32 17 14 13 16 4....Try and take a guess as to what these numbers symbolize. No, not last nights lottery numbers. No, not my lucky numbers from a fortune cookie. Yes, they are all the different jersey numbers that I've worn this year! It's already been a whirlwind of a year for me and it's already half over. So far I've moved around in the organization from one level to another a total of nine times (and no that wasn't a typo, nine). I've been to Portland, Des Moines, Oklahoma City, Sevierville, Zebulon, Montgomery, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Jupiter, and the list goes on and on.
So needless to so it's been tough to get in a rhythm but this journey has been absolutely amazing! I've now met and played with just about everyone in the organization. I've gone to cities to play baseball that I've never had the chance of visiting before. I've learned how to be a professional and how to slow the game down from the older guys in triple a. I've learned what it's like to play with a bunch of guys who love playing for each other in pro ball in double a. I've learned how to battle every day in and try to get the most out of myself and my teammates in high a.
For those of you out there who are wondering what it's like being moved around and what it's like to travel I'll give you an example of how one of my trips from double a to triple a and back to double a went...buckle up!
Our game in Jacksonville got over at roughly 10:00 and got back to the hotel at about 11:00 (you get to stay in a hotel for three days when you are moved to a different level). As I was getting ready to head to bed I was woken up by a phone call from Tim Leiper, our double a manager, letting me know that I would be heading to play with our triple a affiliate the following day. I quickly packed up my belongings and got an email from our trainer, attached to it was the travel itinerary for the following day. Turned out I would be hopping on a flight at 6 in Jacksonville, stopping off for a little layover in Dallas and finally touching down in Portland at noon. My travel companion (Todd Doolittle), and I woke up at 4:30 the next morning to catch a cab to the airport. Now I'll fast forward to Portland where it's now 5:00 and we're preparing for a double header. I didn't play in the first game and wasn't penciled in to play in the second game but after one of our outfielders, he'll remain nameless because of the embarrassment, bunted a ball off his finger I was called into duty. After an 0-5 day and an extra inning win that ended at 11:00 west coast time (now 9:00 east coast time) I was on my way back to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep. After what seemed like 3 minutes of sleep the alarm clock was beeping and it was 4:30 again and that could only mean one thing...it was time to travel with the team back to New Orleans! After a day full of traveling and after the jump ahead in time we were arriving back in New Orleans at 5:00 and resting before our 7:00 game...which we of course ended up winning on a walk off homerun! It was definitely some of the most interesting 48 hours in my life. I slept as well as ever that night, in the company of the best parents in the world!
So that's what my first half has been filled with...traveling, late night phone calls, and packing and unpacking. I'm back in Jupiter now, and it looks as if I might be here for awhile, but when you are living the life of a non prospect in the minor leagues you learn to never assume anything!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
This was from last week...
I wrote this last week but it never got posted so I figured I'd give it another shot.
So obviously a lot has gone on and a lot has changed since the last time I blogged so I’ll try and update everyone to the best of my ability!
Spring training ended about a week and a half ago and I was to be headed about three hours to Jacksonville to play with the double a team, but that all changed. The final day of spring training we were greeted by Brian Chattin, our farm director (also known as the guy who moves everyone around and releases and signs guys). This held great significance because the only other time he had come out to our morning meeting was the first day of spring training, so we all knew something was up. The first words out of his mouth were “congratulations”, and when I heard that word I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I always try to stay as positive as possible during spring training but you always have to realize that there still is a possibility of possibly being released. He went on to say that the final rosters for each team would be posted during our lunch break. So for the whole morning I practiced with the double a team but when I got in for
lunch I saw my name with the high a team. At first I was a little upset but then I realized that this was a situation where I completely controlled my reaction and I started to think of all of the positives and all the advantages that I would have playing in the Florida State League for the second year in a row. Needless to say, I wasn’t upset for very long but throughout the entire lunch break everyone avoided me, I’m assuming it was because they just weren’t sure what to say to me.
So it was set, I’d be repeating high A with a whole new coaching staff. Our manager is Ron Hassey, the only guy to ever catch two perfect games in the big leagues. He’s a really laid back and intelligent guy and it seems to me that if you play hard then he’s going to constantly have your back, something crucial in the world of minor league baseball. Our team is extremely young compared to the team that we ended the season with last year. On this current team I am the oldest position player at 25. With the combination of me being the oldest position player, having played in the league last year, and coaching first base for three out of the first four games, I definitely feel like I’m more of a coach than a player.
We’ve begun the season 3-1, and I know it’s easy to be optimistic at this point, but I really feel like this team is going to do some great things this year. We’ve already come back from a couple late inning deficits, a sign of a team that never gives up. My playing time has been pretty limited for the first four games due to the fact that we have Brett Carroll, a big league rehabber, roaming the outfield for us. My first game of the season came on Saturday and on my first at bat of the season I produced a ground ball base hit between first and second! My first thought when I rounded first base was, “I’m going to hit 1.000 this year!”…and that continued until my next at bat where I promptly lined out to the shortstop. I ended up finishing the night going 1-4 with a few good at bats. I obviously would’ve liked to have had a couple more hits but I took a lot of positives away from the game.
Today is our first off day of the season so I decided to sleep in a little and then head over to Duffy’s to enjoy some good food, some great baseball, and to blog. At this point in the year I’d rather not have off days, I’d rather be at the field right now doing something baseball related. But as the season goes on it seems that the off days are few and far between and when they do come they’re definitely welcomed by everyone!
That’s it for now, hopefully by the next time I blog I’ll have played in a few more games and will have a little more game like production to write about! Until then, I hope everyone is doing well and living blessed lives!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
So obviously a lot has gone on and a lot has changed since the last time I blogged so I’ll try and update everyone to the best of my ability!
