Start of the Season

It's been a little more difficult to sit down and write since the season has started. But, my parents and an old friend (and reporter for the Republican American) that I just talked to today, Joe Palladino, have reminded me that I need to keep up with my updates. So here I am, now about a week and a half into the season with the Vermont Lake Monsters. It has certainly been a different experience for me than last summer, mostly because I'm playing in the northeast rather than the northwest. Last summer we opened up in Eugene, Oregon and I didn't know anyone of the nearly 5,000 in attendance. This year, our opening series was in Troy, NY where I saw my parents and my sister, as Troy is only about 90 miles from Torrington. Last summer it was a very big trip for my parents to get out to Vancouver, but this year they have already seen games in Troy, Vermont, and Lowell, Mass. Rather than walking to the closest restaurant from our hotel after a game, I've been treated to dinner by my parents. Needless to say, I have been a little spoiled thus far this summer (and I've pocketed some meal money on the road, which never hurts). Obviously I am very close to my family and spend as much time with them as possible, especially during a busy season, where it's usually a rare occasion to see them.

After a game in Troy, NY

When leaving the clubhouse tonight and letting my manager, Rick Magnante, know that I was leaving with my dad rather than the team bus for the 3rd night in a row he dropped a great line on me. He said 'Fab, you can't get enough of your folks, huh. You're going to be like a true Italian, living with your parents your whole life.' I couldn't help but laugh and to let him know that I have no problem with that..at the time being.

On the field, I have experienced some of the same things that I went through last summer - some successes and some failures. I played 2 out of our first 3 games of the season and had 2 hits along with a pair of walks and a HBP. I added a 2-rbi single in the next game I played, along with 2 walks. Most recently on Monday I went 0-3 with a couple of strike outs. But, those are the normal ups and downs of a long baseball season, we play 76 games in 80 days this summer. I haven't been an everyday starter, but there is plenty of time to earn that spot. For now I'm just enjoying being close to home and that my family and friends will get a chance to see me play. Some of whom haven't seen me play since high school, so this is certainly a once in a lifetime experience. We are playing in Norwich, CT tomorrow-Friday the 29, 30, and August 1. All of the games are at 7:05 at Dodd Stadium.

As always you can follow my stats or anyone else in the minor leagues at the Minor League Baseball website. Here is the link to my page: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=2B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=595195

Hope to see some of you soon. God Bless.

Extended Update

Before I left for spring training, over 2 months ago, many people asked me where I would be playing this season. I had hoped to make a full season roster and thought the most likely destination would be on Burlington Bees (low A) roster. That obviously didn't happen as I've been in Phoenix this whole time in extended spring training. This was a disappointment at first, and rightfully so, the goal is to move up through the minor league ranks and eventually make the big leagues. Little did I know that 'extended' might be a blessing in disguise.

Looking back now I don't know if I was ready to make one of those teams and I may have been a backup. Here in extended I have been able to play consistently, and get valuable experience at 3rd base, to the point where I'm comfortable at all infield spots except 1st base. I have made huge improvements in the past 2 months and I think being in 'extended' is a big reason for that. Most weeks we play 5 games and I have been getting consistent playing time. The biggest improvement that I've made is mental and the way I approach the games. I have always loved competition, but sometimes I would 'press' and try to perform too hard, which can negatively affect my play. I'm playing my best when I'm into the game, but also relaxed, both offensively and defensively. I have been able to play aggressively relaxed because the stats don't count here. I still want to do my best at all times, and there's no doubt at times I will be frustrated with my play, but I've become better at forgetting the failures and getting ready for the next play/at bat. When my real season does begin I plan to continue my mental improvements and I really expect that to pay off huge dividends.

Like I've mentioned earlier, there is a chance I will be playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters, starting mid June. But there are no guarantees where I will end up and that is out of my control, so I try not to worry about it. It would be an experience of a lifetime getting to play professionally in the northeast, but if an infielder at a higher level is injured or they decide to promote me, that would be great as well. No matter where I'm playing I'm excited about the summer ahead.

My former high school and college teams finished their regular seasons on a strong note. Torrington High won the Copper Division in the Naugatuck Valley League, with a record of 16-4 and will be playing in the league and state tournament in the upcoming weeks. JMU won the CAA regular season title for the 2nd straight year and this marks the 4th time in the last 6 years that JMU has won either the CAA regular season or tournament championship. Congrats to both THS and JMU baseball programs, good luck..I'll be following both teams closely.

