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
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