Minor league optimism...

For minor league baseball players today is the ultimate day of optimism. No matter what you did last year your numbers are reset at zero and every team has the opportunity of going 140-0. Everyone is upbeat and the locker room is a great place to be, but I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t last for long. Even if the team is winning, you will always have at least one guy on the team that is struggling and worrying about their job security. Like all the other teams, ours is filled with positive outlooks and everyone is expecting a successful year.

As for me, count me in with the rest of every minor leaguer. I’m go into this season after finishing strong the last week of spring training, and going into it healthier and stronger than I have ever been. Physically I can compete with anyone out there, but what separates the big leaguers from the minor leaguers is the ability to be stronger mentally than anyone out there. From what I’ve heard, the Florida State League will definitely challenge the mental capacity of any hitter. In our first meeting with our hitting coach he told us that there wouldn’t be any complaining about the conditions or the size of the field. That alone should eliminate a lot of the built in excuses that come with playing in the FSL.

I’ve set a bunch of goals that I want to accomplish throughout this year. First I thought of some mental/approach goals and then some numbers goals. The way I look at it is that if I come to the park every day ready to get better and I accomplish all my mental/approach goals then the numbers will all take care of themselves and I’ll be where I want to be at the end of the year.

Since my last blog I’ve had a few amazing things happen to me. On the last day of spring training I came into the locker room to find my name, along with about 10 other minor leaguers, on the daily plan sheet to dress out for the final major leaguer spring training game. I have no idea how the organization decides who get to suit up for these games, but nonetheless I took it as an honor. When you play in a big league game you get to wear your pants however you want, you get a one ear flap helmet, and best of all you get $30 for the day (meal money). The game got underway at 12:05 and after one at bat for all the big leaguers it was 1:05 and it was a slew of Marlins minor leaguers vs. the Toronto Blue Jays starting lineup. I played first base and got two at bats (struck out the first and grounded out the second). I had an unbelievable time just seeing how everyone goes about doing their job in such a professional manner. The game ended up in a 1-1 tie and I was left with the feeling of wanting more. I’ve now stored that feeling away and am going to use it as fuel to drive me to reach that ultimate goal.

The second exciting thing in my life is that I’ve now moved into what I would call a duplex/condo/townhouse. I’m living with Jameson Smith, Ryan Curry, and Tom Hickman; all great guys who I played with last year in Greensboro. Our living area is about 15 minutes walking distance from the field in a town called Abacoa. We’re having to pay quite a bit more than we paid last year for our place but I knew going in that no matter what kind of place that we would find we would have to pay a pretty hefty fee because of the inflated price of living down here. I’ve turned the bottom floor, which used to be a living room area, into my bedroom. After a few trips to Wal-Mart to construct a make shift closet and bed I’m finally all settled in for what should be an amazing six months.

Our first game is tonight at 7:05 against the Palm Beach Cardinals. Keep an eye out for the Jupiter Hammerheads this year; we will definitely be a fun team to keep track of!

I’ll be back in a few days so sum up our first series of the year. Thank you guys so much for all the support back home. It’s always nice to know that I have such a great group of people that have my back, regardless of I go 0-4 or 4-4.
“Tough times don’t last but tough people do.” I know I’ve used that quote before but it’s my favorite and I wanted to start the season of with one that meant the most to