Lessons Learned Part 1

With my first full year in the books I have taken a week or so off to digest everything that happened between March – September. 

There isn’t anyway to sum up those months into one post, but I thought I would write about some observations that came to mind. 

1. Giving up runs is way worse than going hitless. 

I hated giving up runs. Any kind of run against me meant that our team had less of a chance to win. My hitting background allowed me to play everyday, but relief pitching you only get so many outings. If you have a bad day, it lingers, if a hitter has a bad day, there is always tomorrow. 

2. Soreness and fatigue are normal. 

One thing different about a full season is that there will be days that you are not feeling good. I personally felt good at the end of the year, and I attribute that to my conditioning as well as being in extended while others were in full season clubs all year. Now that I have been home for more than a week, I’ve been starting workouts. My legs are telling me I need more time to recover. The weight I can move now and how quickly my legs get tired, tell me the season took a lot of energy. 

3. Unlike college, the goodbyes were quick. 

The minor league season ended and we returned to the locker room. The lockers were being packed up, the goodbyes were exchanged and that was it. Even the coaches did not have much to say, our manager gave us a goodbye speech in Hickory, but back in Rome it was time to go.  When you play college and with the same group of guys you know that last game is going to be a long goodbye. I think a reason it is quick is because everyone expects to see each other again. Nobody thinks this is the end for them, and I am in the same boat, this is just the beginning. 

4. No baseball, all free time. 

When the day is scheduled from 1-10:30 is removed, the free time invades. This isn’t a bad thing, just different and takes an adjustment to get used to. The off season jobs were being discussed on the last bus ride home, my contribution being substitute teacher. 

5. It is all worth it. 

As the season progressed the griping and groaning only picked up. That is natural, the team and myself included could see the finish line of being home right around the corner. The body is tired, the mind is in another place, but it is worth all of it. Outside the box score I have made memories that will be with me forever. I’ve made friends I’ll stay in touch with long after baseball is done with me. 

As of now, and according to my estimates,  I have 169 days until spring training starts. My junior college coach always said if you get 1% better every day, in 100 days you’ll be 100% better. If I could be 169% better then we would be in business. 

The training this winter will be geared toward a healthy second full season. Where and when this training occurs will be determined shortly, I already think I am behind guys going to instructs and need to catch up! It never hurts to start early. 

The End

The 2015 Rome Braves baseball campaign came to an end today. As a team, we knew it would be over on this day, with no chance to make the playoffs. 

I threw in game three of the series and contributed a scoreless inning. It was a good way to end my season throwing up a zero in my last game. 

The Saturday game was rained out after five which meant no bullpen for a day, but it also let us start our season party. Throughout the year we have been contributing to the kangaroo court fund. The fund was used to pay for our catered party at Buffalo Wild Wings.  

 
We are a handsome bunch aren’t we? During the party we announced the team awards for the year. The awards were voted on when we were in Lexington and included pitcher, hitter, defensive, hustle, and red ass player of the year. I’m still not sure what Mr. Red Ass is but I think it has something to do with complaining all the time. 

It was a good time, lots of wings, and good people. One of the best parts of playing a sport is meeting new teammates. Hopefully most of the team will be reunited next year and I will have a lot friends already. The ability to make friends and keep them throughout the season is not an easy task. When you are with the same group of people from March 5 – September 7, there will always be disagreements. You can’t be around the same group of people and egos without having a disagreement every now and then. On the flip side you can strengthen a relationship in that amount of time and continually make new ones. 

I am not sure what I am feeling right now knowing that tomorrow I will not have baseball for the first time since January. It doesn’t not feel like the season is over, just another bus trip back to Rome after a series. This was my first full season, and I wasn’t even part of the team the whole year. The guys in Rome have been doing these same trips since April and you could tell they are ready to be done. 

At the end of our game is was bases loaded two outs down by one. There were definitely people in our dugout hoping for an out, or for a big hit. Anything but extra innings. On the last day of the season, extra innings is something that neither team wants. Hickory is gearing up for the playoffs, so I doubt they care. 

We ended up going 1-4 on the road trip, winning the game I threw in. At this point I’m not sure what happens next. Last year I would be heading to instructional league soon, but this year it is straight home in the morning. From there it is planning out my routine and expectations for the offseason to make sure I am ready for spring training next March. 

I’ll be doing another post soon because right now I am processing everything that has happened lately and throughout the season. 

Thank you for taking part in my first full year of professional baseball. I am looking forward to updating what is going on, and then next year talking about year two!

Last Home Games, New Faces, Midnight to Hickory

The home portion of the Rome Brave season has come to an end. We took the series from the Drive 3-2, and won the last game of the year at home. It was a good way to go out in front of the fans who have been supporting the team for the season. 

There are a lot of new faces around the Rome locker room. There are five guys that returned to Rome or are here for he the first time. We have some guys injured and battling to come back, guys dealing with other family issues, and a new player brought in from a trade. What a whirlwind last week for a player from a new organization to join a new team with a week to go. 

We had a player who had his flights made and planned for the trip home. This past week he was moved up to a higher team and I’m sure it was annoying to have to restructure his getaway route. That’s minor league life. 

Speaking of planning getaways, because the last five games are on the road we moved out of our apartment yesterday under the agreement we didn’t have to pay for September. We talked to the land lady and she said yea don’t worry about it just pay for two days and we are squared up then the next day she changed it and is making us pay for the entire month. That wasn’t the best news to receive on our last day, but I never saw the original rent agreement for the end of our lease. It took roughly seven trips to go from the apartment to the field to get everything out, including an abundance of trash bags. When we were done the apartment looked improve from when the guys moved in. 

We are now in Hickory, NC after arriving at 5 am this morning. There is something that happens on a bus trip that late or overnight that is interesting to me. At that time of the night, or morning, there isn’t much going on. There is a very tranquil vibe on the bus and almost complete silence. At that point, everyone is sleeping or trying to get to a state of sleep. I like this tranquility that settles, but also enjoy sleeping comfortably through the night. This is the last series of the year, and is for five games. The Crawdads won the first half of the playoffs, and will continue on into the postseason regardless of if they lost every second half game. I have thrown against them before but that was pre all star break, and I expect their to be a different cast of hitters here. 

At minimum I will throw once against them, but potentially two times depending on how the games are going. Here’s to me throwing up some zeros in my final series of the year.