best place in the world, play baseball (on the Mainland) and get to call this place home. You can't ask for anything more. But, yeah, that glove’s special."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