Through the Fence Baseball

Through a mutual friend and former teammate at JMU, Chris Johnson, I was put in touch with the head of a new, up and coming baseball website, Through the Fence Baseball. You can visit the website by clicking the following link: www.throughthefencebaseball.com. I have been reading articles on the website ever since I heard about it over a week ago, it's a great website for baseball fans. TTF Baseball covers everything you can think of when it comes to professional baseball, from fantasy baseball, to trade rumors, to minor league baseball, that's where I fit in. Similar to what I have been doing on my blog here, I am going to have my own column writing for Through the Fence Baseball and sharing my professional baseball experience on the website. I will start posting within the next few days, so be sure to check it out. There is one other minor league player who is currently writing for the site, and they are trying to give fans an inside look into professional baseball. I'm excited for the chance to reach a larger audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Technical Difficulties

Unfortunately it has been a while since I've been able to get on here. I've had some issues with my old Compaq computer, it definitely has had better days. My power cord broke, so I haven't been able to even turn on my computer and I have moved into an apartment where our internet wasn't working for some time. I'm actually using my roomie Jeffy Bercume's computer now. But, I've gotten a new power cord and will be able to start using my computer again.

I have some catching up to do. I was lucky enough to face another big league starting pitching, this time for the Angels. We faced Joel Pineiro over a week ago at the Angels complex. This time there wasn't the build up or anticipation as there was when we faced Ubaldo. The Angels took the field, then we heard that we were facing Pineiro. And he managed to get about 12 outs in the 3 innings that he pitched, including striking out yours truly..in 3 pitches. 12 outs in 3 innings, you may be scratching your head. Well the extended spring games aren't official games, so sometimes teams will end innings before reaching 3 outs because they don't want the pitcher throwing too many pitches (he may be rehabbing and be on a strict pitch out). In Pineiro's case, he was on a strict pitch count each inning and he would stay out there until he reached his limit. I think he recorded 5 outs in 1 inning. He doesn't overpower you, but he throws a ton of strikes and every pitch moves. In 2010 Pineiro was 10-7 with a 3.84 ERA. On another note, Jiminez has returned to the Rockies and had 2 starts since coming off the disabled list.

I've been getting updates from one of my best friends Matt Carbone about my former team, the Raiders of Torrington High School. THS is having a great season, they are now 10-0 and leading the Naugatuck Valley League. My former coach, Gerry Carbone collected his 300th win..congrats coach, I'm hoping for a big end to the season for you guys. I hear the weather is finally warming up some back in the northeast, perfect for baseball season..make the most of it every day.

Facing Ubaldo Jimenez

Two days ago started the same as every other day in extended spring training. Wake up at 6:30, get to the complex, eat breakfast, and do some early work hitting before our stretch. We had a normal morning practice working on baseball and defense followed by batting practice. We were scheduled to play the Rockies at our facility in the afternoon. During lunch there was a rumor circulating throughout our clubhouse..that the Rockies major league ace pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was starting against us. Jimenez started opening day for the Rockies but reported having some problems with his right throwing thumb. He is currently on the 15 day disabled list and is throwing in extended spring training until he will be eligible to return to the big league roster on April 17th. Last year Ubaldo went 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA, came in 3rd in the National League Cy Young voting, and was the national league starter in the the all-star game. Oh, and he also threw a no-hitter against the Braves.

Jimenez delivering a pitch in the 9th inning of his no-hitter

Once we knew Jimenez was starting against us and both my roomie Bercume and I were playing, we decided to bring out Berc's flip cam to video tape our at bats off the all-star. I stepped up to the plate in the second inning with 2 outs and a runner on third. When the video starts it is an 0-1 count as Jimenez buckled my knees with a first pitch slider for a strike before the camera was ready. But, you can watch the rest of the at bat on the video below. Nice camera work by Josh Whitaker getting my swing, then showing Ubaldo.

As you just saw I lined a single into left field on a 4-seam fastball. I had another at bat off Ubaldo, but we didn't get that one on tape, and it wasn't as pretty. I ground out to 3rd base on one of the best pitches I've seen..a 2-seam fastball in the 90s that ran hard towards me. His fastball ranged anywhere from 88-97 mph. There is no doubt that he has great stuff, but we hit some balls hard off of him. 

In the first inning, my teammate, Zhi Fang Pan, hit a home run to right field off Jimenez. Everyone in the dugout was going crazy and deservedly so, he hit a home run off the guy who started in the all-star game last year. It was Pan's first professional home run and he returned to the dugout to say 'UNBELIEVABLE'...Pan speaks very little english and has a translator with him at all times. So I started talking to Pan through his translator and asked if he knew who the pitcher was. To all of our surprise he shook his head, no. We told the translator who the pitcher was, he knew the name Ubaldo right away and even recalled that he was in the Cy Young voting the previous season. At first Pan didn't believe it as his eyes grew big and he said 'no, no' and pointed towards the mound. His translator assured him it was the flame throwing right hander. I just thought it was great that he had no idea who he was facing when he approached the plate, and I had been hearing rumors about Jimenez over an hour before the game. 