Spring training ended about a week and a half ago and I was to be headed about three hours to Jacksonville to play with the double a team, but that all changed. The final day of spring training we were greeted by Brian Chattin, our farm director (also known as the guy who moves everyone around and releases and signs guys). This held great significance because the only other time he had come out to our morning meeting was the first day of spring training, so we all knew something was up. The first words out of his mouth were “congratulations”, and when I heard that word I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I always try to stay as positive as possible during spring training but you always have to realize that there still is a possibility of possibly being released. He went on to say that the final rosters for each team would be posted during our lunch break. So for the whole morning I practiced with the double a team but when I got in for
lunch I saw my name with the high a team. At first I was a little upset but then I realized that this was a situation where I completely controlled my reaction and I started to think of all of the positives and all the advantages that I would have playing in the Florida State League for the second year in a row. Needless to say, I wasn’t upset for very long but throughout the entire lunch break everyone avoided me, I’m assuming it was because they just weren’t sure what to say to me.
So it was set, I’d be repeating high A with a whole new coaching staff. Our manager is Ron Hassey, the only guy to ever catch two perfect games in the big leagues. He’s a really laid back and intelligent guy and it seems to me that if you play hard then he’s going to constantly have your back, something crucial in the world of minor league baseball. Our team is extremely young compared to the team that we ended the season with last year. On this current team I am the oldest position player at 25. With the combination of me being the oldest position player, having played in the league last year, and coaching first base for three out of the first four games, I definitely feel like I’m more of a coach than a player.
We’ve begun the season 3-1, and I know it’s easy to be optimistic at this point, but I really feel like this team is going to do some great things this year. We’ve already come back from a couple late inning deficits, a sign of a team that never gives up. My playing time has been pretty limited for the first four games due to the fact that we have Brett Carroll, a big league rehabber, roaming the outfield for us. My first game of the season came on Saturday and on my first at bat of the season I produced a ground ball base hit between first and second! My first thought when I rounded first base was, “I’m going to hit 1.000 this year!”…and that continued until my next at bat where I promptly lined out to the shortstop. I ended up finishing the night going 1-4 with a few good at bats. I obviously would’ve liked to have had a couple more hits but I took a lot of positives away from the game.
Today is our first off day of the season so I decided to sleep in a little and then head over to Duffy’s to enjoy some good food, some great baseball, and to blog. At this point in the year I’d rather not have off days, I’d rather be at the field right now doing something baseball related. But as the season goes on it seems that the off days are few and far between and when they do come they’re definitely welcomed by everyone!
That’s it for now, hopefully by the next time I blog I’ll have played in a few more games and will have a little more game like production to write about! Until then, I hope everyone is doing well and living blessed lives!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Here's what I see at the plate at Roger Dean Stadium, our home park.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:The Dean
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Crashed :(
Well I just got done writing an almost complete blog post and my app crashed (that's no lie either!). So instead of retyping it tonight I'll try it again tomorrow after the series finale.
For now you can look at what i see when I step in the box at the St. Lucie Mets stadium.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
For now you can look at what i see when I step in the box at the St. Lucie Mets stadium.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A little miscommunication
My alarm went off at it's usual 6:15 today but I really struggled to get up. I wanted so bad to just turn it off and wait for Curry to wake up but I just couldn't get myself to do it.
I got to the field early once again and got in some shoulder exercises and a little core work. At one point I was sharing the weight room with Chris Coghlan, the reigning rookie of the year, and Hanley Ramirez, the reigning national league batting champ. Not bad company at all.
I once again grabbed my book after seeing the doctor for my exzyma and settled into a nice, quiet place in the back. I began to find some peace in the fact that I'm ready for whatever may happen. I wandered back to the locker room after about 20 minutes of reading to find a couple of my former teammates packing up their stuff, they had been released and couldve possibly played their last baseball games ever.
I got into a little bit of a confusing situation today. When I got to the field, the work groups had been udated and I was still in group two as an outfielder. But then the high A group posted their lineup and I was on it, hitting sixth and playing left field. I figured that since I was starting for the high A team I should probably be with them for the entire day, I was wrong. We went through our morning stretch and catch and began on our defensive work. After about five minutes I was called in to talk to the field coordinator, my heart started racing. As I ran in he didn't say a word, just pointed over to the double A field. Turned out I was on their lineup too, batting seventh and playing center.
So I ended up catching the bus at a little past 11:00 to head to St. Lucie. My goal today at the plate was to get my foot down slow and early and try to slow everything down. My first at bat I took the first fastball right down the middle, I wasn't ready and it seemed like it came in at 100 mph, mission unaccomplished. I stepped out and toldysrlf to start earlier and be aggressive. You can guess what the next pitch was, a changeup down and away that I swung through. I was now sitting at 0-2 and I was ready to battle my butt off. The next pitch I took, a changeup down and away identical to the previous pitch. It was now 1-2 and I was feeling more and more comfortable with each pitch. The final pitch was a changeup down and in that I lined off the first baseman, I was now 1-1 on the day with a positive at bat in my back pocket and my confidence starting to increase.
Tonight we treated ourselves to some Hooters hot wings, a welcome change to the everyday voucher choice, and a nice change of scenery. We were also able to spend some quality time with one of our teammates who was released. He seemed to be in pretty good spirits which was definitely an uplifting site, knowing that he was confident that he could fall back on something.
Tomorrow should be a busy and interesting day, I'll be sure and let you guys know how it goes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I got to the field early once again and got in some shoulder exercises and a little core work. At one point I was sharing the weight room with Chris Coghlan, the reigning rookie of the year, and Hanley Ramirez, the reigning national league batting champ. Not bad company at all.
I once again grabbed my book after seeing the doctor for my exzyma and settled into a nice, quiet place in the back. I began to find some peace in the fact that I'm ready for whatever may happen. I wandered back to the locker room after about 20 minutes of reading to find a couple of my former teammates packing up their stuff, they had been released and couldve possibly played their last baseball games ever.
I got into a little bit of a confusing situation today. When I got to the field, the work groups had been udated and I was still in group two as an outfielder. But then the high A group posted their lineup and I was on it, hitting sixth and playing left field. I figured that since I was starting for the high A team I should probably be with them for the entire day, I was wrong. We went through our morning stretch and catch and began on our defensive work. After about five minutes I was called in to talk to the field coordinator, my heart started racing. As I ran in he didn't say a word, just pointed over to the double A field. Turned out I was on their lineup too, batting seventh and playing center.
