Pall ball: Former White Sox and Cubs pitcher Donn Pall has number retired before Evergreen Park-Shepard contest. ‘It’s amazing.’

Former White Sox and Cubs pitcher Donn Pall offered up a message for high school baseball players after having his No. 20 retired by alma mater Evergreen Park.

If he can do it, anybody can.

“Whenever I speak to kids, I’ll tell them my story,” Pall said. “Nobody ever looked at me and said, ‘That guy’s going to be a major leaguer. That guy’s phenomenal.’

“Nobody said I was going anywhere. Nobody recruited me for college. I went to walk on at Illinois and got cut my freshman year. I tell people, ‘You just never know.’”

After the pregame ceremony, the rest of Monday night belonged to Shepard. The Astros rolled to a 10-3 win to stay in the hunt for the South Suburban Red championship.

Junior right-hander Andrew Alarcon allowed just one unearned run over four innings and drove in three runs on two singles to lead Shepard (15-10, 11-4).

Dominic Chillmon went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Paul Kladis also drove in two runs as the Astros closed within a half-game of Reavis for the conference lead.

Grady Elwood allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 innings of relief and Jack Hughes added a two-run single for Evergreen Park (14-17, 7-11).

Alarcon said he was inspired by Pall’s story.

“That was really exciting for me to see, that even if you don’t start at a big school, you can go far,” Alarcon said. “That’s my dream. I’m trying to do the same thing he did right now.

“I’m just trying to get my name out there, start from the bottom and go to the top and finish there.”

Pall’s name and number will adorn a fence along the third base line at Evergreen Park, an honor that means a lot to the 10-year Major League Baseball veteran.

“I grew up here and lived here for around 25 years,” Pall said. “I have a lot of friends that still live here. I love coming back to Evergreen Park always. There’s certainly a special bond with me and this community, all the fields I played on here and the high school. It means a lot to be back.

“Who would ever think this would be happening for me? It’s so cool to be able to do that, to retire the number and to get to see these incredible fields they have here. It’s amazing. It’s a dream come true, really.”

After graduating from Evergreen Park, Pall attempted to walk on at Illinois but did not make the team as a freshman. He tried again as a sophomore and made the cut.

His breakthrough did not come until he was a fifth-year senior. He went 13-1 with a 1.98 ERA and attracted attention from MLB scouts.

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In 1985, he was drafted in the 23rd round by the White Sox. He pitched on the South Side for six seasons. He also had stints with the Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and Florida Marlins.

Pall went 24-23 in his career with a 3.63 ERA.

Not bad for a guy who could not get a college scholarship.

“If you want something bad enough and someone tells you you’re not good enough but you want it, keep working hard and keep getting after it because you never know,” Pall said. “I’m the story that proves that.”

For Elwood, a sophomore who retired Shepard’s final 10 hitters of the game, there could not be a better hometown role model for a young pitcher.

“The path that he took, it would be awesome if I could ever do something even close to that,” Elwood said. “That’s the goal.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.