Extended Spring Training

Ok. I figured it has been over a month and I have not posted anything new. Guess I have a lot to catch up on.....

Since the last time I wrote spring training has ended and extended spring is not just about a month in. Extended spring is exactly what it sounds like, an extended version of spring training. In regular spring, every player in the organization is here. We have a workout in the morning and a game in the afternoon....every day.

Once the full season teams start playing, there are only so many roster spaces that need to be filled. This year that left around 50 young players with nowhere to go. It sounds like a bad situation, but every team does the same thing. Also, the long-term rehab is based out of here. That leaves the 50 young guys, about 8 or so minor league rehabbers, and about 5 major league rehabbers. Makes for a full clubhouse.

Anyway, back to extended. It is starting to get hot in AZ right now so we get our work in early. A typical day goes something like this.......wake up at 5:00 am and dressed and in the athletic training room by 5:30. Put coolers out on the field and get everything set up for the day. Breakfast at 6 and players start showing up. Position players have weight room activity at 6:45, pitchers stretch at 7:30. We will be out on the field until about 10 and then head inside for a quick snack and change for the 10:30 game. Since position player work out in the morning, after the game the only ones that have to finish up a workout are some of the pitchers. Lunch is at 1ish and usually everyone is gone by 2. Then we clean up, get our reports in, and close up shop. Usually about a 9 hour day, but since we start so early we get done earlier. It is not too bad if you can stand early mornings. The other good thing is that we have Sundays off. Something to look forward to and also a day to reset your week. All the days are the same here and now I know why there is a feature on my watch that shows me what day it is!

We have a lot of good young players down here this year. I believe we have about 5 or 6 guys that haven't even had their 18th birthdays. There aren't too many guys that are of legal drinking age in the USA, so it make for an interesting dynamic now that I am up to about 15 years older than some of them. I guess working with kids (let's face it, that's what they are) keeps me young too. I get to stay current and keep my street-cred. The flip side of the youth is that they have a lot to learn about the game, being professional, and general baseball fundamentals. If you think watching an extended game and a major league game are similar I invite you to come down and watch one. We get to see a lot of interesting things.

Next week I am heading to Hickory, NC to cover for our low-A, South Atlantic League team down there and I will be sure to have some updates from the east.

Spring Training is Over!!

So, I really did not end up with the time I thought I would have to update during the spring. Those days were so hectic with us starting up before 6 am and going past 6 pm most days that all I wanted to do at the end of the day was get some dinner and go to sleep.

We ended up finishing spring on Friday morning and extended spring does not officially start until Wednesday. That meant that there were 4 days off in the middle and the best part was I was able to head home for the break. Being home in April was great. I have not been home for Easter in 10 years. Plus, just being able to go home for a few days to recharge after a crazy spring will do wonders.

OK, that's it for now. Going to go enjoy my last few hours with Mia.

Full camp - Day 1

Today was the first day that we had all of our minor league players in camp with the exception of a few that are having visa issues. We started out dark and early at 5:30 am setting up physicals for the remaining position players. They started arriving at 6 and I think there were about 40 or so guys that needed to get something done. It ran really smoothly and we knocked everything out before 9.

We had a meeting with all of the players and coaches at 9:45 and got the first day rocking. These next few days will be pretty hectic with all of the meetings and beginning of camp obligations that everyone has. Our first game is Thursday.

Minor league baseball is officially here.

Spring Training

Spring training is by far the most hectic time of the year in professional baseball. Most of the guys that were with me in Spokane last year and other short season players are experiencing their first spring training. There are usually around 150 guys in camp and everyone is trying to get a full season job at a higher level than they were at last year.

Minor league pitchers and catchers had their first official day on Monday. We started at 6 am with physicals. Luckily a bunch of the guys come down early and were able to knock out pieces of it. There were still some new stations that were only available on the actual physical day that were backed up. Our physical consists of blood/urine, EKG, joint measurements, ortho physical, general physical, and body fat.

These last few days have not been too bad since it is just pitchers and catchers. They have 2 groups that go out for a couple of hours each so they finish in the early afternoon. Once the position players get here the workouts will get a bit longer and then when games start....that's when the days are long.

In Arizona

Today was driving day to Phoenix. My brother lives in Phoenix also, so he flew down to NM for the weekend and just drove back with me. It was a pretty uneventful drive. Made it to Mesa in about 6 hours.

Minor problem. Our 2 bedroom apartment was supposed to be ready for us to move into today. The previous tenants decided to extend their stay at the last minute and they were scrambling to find us a place. Well, they found one....a 1 bedroom. Since that won't work, they got me a hotel room and let my roomie stay in the 1 bedroom for a few days until they get a 2 bedroom ready. A small pain in the ass, but hopefully it will all be straightened out in a few days.

Tomorrow I'll stop by the complex and get ready to get going.