So I ended up catching the bus at a little past 11:00 to head to St. Lucie. My goal today at the plate was to get my foot down slow and early and try to slow everything down. My first at bat I took the first fastball right down the middle, I wasn't ready and it seemed like it came in at 100 mph, mission unaccomplished. I stepped out and toldysrlf to start earlier and be aggressive. You can guess what the next pitch was, a changeup down and away that I swung through. I was now sitting at 0-2 and I was ready to battle my butt off. The next pitch I took, a changeup down and away identical to the previous pitch. It was now 1-2 and I was feeling more and more comfortable with each pitch. The final pitch was a changeup down and in that I lined off the first baseman, I was now 1-1 on the day with a positive at bat in my back pocket and my confidence starting to increase.
Tonight we treated ourselves to some Hooters hot wings, a welcome change to the everyday voucher choice, and a nice change of scenery. We were also able to spend some quality time with one of our teammates who was released. He seemed to be in pretty good spirits which was definitely an uplifting site, knowing that he was confident that he could fall back on something.
Tomorrow should be a busy and interesting day, I'll be sure and let you guys know how it goes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
How to spend three hours at a food court
Got woken up at the field by the annual spring training drug test. When I first ot there I didn't have to pee and the line was long so I figured I would go to my quiet place in the back and drink a bunch of water and start reading "33 Year Old Rookie". I got through the introduction and preface when the 36 ounces of water I had just downed started to expand in my bladder, it was time to take that drug test. So I out my book up and proceeded to wait in line for 20 minutes, it was definitely one of the most uncomfortable 20 minutes of my life. I finally got that out of the way and at 8:45 it was time for another annual spring training meeting, this one about the security in being a professional athlete. It's always a good meeting filled with funny videos and interesting things to think about.
Our game today was against the low a team today, I'm back down in the high a group by the way. That's something that I have no problem with because I honestly don't feel like I deserve to be moved up to double a after the sub par year I had last year. I'm not looking for any handouts, don't get me wrong I wanna get to double a, but I want to get there because of my performance on the field. I ended up going 0-4 with a walk, but it was a productive day. My first two at bats I struck out but saw a lot of pitches. Right after my second at bat I realized I wasn't seeing the ball as well as I should be so I sat in the dugout and went through in my mind what was going wrong. I realized that I wasn't getting my foot down early enough, therefore making the pitches seem like they were coming in at 110 MPH! So for my next at bat I just wanted to slow the game down, get my foot down early and try to see the ball as well as possible. I was successful with the adjustment. I lined out to the pitcher, you could say that the ball found his glove as oppsed to his glove finding the ball. I was confident after that at bat knowing that I made an adjustment that I thought would pay dividends. My next at bat I thought the same things and ended up walking, my second positive at bat of the day. My final at bat I got up 2-0 in the count and decided to just think of getting my foot down early and try to get my bad head out front of the plate and see what would happen. I did exactly what I wanted to on the next pitch, I just didn't get it up in the air. I ended up hitting a hard groundball to the first baseman, another positive at bat. So this is why baseball could be such a misleading sport. If you were to look at a box score you would see that I was 0-4 and you might find it as a bad day but to me it was a very positive day where I made adjustments and had 3 positive at bats, very misleading.
Dinner was at the mall with some of my favorite people in the organization. It's one of the best places to people watch, and when that's paired with a visit from our favorite triple a guy, you then can understand how we can spend 3 hours just sitting, watching, and talking baseball. Some of our conversations might be boring to some passer bys but to us they're priceless.
Camp is winding down and there are still a bunch of tough decisions that the organization will have to make. I'm trying to stay as positive as possible, and trying to fall back on the fact that everything happens for a reason.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Our game today was against the low a team today, I'm back down in the high a group by the way. That's something that I have no problem with because I honestly don't feel like I deserve to be moved up to double a after the sub par year I had last year. I'm not looking for any handouts, don't get me wrong I wanna get to double a, but I want to get there because of my performance on the field. I ended up going 0-4 with a walk, but it was a productive day. My first two at bats I struck out but saw a lot of pitches. Right after my second at bat I realized I wasn't seeing the ball as well as I should be so I sat in the dugout and went through in my mind what was going wrong. I realized that I wasn't getting my foot down early enough, therefore making the pitches seem like they were coming in at 110 MPH! So for my next at bat I just wanted to slow the game down, get my foot down early and try to see the ball as well as possible. I was successful with the adjustment. I lined out to the pitcher, you could say that the ball found his glove as oppsed to his glove finding the ball. I was confident after that at bat knowing that I made an adjustment that I thought would pay dividends. My next at bat I thought the same things and ended up walking, my second positive at bat of the day. My final at bat I got up 2-0 in the count and decided to just think of getting my foot down early and try to get my bad head out front of the plate and see what would happen. I did exactly what I wanted to on the next pitch, I just didn't get it up in the air. I ended up hitting a hard groundball to the first baseman, another positive at bat. So this is why baseball could be such a misleading sport. If you were to look at a box score you would see that I was 0-4 and you might find it as a bad day but to me it was a very positive day where I made adjustments and had 3 positive at bats, very misleading.
Dinner was at the mall with some of my favorite people in the organization. It's one of the best places to people watch, and when that's paired with a visit from our favorite triple a guy, you then can understand how we can spend 3 hours just sitting, watching, and talking baseball. Some of our conversations might be boring to some passer bys but to us they're priceless.
Camp is winding down and there are still a bunch of tough decisions that the organization will have to make. I'm trying to stay as positive as possible, and trying to fall back on the fact that everything happens for a reason.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Got moved down (not a bad thing though)
What a beautiful day it is down here in Jupiter, Florida...I wish I could say that I was feeling as good as the weather, but I'm not.
About a week ago my allergies started catching up to me a little and that let to congestion and a sore throat and subsequently aches and pains. But I'm still alive and breathing and getting to PLAY baseball all day long!
