Hello friends and family. I went dark after my time in Fargo and I apologize for that. I was processing a lot and instead of updating and being true to the blog I took a hiatus. I have returned and over my next few posts I will bring everyone up to speed.
Fargo Departure
I was cruising in Fargo. I had my saves looking good and I was feeling confident on the mound. Then I lost the team back to back games in not so confident fashion. It was a hit to the ego and hit to the pride but I was looking forward to getting back onto the mound for redemption. The redemption out would have to wait until a TBD date.
What happens when you get released from an independent team that drafted you to their team because of Covid? Well the normal protocols from what I can tell. When I was drafted by Fargo I was told either way that Kansas City had my contractual rights for the 2021 season. One of the reasons I was given for my release was I was not returning to Fargo in 2021, and it was time for them to look for players who they would have for 2021. I don’t blame them whatsoever and I appreciate them lessening the blow, but ultimately we all know why guys get released.
I would still have to clear waivers through the five other teams in the Covid season. I was checked out at that point even though I tried to sign on with a team at the end just to get that stink of the last outing out of my brain. When those calls never came in and the season was over the next step was okay how can I showcase myself to any team who saw me this summer and get a spring training invite?
Winter Ball
The first attempt we made was trying to find a winter league team that was taking players. When a pandemic is going on who knew that countries would lock up the borders and not allow imported players? I joke, but it was hard to find a league that was proceeding like normal and I don’t blame any league or country for being wary last winter of bringing in new players. I even reached out to the Cardinals about if they knew anyone for winter ball as a favor. There was a small glimpse and chance of a four team league in Colombia that I thought would have been a great month. Then they were not looking for a right handed reliever which is all good. The winter ball season came and went and then it was onto the next option.
The Charlotte Trip
One day in December my friend Brock Stewart was making a celebrity appearance at the gym in town. He mentioned that back in Charlotte they were going to host a pro day at their gym for guys looking to showcase and potentially sign with affiliated or Independent league teams. At this point in my throwing program I was not ramped up to showcase my ability but my trainer Josh and I felt like in a month I could be presentable. Teams would understand that it is January and that guys aren’t fully ramped up. My track record of velocity and pitch profile was in a database somewhere that teams could check and make sure I am who I say I am.
When I decided to make the trek to Charlotte I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. I was riding on the hopes and fumes that when I was put into the pressure situation that my body would respond and we would be all good.
The facility and host of the inaugural pro day is Tread Athletics. As I’ve mentioned in the past the baseball community is large and small at the same time. The owner and founder of Tread Athletics is Ben Brewster, who was an intern in normal one summer at the baseball gym. I teased him that I knew him back before he was big time. I even had him blocked on Twitter for some reason which made it a bit awkward when they were trying to promote me for pro day.
The facility is a nice spot and is your standard baseball laboratory. A mound, a weight room, cameras, you name it they had it and I was glad that I made the trip. If all else, I got to see a new city I had never seen and network with like minded guys who are trying to continue to reach their goals.
Another factor in the Charlotte trip was to gather more data on my pitches and see what we could find out to make them more successful. The name of the game these days for pitchers is have the data to back up your pitches and then execute those pitches. For me, I know my fastball isn’t the best but my secondary pitches have been improving. Lucky for me the game is moving more toward off-speed pitches, and I have the required velocity to get my foot in the door. What does a data sheet look like you might ask?
This is a one pitch sample of my curveball. What do all the numbers mean? Next time they pull up a stat cast on a MLB broadcast here is what they are talking about the way I understand it.
- Speed – 82.5 MPH
- Spin – In general the higher the better. More spin means more movement for off-speed in general.
- Tilt – The direction my ball is going and the spin direction
- Vertical – movement downwards – in this case -17 inches of drop on this curve from release
- Horizontal – movement left or right. -7.9 horizontal means it moved right to left from my release
- All in all not a bad pitch if you ask me
When teams are debating who to sign and all that I know for a fact they check the database of information. One of the reasons the Cardinals signed me was their database of analytics on my pitching repertoire. When I can get a good report on myself, the next step is distributing the information to teams to let them know I am still active and kicking.
I left Charlotte without a contract but I 100% am glad I went. I met some great baseball guys, got to expand my network, and train in an environment of like minded players. I wasn’t at my best on short notice, but I knew what I signed up for. I even popped at 95 which is always nice in January.
What do you do when the Charlotte pro day comes and goes and the teams let you know that they have higher priority free agents on their list? I guess you will have to stay tuned for Part 2 !
Thanks to everyone who reads this and everyone who has been supporting me through the years. It means a lot to me and I look forward to continuing to update!
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