Locker Room Talk

I remember walking into our minor league clubhouse in Phoenix, AZ last June just days after last year's MLB draft, it was an intimidating experience. I arrived last June at the end of extended spring training, which ironically is where I am now. There were about 50-70 players in the clubhouse, most of whom knew their way around and the daily schedule. I was one of the new guys and didn't even know where to go to get my equipment or meal money. Actually one of my fellow rookie teammates didn't even know that he was supposed to pick up meal money until the following week, when he was able to collect his money that had been piling up. With time everyone starts to find their way around and become familiar with the clubhouse rules, some of which are written, but far most are unwritten rules..locker room code.

Obviously the biggest rule of the clubhouse is to not go into anybody else's locker. You should never be looking through someone else's locker, that is definitely against locker room code. We have some other pretty obvious rules like there is no eating and no cleats in the clubhouse. For the most part, they just ask us to take care of the space that we have and treat everyone and everything with respect. There's also another unwritten rule, to take a shower after you finish your practice, workout, or game. This isn't something that's strictly enforced but some guys in the organization would say that we have a leader of the shower police, Jose Crisotomo. Jose is quite the character and a friend of mine that is always good for a laugh. He has been known to call out fellow teammates that he thinks haven't showered telling them to 'Take a shower hippie!' or 'Take a shower everyday'.

My roommate, Jeff Bercume, who I've talked about a lot in my posts interviewed Crisotomo about his showering habits. I actually stole this video from his blog, http://108stitchez.com/?p=765. Jose is from the Dominican Republic, but speaks English pretty well, and we always try to help the other out as I'm learning some Spanish. I don't think you will ever catch this baseball player being a 'hippie'..enjoy.

And wishing Bradley Shaban a happy 20th birthday..Bradley is a sophomore infielder at JMU, currently hitting .336 with 4 HR and is 7-7 on stolen bases..showing off the speed, smell ya Shaban!

Have a Purpose

Some of you may remember my post from the beginning of spring training describing a guest speaker who came in and spoke about having a purpose in life, baseball, and everything that you do. For me, baseball is a great way to learn life lessons because, just like in life, there are so many things that you can't control. However, there are some things you can control, like the effort and attitude you have and these are the important things to focus on. And it's impossible to get anywhere in baseball or life without a goal or purpose. This may seem like a simple and obvious statement but I've come to realize that when you're on the same routine everyday (i.e. spring training) it is easy to complete some drills without having a central focus. For example, every morning I hit off the tee to warm up and get my swing feeling right. It's easy to mentally check-out during this time and just get my body loose. But a new coach has given me a new focus while I'm hitting off the tee, and it's something that I think is useful for players of all ages. On a side note, I would advise young kids to hit off a tee as much as possible, the more swings you can take the better. You might even be able to set up a net in your basement so that you can swing all year round.

Our new coach working with hitting and infielders had an 18-year career in the major leagues, Tony Phillips. Tony played over 2,000 major league games and amassed over 2,000 hits throughout his long career. Tony was listed at 5'9'' and 155 lbs, which gives hope to the smaller players out there, like myself. He is a vibrant character and is always energetic about his work, he loves working with minor leaguers.

The piece of knowledge that Tony dropped on me and that I want to pass along was to focus on the head. What he meant by that was, like everyone else I would hit the ball off the tee and then track its flight down the length of the batting cage. Tony encourages guys to keep their head on the contact point and not follow the ball. He says that this will help you 'stay on the ball' and your head won't pull off the baseball. So, instead of just missing that pitch during the game, you drive it into the gap. I now have a new focus or purpose when I'm hitting off the tee..to make solid contact and keep my head on the contact point. We practice this same concept during side and front flips, and batting practice and hope this it carries over into the game.

But, this new found purpose during my tee drills has also carried over to how I'm approaching defensive work and other parts of the game. Every time that you field ground balls during practice you should have a focus on what you are doing. For me, I focus on getting a wide base and keeping my head down and seeing the ball into my glove. You're not really changing what you're doing physically, but mentally this will help to correct any flaws that you're most likely to make.

On another note, we start our extended spring training games tomorrow. I'm excited to get some more at bats in a real game setting. I know that Torrington High School started their season last week and are 2-0. It's an exciting time of the year with the start of baseball season and getting to see baseball highlights on Sportscenter. And of course, my favorite show, Baseball Tonight. Good luck to everybody starting their seasons!

End of Spring Training..Not so Fast

Spring training went by pretty quickly, it was only 3 weeks for myself and the other position guys. Pitchers and catchers reported about a week earlier than most position players. The spring training routine stayed pretty much the same as I posted a couple of weeks ago. We played about 12 spring games, where I would usually split time with other infielders, as they are trying to get everyone ready for the season. I played with the low A and high A teams and got to suit up for 2 big league games.