Let me get you guys up to date as to what's been going on around here for the past week. The trickle down effect is well underway...and what does that mean you ask?? Well here's an explanation. When big league spring training starts they bring in a bunch of pitchers to cover the amount of innings that they play and they also bring in extra position players so that the big league guys aren't playing the full nine innings right off the bat.
Well as spring training goes on the need for those extra guys is less and less as the big league team nears where they want their roster to be at the start of the season. Usually what happens when a guy is sent down from big league camp they are put with the triple a group which then causes a guy from the triple a group to be bumped down to the double a group and so on. About a week ago a couple outfielders were sent down to minor league camp so Brandon Tripp and I were bumped down to the double a group. We knew it was going to happen at some point no matter how well we did, so it wasn't a big deal for either one of us.
Yesterday was my most successful day at the plate during our spring games thus far and I only had one hit. Let me explain this one also. My first at bat I walked (always a good thing), my second at bat I lined out to right center, my third at bat I had a line drive base hit between second and third, and my final at bat I lined out to the centerfielder. So if you add that all up I ended the day 1-3 but for me I took it as a day where I had 4 very positive at bats. I'm going to try and take my momentum from yesterday and keep it rollin'.
One of the cool things about spring training is that I get to see some big leaguers in action and get to get some autographs/pictures with some of them. Yesterday I came into the locker room after I got done with my lunch and saw Hanley Ramirez sitting right next to my locker talking with some of the Latinos. I, of course, asked him for a picture and he obliged. But one of my teammates, Tom Koehler, was a little more hesitant. I had to talk him into it, but once he got the picture I think he was pretty happy because it's not everyday that we have a chance to take a picture with one of the best players in the big leagues.
So right now I'm just sitting in a back room chatting with one of my teammates from last year, Matt Dominguez, and our clubhouse manager from last year, Chris Petrakis. But it's getting to be that time where I need to start getting ready for our afternoon game. Hopefully everyone out there is happy and healthy. Check back in a couple days, I'll try and get something out there.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
About a week ago my allergies started catching up to me a little and that let to congestion and a sore throat and subsequently aches and pains. But I'm still alive and breathing and getting to PLAY baseball all day long!
Let me get you guys up to date as to what's been going on around here for the past week. The trickle down effect is well underway...and what does that mean you ask?? Well here's an explanation. When big league spring training starts they bring in a bunch of pitchers to cover the amount of innings that they play and they also bring in extra position players so that the big league guys aren't playing the full nine innings right off the bat.
Well as spring training goes on the need for those extra guys is less and less as the big league team nears where they want their roster to be at the start of the season. Usually what happens when a guy is sent down from big league camp they are put with the triple a group which then causes a guy from the triple a group to be bumped down to the double a group and so on. About a week ago a couple outfielders were sent down to minor league camp so Brandon Tripp and I were bumped down to the double a group. We knew it was going to happen at some point no matter how well we did, so it wasn't a big deal for either one of us.
Yesterday was my most successful day at the plate during our spring games thus far and I only had one hit. Let me explain this one also. My first at bat I walked (always a good thing), my second at bat I lined out to right center, my third at bat I had a line drive base hit between second and third, and my final at bat I lined out to the centerfielder. So if you add that all up I ended the day 1-3 but for me I took it as a day where I had 4 very positive at bats. I'm going to try and take my momentum from yesterday and keep it rollin'.
One of the cool things about spring training is that I get to see some big leaguers in action and get to get some autographs/pictures with some of them. Yesterday I came into the locker room after I got done with my lunch and saw Hanley Ramirez sitting right next to my locker talking with some of the Latinos. I, of course, asked him for a picture and he obliged. But one of my teammates, Tom Koehler, was a little more hesitant. I had to talk him into it, but once he got the picture I think he was pretty happy because it's not everyday that we have a chance to take a picture with one of the best players in the big leagues.
So right now I'm just sitting in a back room chatting with one of my teammates from last year, Matt Dominguez, and our clubhouse manager from last year, Chris Petrakis. But it's getting to be that time where I need to start getting ready for our afternoon game. Hopefully everyone out there is happy and healthy. Check back in a couple days, I'll try and get something out there.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 26, 2010
I'm so sorry...
I just wanted to put this out there that I am extremely sorry that I haven't blogged in over a week. I told myself that when I got down here to Florida I was going to blog at least every other day...that obviously hasn't happened. I forgot how busy and tired I get during spring training. Excuses, excuses...I know.
I just wanted to throw that out there and let you guys know that I was planning on blogging during our lunch break tomorrow (I can't tonight since the ncaa tournament). I hope that everyone out there is doing well.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I just wanted to throw that out there and let you guys know that I was planning on blogging during our lunch break tomorrow (I can't tonight since the ncaa tournament). I hope that everyone out there is doing well.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 19, 2010
Getting a tan and livin the dream!
Today might have very well been the most enjoyable day that I've ever had during my short pro ball career.
It started just like any other; breakfast at the hotel, crossword puzzle during breakfast, and a nice ten minute drive to the facilities. The only thing that seemed different today was that I had a sore throat! When I got to the field our lineup had been posted on the board and to my surprise I was hitting third and playing center. It's always nice to play for a manager and coaches who have a great deal of confidence in you. I was a little nervous about playing center, it had been a couple years since I had been out there but I worked hard this off season and got in great shape which helped calm my nerves a little.
The best part of the day came for me during our morning stretch. Like I talked about in my last entry, I'm in a group of older guys who have been around for awhile so I've been hanging around with Brandon Tripp (one of my teammates from last year) and we've kind of been keeping to ourselves. I don't want to be "that" guy who oversteps his boundaries. Today, however, I realized that the older guys love to talk about their careers and are extremely passionate about the game just like I am.
