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!


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Here's what I see at the plate at Roger Dean Stadium, our home park.



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Location:The Dean

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.


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