However, the spring came to end with the rosters posted to all minor league levels and some names designated for extended spring training. My name was under the extended spring training roster. Most people have never even heard of this, I had no idea what it was until I was drafted and it was explained to me. Everyone who doesn't make a full season roster and some guys who are injured will be in extended spring training. Its name pretty much describes it, a couple more months similar to spring training. My schedule is very similar to my spring training days. We practice in the morning: stretching, throwing, base running, defense, batting practice, and finish with an intersquad game in the afternoon. Starting Monday we will play other team's extended spring training rosters. Similar to how I'm in extended with the A's there are guys who are in extended with every other organization and these are the guys that I will be playing against in the weeks to come.

A good way to think of the minor leagues is like a ladder. There are many rungs on a ladder, similar to how there are many different minor league levels. Some of you may know that I played in Vancouver last summer, the short season affiliate of the A's. All short season teams are the bottom rung, mostly guys who were just drafted. Moving up the ladder are all of the full season rosters, they start now, in early April, whereas short season starts in June. There are 4 full season teams above short season and they go up the ladder in this order: low A, high A, AA, and AAA. Each of these teams have a 25 man roster and carry 5 or 6 infielders usually.

So where does extended fit into this ladder? Well most guys go to extended because they are headed back to short season for a second time, that would be the boat that I am in. There are other guys who are in extended only because they aren't fully healthy and once they get back to full strength they will be placed on one of the other rosters. In my case, I'm here to continue to practice and improve every day. But, it is the nature of baseball for opportunities to arise from injuries, poor play, etc. So, I could fill in for an injured player this week or I could stay in Arizona until June. And of course, minor leaguers can be released at any time.

There is yet another twist, only to complicate things further. The A's short season team moved from Vancouver to Burlington, VT. So, I could be playing close to home with the Vermont Lake Monsters, in the New York-Penn(sylvania) league. No matter where I end up, I'm glad that I still have the opportunity to play baseball everyday.

Meeting the Man of Steel: Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson is Major League Baseball's career leader in stolen bases and runs scored with 1,406 stolen bases and 2,295 runs scored in his 25 year career. Per every 162 games (1 full season) he averaged 74 successful stolen bases and was successful in over 80% of the steal attempts in his career. Rickey was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. He is currently a coach with the Oakland A's organization and teaches younger players what he knows best, baserunning. I had the pleasure of meeting the 'man of steel' during spring training.

Rickey talking to players

One day during spring training myself and about 20 other minor leaguers had a half hour baserunning talk and demonstration with Rickey. The main focuses of his talk was about what he does best, stealing bases. After hearing Rickey talk about baserunning and stealing bases, it is very clear that he was able to accomplish all that he did because of his mindset. Rickey joked he used to stand in front of the mirror and practice dusting off his jersey to make sure he looked good doing it after he stole a base. He talked about getting a big lead, but most importantly being comfortable with your lead. Rickey was never going to surprise anyone when he stole, everyone in the stadium knew he was going, it was only a matter of when. Which brings me to another point that he made, picking the right time to steal the base. Rickey said he was ready to steal on every pitch, he was looking for tendencies, trying to get a great jump off the pitcher and give the catcher no chance to throw him out. He even said that he wasn't the fastest guy in the league, but that he was very quick and could reach top speed within only a couple of steps. After seeing him running effortlessly I still think he could steal 30 bases in a season.

Rickey talking to the group while I'm listening (#8)

The best part about meeting Rickey is that he is so down to Earth. I have seen him several times since then and listened in a conversation he had with my roommate, Jeff Bercume, about getting jumps when stealing bases. He still clowns around and laughs with minor league guys during practices. He is quite a character, but he is a very nice guy and I have heard that he is very active in the community of Oakland, where he grew up. It was also pretty cool because my parents were in town when I had the chance to meet Rickey so my mom was able to get some good pictures.

Rickey talking and demonstrating how to round first

Local Press

My mom joined the board of directors at the soup kitchen in Torrington and came up with a great idea to raise money and food for the kitchen that serves a hot meal everyday of the year to those in need. Her idea was to have me run a baseball clinic and all the donations of food and money would go straight to the soup kitchen. The clinic was mainly geared towards younger players but was open to anyone who was interested. We were able to execute this clinic in March before I came to spring training. My mom worked hard getting the announcement out to schools, radios, newspapers, etc. and we had a great turnout. We estimated that we had about 50-60 people in attendance including about 35 kids. The clinic was 90 minutes long where I spoke on some baseball fundamentals and also had the kids out on the gym floor working on defensive fundamentals. It was pretty cool because even in that short time I could see some of the kids getting better. I asked the kids questions about different things I had talked about, and they were able to remember everything that I had talked about. And more importantly we raised almost $400 and 7 full boxes of food. There was a nice article in the local Register Citizen. http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2011/03/12/sports/doc4d7c1706e97b6329219476.txt.

I recently talked to Register Citizen reporter Peter Wallace, who I have known since my high school days, and actually talked to him more during my basketball career than baseball. We talked about my spring training experience and that I was able to dress for a couple spring training games. He put together a nice article that you can read here: http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2011/03/25/sports/doc4d8d5e77559bc327717859.txt.