One of the other outfielders in our group, Jason Lane, was drafted in '99 and has over 4 years of big league service. He also was standing in right field when Albert Pujols hit that monsterous homerun off of Brad Lidge in game five of the NLCS in '05. I also realized today that you can ask him anything about his career or baseball and he absolutely lights up. Within the span of 45 minutes he probably told Brandon and I 5 or 6 stories about his career in the big leagues alongside the likes of Jeff Bagwell and Roger Clemens. We also were able to tap into his wealth of knowledge about the game. The one thing that he talked about that hut home with me was how surreal it was for him to play in the big leagues. He explained how he would go to the field at like noon when they were on the road and just sit in the dugout and take in all of his surroundings. He said it was one of the most unbelievable feelings to just sit in the dugout knowing that at that point in time he had the entire stadium to himself, almost as if he was a kid who was the first out to the playground during or recess. I do that at our minor league games! It was just so refreshing to hear him tell his stories and to realize that he knew how fortunate he's been to have played for as long as he has. At any rate, he's passionate about what he does and with anything you do in life it becomes much more enjoyable if it's something that you are passionate about.
So it was a great day. I'm starting to get a great tan, I'm connecting and becoming friends with a whole new group of people, and I was able to do something I love!
I was also 2-4 at the plate, but I feel like if I wouldve been 0-4 it still would've been just as enjoyable to me.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It started just like any other; breakfast at the hotel, crossword puzzle during breakfast, and a nice ten minute drive to the facilities. The only thing that seemed different today was that I had a sore throat! When I got to the field our lineup had been posted on the board and to my surprise I was hitting third and playing center. It's always nice to play for a manager and coaches who have a great deal of confidence in you. I was a little nervous about playing center, it had been a couple years since I had been out there but I worked hard this off season and got in great shape which helped calm my nerves a little.
The best part of the day came for me during our morning stretch. Like I talked about in my last entry, I'm in a group of older guys who have been around for awhile so I've been hanging around with Brandon Tripp (one of my teammates from last year) and we've kind of been keeping to ourselves. I don't want to be "that" guy who oversteps his boundaries. Today, however, I realized that the older guys love to talk about their careers and are extremely passionate about the game just like I am.
One of the other outfielders in our group, Jason Lane, was drafted in '99 and has over 4 years of big league service. He also was standing in right field when Albert Pujols hit that monsterous homerun off of Brad Lidge in game five of the NLCS in '05. I also realized today that you can ask him anything about his career or baseball and he absolutely lights up. Within the span of 45 minutes he probably told Brandon and I 5 or 6 stories about his career in the big leagues alongside the likes of Jeff Bagwell and Roger Clemens. We also were able to tap into his wealth of knowledge about the game. The one thing that he talked about that hut home with me was how surreal it was for him to play in the big leagues. He explained how he would go to the field at like noon when they were on the road and just sit in the dugout and take in all of his surroundings. He said it was one of the most unbelievable feelings to just sit in the dugout knowing that at that point in time he had the entire stadium to himself, almost as if he was a kid who was the first out to the playground during or recess. I do that at our minor league games! It was just so refreshing to hear him tell his stories and to realize that he knew how fortunate he's been to have played for as long as he has. At any rate, he's passionate about what he does and with anything you do in life it becomes much more enjoyable if it's something that you are passionate about.
So it was a great day. I'm starting to get a great tan, I'm connecting and becoming friends with a whole new group of people, and I was able to do something I love!
I was also 2-4 at the plate, but I feel like if I wouldve been 0-4 it still would've been just as enjoyable to me.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, March 15, 2010
On the rocks at the inlet!
We're finally a few days in and I've found some down time to update my blog. First off let me give you a description of where I'm at and why I'm here. The past couple days I haven't been able to stay awake once I got back to the hotel room which made it hard to go to sleep at night. So yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble to read, thinking that would give me something to do but instead I just ended up falling asleep there. So today I figured I'd try something new. At this moment in time I am sitting on some rocks right on the Jupiter inlet. It's a pretty relaxing place to be with the sound of the water hitting the rocks, the nice 75 degree weather, and the cool breeze coming off the water. Keep in mind that if this blog starts to sound a little like nonsense then you know that the soothing sound of the waves have got to me and I might just be falling asleep again.
It's nice to be back in a routine. We start playin games on Thursday so right now our days consist of stretch starting at 9 and we get done with our last bit of conditioning around 2:30. In between that we have a meeting, defensive specialties, situational defensive situations (i.e. bunt coverages, first and third situations...), live bp (off pitchers), and finally regular patting practice. I try to get in early and stretch and get the blood flowing a little bit because as hard as I worked this off season I'm still pretty sore from the first few days of spring training. At the end of the day I usually take some extra swings, usually off the tee and from front flips. I end the day with a short intense lift followed by a pretty extensive stretch. And that's my day at the field in a nutshell.
My roomate, Ryan Curry, and I usually try and go eat around 8 and usually back in bed by about 9:30. During spring training our choices for food are kind of limited (unless you want to spend money). For the guys that stay in the hotel we're give a packet of vouchers with a list of about 10 different restaurants on it. Each voucher is limited to $9.00 so if you go over that amount you can either use a second voucher or just use cash to pay the rest. Most of the places on the vouchers are close to the hotel so that guys without cars are able to enjoy just as many places as the guys with cars are able to. Tonight I think we're going to hit up the mall food court. It gives us a plethora of options, given that there are 4 places that are on the vouchers. So without a doubt our toughest decision of the day comes around 8:00 when we're trying to decide where to eat.
To start spring training I've been assigned to the triple A group. Within the position players I'm the second youngest guy, which is a lot different than in years past. It's been great for me so far, we've got so many guys that have been around the game for so long and when you see those guys you want to try and emulate what they do because to be around the game that long you know that they're doing something right. The manager of the triple group is Edwin Rodriguez who was my manager in '08 in Greensboro. We have a lot of familiarity with each other so it's been pretty comforting. Our hitting coach is Greg Norton. This is his first year in coaching after a career that jay ended last year after spending parts of 13 seasons in the big leagues. I love to pick his brain and try and be a sponge with him as much as possible.
