Daniel Mengden’s road from childhood to A’s rotation

Daniel Mengden’s road from childhood to A’s rotation

“It was T-ball,” Mengden said, and he looked straight up at me and said, ‘Dad, I want to play baseball.’

After yielding two earned runs in 52/3 innings June 11 in his major-league debut in Cincinnati, Mengden gave up one earned run in 61/3 innings five days later against Texas and sports a 2.25 ERA.

Connor VanDaveer, Daniel’s buddy since high school, said, He had a goal from a young age and was never distracted.

Throughout his childhood, Daniel did not waver from his desire to make a career out of baseball.

At some point, every kid wants to be a firefighter, right?

“It was still, ‘Dad, can we go to the cages and throw and hit?’” Joe Mengden said.

At about 8, Daniel began re-creating Astros games by throwing a tennis ball against a curb.

Joe showed him books, pictures and video of pitchers throughout history, including Satchel Paige, Dontrelle Willis and others with distinct windups.

Nowadays, Daniel will alter his windup from pitch to pitch, sometimes with his leg kick, sometimes with his hands above his head.

With his handlebar mustache and rolled-up pant legs, he’s a throwback to another era.

Daniel cites a laundry list of people who helped him reach the majors, from family to friends to coaches.

At Houston’s Westside High School, Daniel was one of the best catchers in Texas and flourished on the mound, where his fastball topped 90 mph.

Daniel had a breakout season as a college sophomore and was seen as a possible first-round pick as a junior.

[...] a stress fracture in his back affected his velocity and he slipped to the fourth round.

In the offseason, Daniel helped VanDaveer coach a youth team, and months later, VanDaveer gathered the kids to watch their former coach make his big-league debut.

John Shea is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.