And I have to give a shout out to Jordan Williams, another Torrington H.S. alum, who has been playing basketball for 2 years at the University of Maryland. Jordan just filled out paperwork to enter his name in the 2011 NBA draft, so congrats Jordan and the whole Williams family. This guy is a really hard worker and has improved so much in the last few years. I know the whole Williams family and they are always supporting me with my baseball career, which I appreciate so much; I'm excited for their family to go through this exciting time. There's not a better family that this could happen to; I've actually kept in contact with Jordan and his parents through facebook and emailing. Jordan was able to hook my buddy and myself up with tickets to the Terps games at UVA and Virginia Tech during this basketball season. I was able to take a video from our second row seats just before tip-off at Virginia Tech.

There is an article about Jordan putting his name into the NBA draft where I was quoted, as he was a freshman at THS when I was a senior.

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2011/03/30/sports/doc4d92b1421c32d452779977.txt

Parents Weekend

It has been an exciting weekend and start of the last week of spring training. I got to meet Rickey Henderson who is a coach with the A's, dressed for another major league spring training game with Ubaldo Jiminez as the opposing team's starting pitcher, and my parents were visiting for a long weekend. I will post another time about Rickey because he is quite the character and a legend. He is still in great shape; I think he could still be a successful base stealer in the major leagues. And getting to dress for another major league game was exciting again, probably more for my parents who got to see me on the field with all of the big league guys. I should have some good pictures from my mom's camera. Our game was at the Rockies spring training home, who share a brand new complex with the Diamondbacks. It is perfectly groomed and could be a major league stadium if they added seating. I dressed on Sunday and it was a sellout of over 12 thousand fans.

Picture that I took looking down the walkway
 to the field from the clubhouse

 Compared with the exciting nights of hanging out in a hotel room and watching tv, I had a blast tonight getting dinner with my parents and some former JMU baseball alums who are also in Arizona for spring training. Matt Browning, who I have mentioned before, was drafted last year by the Mariners and had a great first pro season; his spring training is in Peoria. Kevin Munson, who I've also talked about before, is a pitcher who was drafted by the Diamondbacks last year and has closer-type stuff. The Diamondbacks spring training is also in Scottsdale, fairly close to where I'm staying. And Steven Caseres is a first basemen who was drafted by the Dodgers in 2008, his spring training home is in Glendale. Caseres' parents are also visiting AZ and are good friends with my parents so we were all able to meet for dinner tonight. All of the guys were trading spring training stories and talking about how difficult the lifestyle can be at times. Tonight was special because we rarely get time to see each other and talk about each others experiences because we are all going through similar things. This came out pretty blurry, but this picture was taken of all the guys outside the restaurant we ate at tonight.

We all love what we are doing, but it is more stressful and draining than most people think. My dad tried to explain to a coworker what spring training is like in business terms. He said it would be like a company sending a group of salesmen to a business training event that lasted 3-4 weeks. You aren't being paid during that time, but you would be constantly graded and evaluated on your performance. Based on your past performances and how you are developing will determine how good your job will be and how much money you will make for the next season. If the company didn't like your progress they could fire you at any time. And in a few months, the company will be bringing in all new recruited employees who could also take your job at any time. So, as you can see it can be a little stressful sometimes trying to predict where you will be playing the next season and what the organization thinks of you. But, like I've said many times before I still love getting to play baseball everyday and compete at this level, I thank God everyday that I have been given this opportunity. The real key is to try to block out all of the stresses that can come with all of the things I talked about and remember to have fun. Having my parents in town for the last few days was exactly what the doctor ordered for me. Spring training is a mental and physical grind, but there is no where that I would rather be!

A Day in the Majors

Today started off just like every other day of spring training, similar to my daily routine that I talked about in last night's post. I had my breakfast at our facility and did some early work hitting off a tee and front toss. From there, I thought my day would consist of a morning practice, lunch, and a game in the afternoon. I guess that is exactly what I did, but there was a small change in there that I won't soon forget.

It was 10:30 a.m. and I was practicing with my team when the manager called a few of the players aside and told us we were going to the big league game..and leaving in about 15 minutes. So I rushed into the locker room and prepared to leave, trying to make sure I didn't forget anything that I would need. Naturally I quickly texted my family and let them know that I was suiting up for the big league spring training game. Apparently my dad wasn't quite convinced this was the truth as he immediately responded saying 'Are you serious?' which I got a kick out of. My sister had an even better answer, 'I don't really know what that means but it sounds awesome. Congrats!' ha, I can't help but to laugh at that. I should probably thank her for giving me some comic relief in a time when I was pretty anxious. And of course, one of my best friends was only concerned with his best player in the A's organization..Hideki Matsui. He acted like a girl seeing Justin Bieber for the first time when I told him that Matsui was the first guy that I saw when I entered the clubhouse.