Today was definitely my best day at the plate. The past couple days I've felt a little out of wack with my timing, but today everything seemed to click a little more which resulted in much more solid contact. During this part of the spring I've learned that it's all about trying to see as many pitches as you can so that you can get to point where you're timing is as close to mid season form as possible. It always seems that timing is the last thing to come, but you have to be patient with it just like you do with everything else in baseball.
That's about it for now, I'm going to enjoy a little more of this scenery before I head back to the hotel for the night. One more thing actually...I went down to the lobby today and saw something that is a very very rare sight. As I walked around the corner to the breakfast room I saw two hall of famers sitting together at the same table! Talk about a great way to start the day, if you aren't inspired by Tony Perez and Andre Dawson then it's time to hang 'em up. Maybe tomorrow I'll ask them if they have an extra spot at the table for me!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 12, 2010
And we're off.....
Here we go! After six months of training and a 24 hour drive down to Jupiter, spring training is finally here…kind of.
Wednesday the 10th was our “report date”; all that means is that we had to be checked into the hotel sometime during that day. After we got checked in we had a welcome to Jupiter moment. We were both sitting around the room feeling kind of worthless so we decided to wander about Palm Beach and find a place to get a quick little workout in. We drove around for no more than 5 minutes before we found something. All we needed was a one day pass and that wasn’t cheap! I’ve bought numerous amounts of one day passes and have never spent more than probably $8, but when it comes to Jupiter/Palm Beach prices are thrown out of the window. Take a seat if you’re standing up, this next statement may cause you to get light headed. A one day pass cost…….$15! I know, I know, you’re now thinking “You didn’t actually pay for that did you?” Well I did, and here’s my reasoning. When the lady at the front desk told me that I swear my jaw almost slammed down on the counter, and then my jaw did hit the counter whenever she told us that they were on of the “cheaper” places around. Welcome to south Florida, here’s my $15.
Yesterday was we had our physicals and some testing to see how good of shape everyone is in. Our physicals include a blood test, an EKG test, a tuberculosis test, talking with the orthopedic surgeon about our bones, an eye test, and finally the dreaded hernia test. But before I did any of those, I checked in with our strength and conditioning guy. My goal this off season was to get down to below 200, I weighed in at 198. I passed all my flexibility tests with flying colors, had a good score on our grip test, and had a 33.5 vertical which was I think an inch and a half better than it was year. So all in all I thought I did pretty well in showing our strength and conditioning coordinator and the organization that I worked my butt off this off season.
Today was supposed to be our first day of workouts, but the rain had other ideas for us. Instead of being out in the sun on the green grass at 9:00, we were all crammed inside a lunch room. The first day always includes a lot of introductions, rules and regulations, and expectations. After about a 45 minute meeting we were done for the day (we couldn’t hit in the cages because the Red Sox were in there getting ready for their game against the Cardinals). So Curry and I got another quick lift in and now we’re sitting back here at the hotel about to watch a movie.
It’s been a great start so far, the weather is supposed to get better for tomorrow and I can’t wait to get everything going and be on a new routine. My main goals for this spring training are to stay as positive as possible, soak in as much as possible, and not worry about the things that I can’t control. So send me some positive vibes! Check back tomorrow for an update on how the first workout outside went.
Wednesday the 10th was our “report date”; all that means is that we had to be checked into the hotel sometime during that day. After we got checked in we had a welcome to Jupiter moment. We were both sitting around the room feeling kind of worthless so we decided to wander about Palm Beach and find a place to get a quick little workout in. We drove around for no more than 5 minutes before we found something. All we needed was a one day pass and that wasn’t cheap! I’ve bought numerous amounts of one day passes and have never spent more than probably $8, but when it comes to Jupiter/Palm Beach prices are thrown out of the window. Take a seat if you’re standing up, this next statement may cause you to get light headed. A one day pass cost…….$15! I know, I know, you’re now thinking “You didn’t actually pay for that did you?” Well I did, and here’s my reasoning. When the lady at the front desk told me that I swear my jaw almost slammed down on the counter, and then my jaw did hit the counter whenever she told us that they were on of the “cheaper” places around. Welcome to south Florida, here’s my $15.
Yesterday was we had our physicals and some testing to see how good of shape everyone is in. Our physicals include a blood test, an EKG test, a tuberculosis test, talking with the orthopedic surgeon about our bones, an eye test, and finally the dreaded hernia test. But before I did any of those, I checked in with our strength and conditioning guy. My goal this off season was to get down to below 200, I weighed in at 198. I passed all my flexibility tests with flying colors, had a good score on our grip test, and had a 33.5 vertical which was I think an inch and a half better than it was year. So all in all I thought I did pretty well in showing our strength and conditioning coordinator and the organization that I worked my butt off this off season.
Today was supposed to be our first day of workouts, but the rain had other ideas for us. Instead of being out in the sun on the green grass at 9:00, we were all crammed inside a lunch room. The first day always includes a lot of introductions, rules and regulations, and expectations. After about a 45 minute meeting we were done for the day (we couldn’t hit in the cages because the Red Sox were in there getting ready for their game against the Cardinals). So Curry and I got another quick lift in and now we’re sitting back here at the hotel about to watch a movie.
It’s been a great start so far, the weather is supposed to get better for tomorrow and I can’t wait to get everything going and be on a new routine. My main goals for this spring training are to stay as positive as possible, soak in as much as possible, and not worry about the things that I can’t control. So send me some positive vibes! Check back tomorrow for an update on how the first workout outside went.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Things I learned this off season....
Every off season I seem to go through a lot, whether it be good or bad-for better or worse. I’ve gotten better each off season with knowing my body and what I need to do to keep myself in the best shape, knowing how to keep my swing in tact, and how to save the most money for the upcoming summer. But I always learn something new with each off season, sometimes about myself and sometimes about others. These are the three main things that I learned this off season.
