Greetings from Stockton, Calif. …
The last time I was able to post to TTFB, I was in the Eastern Time Zone, and now I am in the Pacific Time Zone. In a matter of 36 hours, I had walked out of my manager’s office in Dayton, Ohio, and into my new manager’s office in Visalia, Calif. All of this was in accordance with a call-up to the next level, and by all means welcomed with open arms.
Many people would be frazzled by the timeframe that comes with a call-up in baseball, but I believe I speak for the players when I say it never seems fast enough. Is it a wild whirlwind whipping your life around for a brief period? It absolutely is, but when the dust settles and you are in a new place, playing for a new team, everything is well worth it. Simply because, at the end of the day, our ultimate goal is to make it to the big leagues, and the climb up the ladder is usually anything but typical.
This year has been similar to my path last year, with moving from South Bend, Ind., to Visalia. However, I am looking to produce different results at the end of the season. Last season, I was moved up earlier in the season, but as a starter, and did not have the best year of production, which ultimately led to my return this year to South Bend. Sometimes, it takes that little reminder of being sent back down to strike a chord that nothing is guaranteed in this sport, and to just go out there and let the cards fall as they may. Baseball will chew players up and spit them out if they allow it, i.e., myself last year. But if we can maintain a level head and not worry about production daily, the results come out better in the end.
Gone are the days of South Bend for me, and I am here now with the Rawhide trying to help them make the playoffs for the first time in five years. Nonetheless, I will keep tabs on the guys I was able to play with throughout this season. Ultimately, we are all in this experience together, and the more guys who can make it to the big leagues, the more fortunate I consider myself to be.