Myself and five other minor leaguers arrived at the major league clubhouse around 11. Most of the other guys had been called up in spring training games before, so they knew exactly what to expect and I just followed their lead. I also should note that it is common practice for minor league guys to fill in as reserves in the big league spring games. After I was told I was headed to the big team a bunch of guys told me to 'enjoy the spread' because they have a great lunch out for the guys, that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had my full plate of food and found a seat at a table near guys like Matsui, Coco Crisp, Kurt Suzuki, Mark Ellis, Grant Balfour and the rest of the roster. It was a pretty intimidating experience and I often found myself making sure that I was acting appropriately. As excited as I was, this is the everyday routine for these guys, so they don't want someone going there and acting like an anxious fan. You want to act like you fit in, but at the same time, you don't want to give off the impression that you are better than anyone else, so I did the safe thing and pretty much kept to myself.

I spent most of my time in the clubhouse texting some friends and family, and soon enough I was on the bus driving to Mesa, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. Many of the guys drove their own cars to Mesa, but the bus pulled up right behind the right field wall. The wall opened and there was a walkway down into the stadium with fans lined up on both sides of the walkway. I strolled through right field and all the way across the diamond into the third base dugout and up the stairs to our visiting team clubhouse. That walk from the bus to our clubhouse was memorable. My roommate, Jeff Bercume, was walking the whole way with me and we acted like that was something that we do everyday, but it was special to me. However, the average fan might quickly see that we are not everyday players because our numbers were 82 and 84 respectively. Despite our wide receiver numbers, we were still there to play in the game and even sign a few autographs after the game.

Hohokam Stadium

I spent some time hanging out in the clubhouse, listening to some music and cleaning my spikes before heading out to take the field. All of the position players stretched and got their arms and legs loose down the left field line. I had a catch with Bercume, which was a little nerve racking because if I had over thrown him I'm pretty sure I would have drilled an innocent fan..and I don't think that's exactly what the A's are looking for. It was exciting warming up in front of almost 10 thousand fans; Hohokam Stadium is one of the largest spring training facilities with a maximum capacity of over 13 thousand. It was also pretty cool to be a part of the game and to see first person the type of interactions that players have in the dugout, like talking about the pitcher or a play that happened in the last inning. I didn't end up playing in the game, but I definitely enjoyed being there. About halfway through the game Jeff and I were talking about how fortunate we were to have this great opportunity and he asked what percent of little leaguers will ever get this experience. I have no idea what the answer is to that question, but I am very grateful for the experience and hope that there are many more days like this to come. As for now, I just plan to work hard everyday and be prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that is given to me.

Spring Training 101

I have safely arrived in Scottsdale, Arizona the home to the Oakland A's spring training facility and baseball complex. I am at the minor league spring training camp and our major league team's facilities are at a different location right down the road. So some of you may have thought that I would be out here practicing with the big leaguers, but I guess that will have to wait a couple of years. There are about 150 minor league players working out, practicing, lifting, etc. everyday trying to earn their spot on a minor league team and work their way through the minor league ranks. I reported to Arizona on March 14th and for the first week we had a similar schedule every day.

Morning Routine

I set my alarm and wake up between 5:45 and 7 am and leave for the clubhouse shortly after. Breakfast is provided at the clubhouse, so I eat my breakfast before attending our morning meetings that will start between around 8:30 or 9 am. Most days before the meetings I will get some extra work defensively or hitting in the batting cages. The morning meetings have covered a wide variety of topics, from finances to motivational speakers. The first morning of spring training we had a trio of guys from Radical Reality talk and demonstrate the power of self-esteem and determination. The ultimate message they passed on was to set a goal or purpose and to surround yourself with people of like purpose. The head of Radical Reality, Donnie Moore, said that you can't get anywhere in life unless you have a purpose. Along with motivational speaking, the Radical Reality team also demonstrates some pretty incredible feats of strength. These three guys broke full soda cans with their bare hands, tore through huge phonebooks, folded a frying pan into a burrito, broke a wooden bat over their leg, and ran through a wooden 2x4..It was quite a performance You can find out more about this team at Radical Reality website.

Morning Practices
Following any morning meetings we take the fields and stretch led by one of the many strength coaches. I have running conditioning every other day with all of the hitters. The next day the pitchers have conditioning, and vice versa. Following the stretching, conditioning, we go through a throwing program to loosen our arms. Our organization preaches good base running and we practice it everyday, usually with base running stations going over the protocol at each base.