1. I have a passion for helping kids get the most out of their talents.
Up until this off season I’ve worked random jobs, ranging from working in the athletic department at Mizzou to waiting tables at Rancho Grande. I’ve given baseball lessons sparingly, but never took it as seriously as I would’ve liked to. Luckily I was able to go back to my roots for “work” with the opening of All Star Sports Center (which also happened to be about a half of a mile from my house). As the year turned over the amount of lessons that I were giving per week slowly increased, and with each lesson I gave I could see the confidence in the kids eyes as they began to understand more and more about hitting. When I think about teaching hitting, I found that there numerous ways to get across one point. For example, telling one kid to keep their hands inside the baseball might make sense to one kid but to another you might have to find a different way to say it. That’s where the challenges came in for me. Obviously there aren’t two kids that think alike and likewise there aren’t two kids with the same swing. So to me, being a good hitting coach/teacher is all about being able to relay the right knowledge to your players in a way that makes sense on a personal level. For me I work with boys and girls that range in age from 8-18, so you can imagine how different the kids are. I feel like I have been given the gift to play baseball through my abilities and my opportunities and if I didn’t relay my knowledge on to kids who had the passion that I have then I almost feel as if I would be cheating the game!
I also realized that there isn’t a greater reward for me than watching a kid think about something I say, put it to use, and finally “get it”. Whenever that happens I swear I can see the light bulb pop up right above their head. I’ve always thought that hitting is one of the most frustrating things to do in sports so whenever I can make hitting fun and give that kid more confidence then I feel as if I’ve done my job! Any kid who has the passion for the game and the “want to” to get better will always be a winner in my book and will always be the most fun and rewarding to work with.
2. At the end of the day the relationships that you create/maintain are what make you a more complete person.
This past week has been extremely tough for me. Over the past 6 months I have been fortunate enough to meet numerous amounts of people that I can honestly say have greatly influence my life, I was also able to become as close as ever with my family while maintaining my prior relationships. Each off season it becomes harder and harder to leave for spring training because I feel that each time I’m leaving more and more behind. There’s not much that feels better than someone taking an interest in your life, it just makes you feel special.
I got so close with some of the kids that I gave lessons to and helped Lee and Bill at All Star Sports Center that I honestly felt bad whenever I left. I almost felt as if we had put in so much hard work for so long and then right when their seasons are about to begin I leave them high and dry! I can only hope that they all understand.
For those of you that didn’t know, I do still live at home in the off seasons (and yes I am 25). There’s no punch line to this one, it’s the truth. Anyways, I’m fortunate enough to have parents that don’t try and get me out of the house every other day. In fact I’d like to think that they actually enjoy my company, and we’ll leave that one at that. I also enjoyed the company I kept with my brother, watching him grow up and turn into a man is priceless. Now that my sister’s gone away to college the time that I get to spend with her is limited so I’ve learned to cherish the time that we do get to spend together.
When it comes to relationships you can trace all of your sorrows back to the wrong people and all of your joys back to the right people. Keep in mind that the company that you hold tells a lot about you and your character.
3. I’ve learned that I’m still not sure what it means to be a “grown up”.
My dad asked me a couple weeks ago when I was going to grow up and without hesitation I answered with a definite “Never!” That wasn’t quite what my dad wanted to hear so he lectured me for awhile, most of it went in one ear and out the other but a few things stuck with me. But it really got me wondering…what does growing up actually consist of? When I think of someone being a grown up I think of someone who has a lot of responsibilities, someone who takes life too seriously, has to pay a lot of bills, and someone who frequently runs out of time. Hmmmm….Is that what it means? So that I night I don’t think I went to sleep until about 3:00 because I had so many thoughts rolling around in my head and here’s what I finally settled on: I really have no idea what it means! I’d love to give some clever words of wisdom about growing up but until my knowledge bank gets more invested in it then I’m basically clueless.
Once again I feel like I’ve had a very productive off season as I go into this spring training feeling as prepared as I ever have been. It only makes sense that I learn more and more with each off season…I guess if I keep progressing and learning I’m assuming that I’ll eventually be a grown up…eh I don’t know!
1. I have a passion for helping kids get the most out of their talents.
Up until this off season I’ve worked random jobs, ranging from working in the athletic department at Mizzou to waiting tables at Rancho Grande. I’ve given baseball lessons sparingly, but never took it as seriously as I would’ve liked to. Luckily I was able to go back to my roots for “work” with the opening of All Star Sports Center (which also happened to be about a half of a mile from my house). As the year turned over the amount of lessons that I were giving per week slowly increased, and with each lesson I gave I could see the confidence in the kids eyes as they began to understand more and more about hitting. When I think about teaching hitting, I found that there numerous ways to get across one point. For example, telling one kid to keep their hands inside the baseball might make sense to one kid but to another you might have to find a different way to say it. That’s where the challenges came in for me. Obviously there aren’t two kids that think alike and likewise there aren’t two kids with the same swing. So to me, being a good hitting coach/teacher is all about being able to relay the right knowledge to your players in a way that makes sense on a personal level. For me I work with boys and girls that range in age from 8-18, so you can imagine how different the kids are. I feel like I have been given the gift to play baseball through my abilities and my opportunities and if I didn’t relay my knowledge on to kids who had the passion that I have then I almost feel as if I would be cheating the game!
I also realized that there isn’t a greater reward for me than watching a kid think about something I say, put it to use, and finally “get it”. Whenever that happens I swear I can see the light bulb pop up right above their head. I’ve always thought that hitting is one of the most frustrating things to do in sports so whenever I can make hitting fun and give that kid more confidence then I feel as if I’ve done my job! Any kid who has the passion for the game and the “want to” to get better will always be a winner in my book and will always be the most fun and rewarding to work with.
2. At the end of the day the relationships that you create/maintain are what make you a more complete person.
This past week has been extremely tough for me. Over the past 6 months I have been fortunate enough to meet numerous amounts of people that I can honestly say have greatly influence my life, I was also able to become as close as ever with my family while maintaining my prior relationships. Each off season it becomes harder and harder to leave for spring training because I feel that each time I’m leaving more and more behind. There’s not much that feels better than someone taking an interest in your life, it just makes you feel special.
I got so close with some of the kids that I gave lessons to and helped Lee and Bill at All Star Sports Center that I honestly felt bad whenever I left. I almost felt as if we had put in so much hard work for so long and then right when their seasons are about to begin I leave them high and dry! I can only hope that they all understand.
