By Ashley Cirilli Farlow
Photos by Keith McCoy

Edgar Olmos started playing baseball for nothing more than the love of the game. Drafted right out of high school by the Marlins, he never could have imagined the path that preceded and followed his entrance into the life of a professional baseball player—one that has primed him for giving distinctive training to young players today.

Word spread fast after he began helping coach a few friends’ sons near his Chelsea home, and Blessed Baseball was born in 2020 . But it doesn’t feel like business to Edgar. “The more I coached these kids, the more it became clear it was my calling,” says Edgar, who had prayed for an opportunity to give back all he had learned in his baseball career. “I’ve been blessed to have the journey I’ve had as an athlete and wanted to do good through what God’s given me.”

The eldest of Jesús and Marisela Olmos’ four children, Edgar’s introduction to baseball was watching his dad play in a rec league as he was growing up in the small community of Van Nuys outside Los Angeles. “I remember his joy for the game, his hustle, his big smile,” Edgar says. At the age of 4, Edgar joined a T-ball league. By age 8, he got to pitch, and this left-hander was hooked. He says back then youth baseball wasn’t the travel teams and pressures of today. He played regular seasons, and in the winter, he took a break (other than throwing in the yard with his dad). At age 12, Edgar set a goal: make the high school team—and his goal was met. “The funny thing is, once I made it, I was so nervous because I couldn’t believe I was on the team,” he says.

He set a goal once again during his junior year: play college baseball. “I never even thought about playing at a big university, just hoped to try for a local community college,” Edgar says. “It was unheard of for guys from my community to sign somewhere big, and I just didn’t know any better.” But coaches and scouts were dreaming bigger for him. Eventually up to 30 scouts were in the stands, radar guns in hand, watching for Edgar to pull back his left arm. “I didn’t put much pressure on myself though,” he says. “I just wanted to throw strikes and have fun.”

Edgar went on his junior year to sign a letter of intent to pitch for the University of Arizona. But when he broke the strike-out record at his high school by a long shot his senior year, professional scouts started knocking at the family’s door. “The Marlins guy came twice a week, and now I see it was him wanting to see my character,” Edgar recalls. “They take that into account when they’re about to have you living on your own and want to see how you handle yourself.”

In June 2008, the Marlins drafted Edgar right out of high school, and he moved across the country to Jupiter, Florida, to pitch in the Gulf Coast League. In his first game, he struck out five guys, but the next day he couldn’t throw a ball. “I remember crying in the complex when they confirmed my injury, calling my dad, and we just couldn’t keep it together,” he says. “But we sprang into action. I got the surgery in LA, and then headed back to Florida.” After the rehab process, he gained 20 pounds of muscle, and he was throwing again four months later, even gaining 5 mph.

Jupiter wasn’t only the birthplace of Edgar’s professional career, it was also where he met his wife, Jordan, whom he married in 2014. “We’ve moved our whole lives over and over and have gone all over the place,” Edgar says. “Jordan’s ability to adapt and take the bull by the horns all while being the joy she is – she is superwoman.” See an overview of Edgar’s fast-pitched, curve-ball life in the timeline at the bottom of this article.

In 2018, with then 2- and 3-year-old daughters and a son on the way, Jordan and Edgar moved to Birmingham from Japan to put down roots near some extended family. The plan was to go back and forth to Mexico where Edgar was on the Tijuana Toros roster. However, in 2019 at spring training, he got a familiar feeling that something was wrong—an MRI showed he’d likely been pitching for years with a tear. Edgar underwent an extensive surgery at Birmingham’s Andrews Sports Medicine and now has four anchors in his posterior labrum and also had a bicep tenodesis procedure.

“Not only does he put one foot in front of the other when things are hard, he always does it with grace and a humble heart,” his wife, Jordan, says. Still, after his surgery, Jordan says it was hard to watch as Edgar’s body wasn’t bouncing back to peak playing performance. While rehabbing his shoulder, he started working for a family member’s steel fabrication shop and giving pitching lessons on the side. Living in Chelsea with their children, ages 2, 4 and 6, the Olmoses say the Blessed Baseball training program was created by staying in step with God. “It’s been amazing to see Edgar coming home pumped about what his athletes accomplish, praying for his kids through injuries and hardships, seeing guys FaceTime him after a game because they pitched better than ever,” Jordan says.

Edgar’s passion for coaching is more than obvious when you talk to him about it. “Working with younger kids, we focus more on the fundamentals and muscle memory,” he says. “With older players, learning to accept failure is huge and developing humility so you don’t melt, mope or lose your cool when errors happen. I love helping my pitchers develop a presence on the mound that stands out—a presence that shows dignity, drive and endurance.” Edgar adds that he has a lot to pass on in teaching players how mental the game is, from preparation to analyzing opponents, to being able to distinguish what pitch is right for the moment, and even going over scouting reports.

