The season’s first road trip is upon us, and although it might seem weird, it’s exciting. We have had five technical “away” games, but all five have been commuter trips, where we drive back to St. Lucie after the game. Today, we head to Fort Myers for our first hotel stay and essential road trip.
Now, compared to last year’s drastically long trips in the South Atlantic League, this year will be a piece of cake. When they told me this is one of the long rides (only 3 hours) I basically jumped for joy. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy a casual three hour coast compared to an all-day 15 hour trek to West Virginia or New Jersey from South Georgia???
Road trips also mean a few other ingredients that only Minor League baseball players would understand. First of all, the actual seat assignments on the bus. It is always such a hassle trying to get a spot on the bus. Obviously, nobody wants to share a seat, but as I crunch the seat numbers with roster spots it’s clear most people have to partner up. That leads to arguing and “seat-saving” similar to a childish third-grade lunch room setting, but I guess it’s part of the culture.
Next, hotel roommates. This is another tricky situation because while you want a friend, it’s also important to choose someone compatible to your personal sleeping arrangements. Rule of Thumb? I don’t care how good a friend he is, if he snores……NOPE! I had a good friend for a road roommate last year, but his snoring would wake up the people next door! This year, I’m a little bit more savvy, and chose much more wisely.
Lastly, there’s the always endearing adventures of being in a new place and trying to get out and see what there is to see and do what there is to do in these new spots. I have a fondness of playing in new stadiums, and I enjoy the different quirks that each town has to offer. So, I try to get out and get up at a reasonable time and do something to get my day started.
It’s MINOR LEAGUE Opening Day! For all of us grinding away in the Minor Leagues, today is a special day. It’s another season, and hopefully it means we are one step closer to our ultimate goal of reaching the Major Leagues.
My season begins in Port St. Lucie in the Advanced-A Florida State League. I am very excited about this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to hopefully another successful season, both individually as well as team-oriented. Most of my teammates this year were part of the championship team last year while we were in Savannah. Obviously, we are very confident we can make another run at a ring, and it all starts today!
I want to wish all my baseball friends beginning their seasons today the best of luck this year!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I figured my trip down to Florida for spring training seemed like the perfect time to get back in blog mode. I just finished my second offseason, and, therefore, will be attending my second spring training.
For as long as I can remember, my “offseason” for baseball was either two months of playing basketball or a mere two weeks Christmas vacation before we were back on the field. Now, the offseason is essentially a five month break from any practice or mandatory workouts. This was something I needed to get acclimated to, but I took it pretty well. Wait, you mean I don’t HAVE to be anywhere until February??? Obviously, there is still a lot of offseason preparation for the upcoming season, but it was nice to have a little freedom. This is only time players can travel and go on vacations. Unless, that is, you consider the 16-hour bus trip from Lakewood, New Jersey back down to Savannah “traveling.”
However, this is most importantly the time to get in the gym and really push yourself. There’s plenty of time to be sore because, like I said, you’re not playing for five months. For the last two years, I have worked out at Tim Soder Physical Therapy with a bunch of other major and minor leaguers, who were either high school teammates or opponents.
This offseason had another twist from my previous baseball “offseasons”. I was a teacher at my high school alma mater, Bishop Gorman. Last year, I would periodically be a substitute; maybe two days a week. This is the perfect compliment to my spending habits during the offseason 😳. However, this year, I replaced a teacher there who went on maternity leave. So, for six weeks, I was a Spanish teacher for both freshman and sophomore levels. It gave me a new outlook on the life of a teacher, and not to mention how much I misbehaved when I was a freshman and sophomore while I was in school. I certainly have a new respect for those dealing with hormonal-crazed teenagers. While it was a lot of work, it was nice to have a steady paycheck (much larger than my MiLB one), and couldn’t hurt on a résumé someday.
All in all, I would say it was a pretty good break from playing, but I am absolutely excited about heading back and getting back into the swing of practicing and playing everyday. Hopefully the hard work pays off with another good season, but either way we will make sure we have a good time doing it regardless.
For Walk Out Wednesday this week, I have to steal a song from my teammate, Jayce Boyd, that he used this summer. Now, this song is strictly used for hitters, considering it commonly uses the phrase “light ’em up” multiple times. Not exactly something you want to hear as a pitcher. Either way, I really enjoy the song so I hope you do too. It’s by Fall Out Boy and it’s called My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark…..
It’s Rivalry Week in college football. States and even houses and families are divided this week. Some of the sports’ greatest rivalries, Ohio State-Michigan, Clemson-South Carolina, SC-UCLA are being played this week around the country. However, the college football world will all be focused on Jordan-Hare Stadium for “The Iron Bowl.” #1 Alabama. #4 Auburn. The SEC West Title. I guess it’s safe to say there might be a lot on the line in this one. This has also been a key game in the national title race as the winner has won the National Championship each of the last 4 seasons. From Mark Ingram and Paul “Bear” Bryant to Bo Jackson and Pat Dye, this game has been in the national spotlight. And this might be one of the more heated rivalries in the country, but what’s college football without an argument between each side? So, I’ve given you a little video to get a real understanding of the fierce Iron Bowl Rivalry between Roll Tide and War Eagle.
This Thanksgiving edition of Walk Out Wednesday features another roommate and a fellow bullpen mate Beck Wheeler. Now, he stole this walkout from one of his college roommates so you have full permission to steal it from him as well. It’s a clubhouse favorite of ours, and it’s Louder Than Words by David Guetta and Afrojack. Hope you enjoy!
This Thanksgiving week edition of Walk Out Wednesday features another roommate and fellow bullpen buddy Beck Wheeler. Now, he stole his walkout from a buddy from college so feel free to steal this one from him! It’s a clubhouse favorite of ours. The song is Louder Than Words by David Guetta and Afrojack. Hope you enjoy!
