McGOUGH Scott

General
CLUB JOURNEY
He was initially selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2008 MLB Draft, but opted to honour his commitment to the University of Oregon, where he played for three seasons. After graduating in 2011, he was selected in the fifth round, 164th overall pick, of that year's MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his MLB debut in 2015 for the Miami Marlins, featuring in six games that year, but spent most of his playing time from 2011 to 2018 in the minors. "The minor leagues, it was a wild ride. It always is - you don't know it as a young kid, you don't realise much about the business side of it, the trades, the designated for assignments, all that stuff. Getting called up to the big leagues was a dream come true - the biggest achievement I had in my baseball career up to this point [getting called up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo]." (pittsburghsportsnow.com, 06 Jul 2021; milb.com, 02 Nov 2018)

PLAYING IN JAPAN
In December 2018 he signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball [NPB], where he continued to play through to 2021, making more than 150 appearances for the Swallows. Two of his Japanese teammates at the Swallows, Tetsuto Yamada and Munetaka Murakami, were named to Japan's team for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. "It's been really cool to interact with them [Yamada and Murakami] now that I got announced to play for America. It's been cool to joke around with them, talking to them in Japanese trying to say 'Hey, we're going to win the gold medal'." He was first selected for a US national team in 2010, when was called up to the USA Collegiate national team. "That really helped me get my name out there with Team USA. That was a great experience. Now, I think I have been playing pretty well since I've come over to Japan." (post-gazette.com, 09 Jul 2021; pittsburghsportsnow.com, 06 Jul 2021; triblive.com, 08 Jul 2021)

FAMILY SUPPORT IN TOKYO
He spent the 2020 off-season in the United State of America with family, including his wife Lauren and daughter Dakota, before traveling back to Japan in early January 2021 to begin preparations for the 2021 season. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, his wife and daughter were unable to join him when he returned to Japan, but a special travel exemption was approved later in the year, and they were able to travel to Japan in July 2021. "I know those things can happen with life and the type of job I have, but I am so happy they are here now and that they will be here for the Olympics." (triblive.com, 08 Jul 2021)