For those of you that didn’t know, I do still live at home in the off seasons (and yes I am 25). There’s no punch line to this one, it’s the truth. Anyways, I’m fortunate enough to have parents that don’t try and get me out of the house every other day. In fact I’d like to think that they actually enjoy my company, and we’ll leave that one at that. I also enjoyed the company I kept with my brother, watching him grow up and turn into a man is priceless. Now that my sister’s gone away to college the time that I get to spend with her is limited so I’ve learned to cherish the time that we do get to spend together.
When it comes to relationships you can trace all of your sorrows back to the wrong people and all of your joys back to the right people. Keep in mind that the company that you hold tells a lot about you and your character.
3. I’ve learned that I’m still not sure what it means to be a “grown up”.
My dad asked me a couple weeks ago when I was going to grow up and without hesitation I answered with a definite “Never!” That wasn’t quite what my dad wanted to hear so he lectured me for awhile, most of it went in one ear and out the other but a few things stuck with me. But it really got me wondering…what does growing up actually consist of? When I think of someone being a grown up I think of someone who has a lot of responsibilities, someone who takes life too seriously, has to pay a lot of bills, and someone who frequently runs out of time. Hmmmm….Is that what it means? So that I night I don’t think I went to sleep until about 3:00 because I had so many thoughts rolling around in my head and here’s what I finally settled on: I really have no idea what it means! I’d love to give some clever words of wisdom about growing up but until my knowledge bank gets more invested in it then I’m basically clueless.
Once again I feel like I’ve had a very productive off season as I go into this spring training feeling as prepared as I ever have been. It only makes sense that I learn more and more with each off season…I guess if I keep progressing and learning I’m assuming that I’ll eventually be a grown up…eh I don’t know!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
I love sports!
I had a chance to be on the radio last night and talk about two things very close to my heart, sports and my career! I sat in the studio before I went on just listening to the two hosts just chat about sports. The best comparison that I could come up with is that they were just two guys sitting in a bar watching the bottom line and talking about the lead stories in the sports world for that day. So I came to the conclusion that outside of playing a sport, talking about sports and getting paid for it is the second best job in the world (maybe 3rd behind Bill Gates' job). Think about it, when you're a sports fan you're always chatting and debating about sports. Go even further and think about this, they basically get paid to watch sportscenter. Follow closely with me on this one. If you're a guy on the radio who talks about sports you have to do your research to form your own opinions and I don't know if there's a better platform for keeping up with the sports world than sportscenter. So in turn they are getting paid to watch TV!!
One topic that we touched on was Mark McGwire finally coming clean with his steroid use. However many years later he finally decided to release the burden that was weighing him down...but why now?? Why couldn't he have done this when he was first accused of it? Look at a guy like Manny Ramirez who missed 50 games last year because of a positive test. He admitted he was wrong, moved on, and everyone else seemed to move on and continuously love watching Manny be Manny. In my opinion now that this is all out about McGwire you give it a year and for the most part it will all be forgotten and maybe the HOF will be his next stop. Here's my main problem with people hating on guys who took steroids or PED's: When a guy hits a lot of homeruns he is automatically questioned, why couldn't it just be thought of as he did something different with his swing, found something new, found some new confidence, or maybe...wait for it...was blessed with god given ability and he finally has tapped into it?? We only question guys who go from 20 to 40 homeruns, but what about those guys that go from 5 to 15 homeruns?? I don't think you will ever here someone accuse a player of taking steroids after he hits 15 homeruns. Or how about a guy who goes from playing 100 games in a season to 150 games?? Steroids keep you fresh and on the field, that's how those guys hit more homeruns because they play in more games close to %100 which in turn gives them more focused at bats meaning they have more opportunities to hit homeruns, it's as simple as that. Why hasn't Cal Ripken Jr.'s name ever come up in steroid or PED talks? Is it just because he didn't hit a ton of homeruns? His record, to me, is by far the most impressive streak in any sport and I have an unbelievable amount of respect for him as a player and for his love of the game, but why doesn't anyone ever question his streak? With all that said; to play baseball for a living and work that hard all the time to pursue something that you have that much passion for you have to be so mentally strong and when you get a taste of what it's like you don't want to lose it and you will do anything to keep hold of that dream...think about that.
One topic that we touched on was Mark McGwire finally coming clean with his steroid use. However many years later he finally decided to release the burden that was weighing him down...but why now?? Why couldn't he have done this when he was first accused of it? Look at a guy like Manny Ramirez who missed 50 games last year because of a positive test. He admitted he was wrong, moved on, and everyone else seemed to move on and continuously love watching Manny be Manny. In my opinion now that this is all out about McGwire you give it a year and for the most part it will all be forgotten and maybe the HOF will be his next stop. Here's my main problem with people hating on guys who took steroids or PED's: When a guy hits a lot of homeruns he is automatically questioned, why couldn't it just be thought of as he did something different with his swing, found something new, found some new confidence, or maybe...wait for it...was blessed with god given ability and he finally has tapped into it?? We only question guys who go from 20 to 40 homeruns, but what about those guys that go from 5 to 15 homeruns?? I don't think you will ever here someone accuse a player of taking steroids after he hits 15 homeruns. Or how about a guy who goes from playing 100 games in a season to 150 games?? Steroids keep you fresh and on the field, that's how those guys hit more homeruns because they play in more games close to %100 which in turn gives them more focused at bats meaning they have more opportunities to hit homeruns, it's as simple as that. Why hasn't Cal Ripken Jr.'s name ever come up in steroid or PED talks? Is it just because he didn't hit a ton of homeruns? His record, to me, is by far the most impressive streak in any sport and I have an unbelievable amount of respect for him as a player and for his love of the game, but why doesn't anyone ever question his streak? With all that said; to play baseball for a living and work that hard all the time to pursue something that you have that much passion for you have to be so mentally strong and when you get a taste of what it's like you don't want to lose it and you will do anything to keep hold of that dream...think about that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