Blessed Baseball’s slogan is, “Purposeful training for the game and beyond,” as Edgar says there are many life lessons hidden in baseball, ones he’s experienced first-hand. Through it all, he draws from his lifelong love of the game and and the play-by-plays of a career that has primed him for paying it forward.

Youth can train with Blessed Baseball in an array of locations in Birmingham and surrounding areas. For more information, follow @blessed.baseball on Instagram and Facebook or email leftyedgarolmos@gmail.com.

Career Snapshot

2008: Marlins | Jupiter, FL

  • Drafted out of high school and pitched for the Florida (Miami) Marlins in the Gulf Coast League

 

2009: Marlins | Jamestown, NY

  • First surgery
  • Moved up a level to pitch for the Jamestown Jammers

 

2010: Marlins | Greensboro, NC

  • Moved up to Low A and pitched for the Greensboro Grasshoppers

 

2011: Marlins | Jupiter, FL

  • Moved up to High A and pitched for the Jupiter Hammerheads

 

2012: Marlins | Jupiter and Jacksonville, FL

  • Met his wife, Jordan
  • Moved up in August to Double A in Jacksonville and pitched for the Jacksonville Suns

 

2013: Marlins | Jacksonville, FL and Glendale, AZ

  • Pitched for Jacksonville Suns
  • Made Major League debut for the Miami Marlins in the National League
  • Optioned back to Double A and finished the year in Jacksonville
  • Pitched in the Arizona Fall League

 

2014: Marlins | Jacksonville, FL; New Orleans, LA; Glendale and Scottsdale, AZ

  • Repeated Double A with the Jacksonville Suns
  • Moved up to Triple A to the New Orleans Zephyrs
  • Married his wife, Jordan
  • Pitched in the Arizona Fall League
  • Lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. in off-season

 

2015: Mariners | Peoria, AZ; Tacoma, WA; Seattle, WA; Hollywood, CA

  • Major League spring training in Peoria with Seattle Mariners
  • Drove from Phoenix to Tacoma with a two-day-old baby, his first child, daughter Siena
  • Pitched for the Triple A Tacoma Rainiers
  • Pitched in Major Leagues for the Seattle Mariners in the American League
  • Lived in Hollywood in the off-season

 

2016: Cubs and Orioles | Mesa, AZ; Sarasota, FL; Norfolk, VA; Franklin, TN

  • Major League Spring Training in Mesa with the Chicago Cubs
  • Traded to the Baltimore Orioles
  • Spring training in Sarasota
  • Played the year in Triple A with Norfolk Tides
  • Second child born, daughter Ximena
  • Lived in Franklin in off-season

 

2017: Red Sox | Fort Myers, FL; Pawtucket, RI; Fayetteville, AR

  • Major League spring training in Fort Myers with the Boston Red Sox
  • Played the year in Triple A with Pawtucket Paw Sox (Made Triple A all-star team)
  • Lived in Fayetteville in the off-season

 

2018: Chiba Lotte Marines | Ishigaki, Japan and Birmingham, AL

  • Pitched for Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines
  • Lived in Birmingham in off-season
  • Third child, son Brooks, born in Birmingham

Blessed Baseball Reviews

Blessed Baseball offers individual and group training specializing in conditioning, pitch development, flexibility, core stability, arm strengthening, mental preparation and awareness, team drills and beyond. Edgar also plans to offer camps this summer for the Shelby County community, and he recently began helping coach a youth elite team in the area. 

“Edgar has been great for [our son] Cooper, not only with his knowledge and teaching skills but how to handle the ups and downs of the game. He really connects with the kids and truly cares about their growth.”

– Aaron and Pepper Bentley, parents of Cooper Bentley, Sophomore at Shelby County High School

“Edgar has helped me a lot on the mental sides of baseball. He really helps me understand the game more and helped me go so far into detail about how to prepare for a game. Also, he has worked with me a lot to try to get as flexible as I can with my body. Edgar has helped me out a ton, and I’m super happy to be working with him so I become the best player I can be.”

– Micah Morris, Freshman at Shelby County High School

“Edgar communicates his craft well to teenagers. He has helped [my son] Nathan become an elite pitcher – up to 85 mph on the mound and ranked in the state by PG and PBR. To maintain and keep improving requires a lot of rehab post pitching, stretching and strength training. Edgar is very good with this aspect; he’s been there and done it. So, with Edgar you get not only the correct pitching mechanics, but you get the after care, stretching and strength training.”

– Scott Owen, father of Nathan Owen, Sophomore at Evangel Christian School