Batting Practice
Following any base running that we have, we may also have stations of bunting, defense, and hitting, but almost everyday we hit batting practice. If the average person were to watch batting practice it would seem like chaos, but it is actually a very structured event. The hitters are divided into three groups of players that will rotate between hitting, defense, and base running. A quick note on batting practice: it is common practice around baseball for hitters to work on hitting the ball to the opposite field during the first round. Practicing on driving the ball to the opposite field is something that I would advise all younger players to do. Base running during batting practice works on some of the topics we talked about during base running stations. For example, one day we might be working on 2nd base with 0 outs and reading balls that are hit. The final group is defense, as an infielder I will take ground balls and also receive throws at 2nd base from the other infield positions. Usually when batting practice has concluded everyone will head inside for lunch that is served in the clubhouse.

Afternoon workouts/games
Following lunch everyone will return outside and get ready for an intersquad or real game against another team. Many people watch big league spring training games, a lot are shown on tv, but there are also minor league spring training games. There are AAA, AA, advanced A, and low A spring training games. Today we played the Giants in our first spring training game; we had been playing intersquad games last week. On most days the game will be the last thing that I have to do, but we lift twice a week, and today was one of my lifting days.

I am usually finished with everything at the facility between 3-6 pm, and I have the rest of the night to get dinner and hang out in the hotel where most of the players are staying. Most of my time in the hotel has been watching the college basketball tournament, which is my favorite sporting event to watch. While I definitely appreciate this down time to relax each night, most of my time is spent watching tv with my roommate. My roommate and I have an ongoing joke about who is the "boss" of the room, but I clearly am the Alpha dog of this domain. Neither myself, nor my roommate, Jeff Bercume, have a car here so our choices for dinner are limited. There is one restaurant within close walking distance of our hotel; needless to say I pretty much know Ruby Tuesday's whole menu. (I would recommend the smokehouse burger and the parmesan chicken pasta) Some of the other guys drove their cars here, so we can tag along to try another dinner location. It will be a really big treat when my parents come visit later this week..I doubt we will be dining at the Ruby Tuesday's.

I usually get to bed around 10 or 11 and try to get enough sleep to wake up and perform at a high level the next day. And that is right on cue, as it is time for me to get to bed and follow this routine tomorrow. On a side note the weather has been awesome, reaching the 90s in temperature. I know Connecticut is expecting some more snow tomorrow, hopefully not too much and everyone there will be able to get their baseball seasons underway soon. Good luck in the upcoming season.

Quick Update

So it has been a while since I have been on here as I have been busy preparing for my first spring training. I trained at JMU for about 6 weeks with the baseball team and a few other fellow minor leaguers before coming back to Torrington where I am now. It was a huge help being in Virginia, I was able to practice on a field, which obviously wouldn't be possible in Connecticut with our huge snowfall this winter. And the coaching staff allowed the few minor leaguers to work in with the team and get all the work that we needed. The JMU baseball team is off to a 11-2 start and ranked 27th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball poll.

On Monday I will be flying out to Scottsdale, AZ where the A's spring training is held. I know that I have put in my work and that I'm fully prepared for the upcoming season so I'm ready to get to some warmer weather and start playing the game I love everyday. As always I just feel blessed that I have this great opportunity ahead of me, so I will be sure to make the most of everyday and keep you all updated on anything new that I learn and about my spring training experience..I hope everyone in CT has a dry basement and lets hope for some warm weather soon. Some of of you may be scratching your heads but many basements are flooding from an unusual amount of rain fall this week.

Interview with JMU Coach Jason Middleton

Jason Middleton has been an assistant coach for the JMU baseball program since 2008. His responsibilities at JMU include being the outfield coach, first base coach, and assists in recruiting. Before coming to the JMU baseball program, Jason was a coach at Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, Kansas City Kansas Community College, and the University of North Alabama. He is a native of Blue Springs, Mo. and played collegiately for Longview Community College.

I had a chance to sit down with Jason to discuss baseball and what he looks for when he is recruiting. People often ask me about suggestions for getting recruited and I'm not positive what to tell them because recruiting is not an exact science. I covered this topic along with a few others in this interview that is the first of many interviews to come while I am training at JMU. Hope you enjoy it!

On a side note, as I mentioned in the interview JMU started their 2011 season against Bucknell. I missed the first inning, so you would assume that I didn't miss too much. However when I got to the field the Dukes led 15-0. They had hit 6 home runs during the inning including going back-to-back-back on 2 separate occasions. JMU went on to win 37-7 and set school records for runs, hits, RBIs, extra-base hits, and total bases. The Dukes went back-to-back-to-back again later in the game. Jake Lowery and David Herbek both started off the season in good fashion hitting 3 homers each. JMU plays Bucknell 3 more times this weekend. You can also see a few highlights from JMU's opening game on ESPNews.

Cross Training

I have ventured out into some cross training this offseason. I think it is really important to take advantage of the benefits of different types of workouts. Since I have relocated back to Virginia, I have been primarily working out with two other rising minor leaguers from JMU. Kevin Munson is a right-handed relief pitcher who was drafted in the 4th round in last June's draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in South Bend, Indiana last summer in the Midwest League at the low-A level where he had a great season. There is a link to Munson's minor league stat page here: Kevin Munson Minor League Stats. Matt Browning, who was my roommate for four years at JMU, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in last year's draft. He spent time playing in the Arizona rookie league and excelled in the short-season Appalachian League, where he hit a remarkable .330 in 34 games. You can find Browning's minor league stats here: Matt Browning's Minor League Stats. I'm hoping to interview both of those guys about their baseball experiences and post the videos on this blog, so that is something cool to look forward to.

One main focus that I have this offseason outside of the usual weight training, conditioning, batting and fielding practice is to improve my flexibility. This summer I focused on stretching my hamstrings, hips, and glutes which really helped my body recover on a day-to-day basis, especially my lower back. This offseason I really wanted to continue the gains that I made, so I recently started doing yoga with my two training partners. I have to say, there was a time when I would have laughed at trying yoga, but all three of us really enjoy it. We follow along with the P90X Yoga X video that runs 90 minutes long. It is a true full body workout that has my legs and shoulders burning throughout. It helps loosen the muscles and also builds muscular endurance, but leaves the body feeling refreshed. I plan on continuing to do these yoga workouts at least twice a week and possibly during the season as well. I would definitely recommend yoga to anyone, especially athletes.

There is one other recommendation that I have to younger athletes and that is to warm up properly before you start practices or workouts. Here at JMU, our trio of workout partners have been cross training and warming up on the basketball court with some intense games of HORSE. Some of these trick shots are shown in the videos below. Enjoy!

Impact Freshman: JB

The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization that helps children with brain tumors. The foundation matches young children with a nearby college or high school sports team in order to pick up the spirit of the child and their family. The team essentially adopts the young child and he/she becomes part of the team; they are present at team picnics, practices, games, etc. as often as possible. This is clearly beneficial to both parties, the family receives 30 (or more) new friends, who are there to pick up their spirits and give them something to look forward to, while the team gets to meet special young people who are courageous beyond their years.

The Start
Jaclyn Murphy was ten years old when she developed a malignant brain tumor. Jaclyn's parents reached out to the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team because Jaclyn was a huge lacrosse fan. When the Northwestern team heard of her condition they immediately sent back autographed media guides and other souvenirs. This very easily could have been the end of the story, but it was only the beginning. Jaclyn went on to meet the team and was eventually "adopted" by the team. They were in constant communication, whether it was email, talking on the phone, text messages, or seeing each other in person whenever Jaclyn could make it to a game. This relationship has only grown in the years to follow, as Jaclyn is as much a part of the team as any of their star players. Both parties were greatly effected, Northwestern women's lacrosse, who had not previously won a national championship, went on to win the national title five consecutive years from 2005-2009. They were the national runners-up in 2010. More importantly, Jaclyn has friends to lift up her spirits and help her in her ongoing fight. After her diagnosis Jaclyn underwent surgery, radiation, and chemo. She made progress through the treatment and started heading in the right direction...Fast forward about five years and I heard that Jaclyn had a clean MRI at the end of 2010 and is cancer free. But she is scheduled for another in March because of the possibilities of the re-growth of a tumor.

Justin Brown
I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2010 JMU baseball team that adopted 7-year old Justin Brown of Haymarket, Virginia through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. In February 2005, then 2-year old Justin was diagnosed with a Craniopharyngioma brain tumor. He underwent surgery shortly after and had the lemon-sized tumor removed. The tumor left him legally blind in his right eye along with other medical complications. Justin would have two more surgeries about a year later to remove a re-growth of the tumor; Craniopharyngioma tumors have a high rate of recurrences. Justin also underwent six weeks of radiation treatments in order to help his condition...Fast forward to present day and Justin is in remission. This guy is clearly a fighter and is an inspiration to all who are lucky enough to meet him.

Justin and his brother Josh taking
part in a pregame prayer

Justin and his family first met the team at our annual end of fall cookout. He and his brother Josh had a catch, threw around a football, and played basketball with all of the players on the team. In February 2010 the Browns visited JMU for a practice that Justin and Josh participated in. Later that day, Justin was formally introduced as the newest member of the JMU baseball team at an annual preseason baseball barbecue. He signed his letter of intent like any other recruit would, received his own customized jersey (as seen in the photo), and received his own locker with his name plate. Justin threw out the first pitch at two games during the season, one of them on Justin Brown Day, where all children were admitted free of charge and had the opportunity to run the bases on the field after the game. JB and his family were also able to attend many other games during the season. On those days, Justin and Josh would be out on the field doing their pregame warm-up, stretching, and running with the rest of the team. In 2010, the JMU baseball team was the regular season champions in the CAA. JB will continue to be a part of the JMU baseball family in the years to come, as I was lucky enough to see the Browns at the preseason barbecue about a week ago. Justin was called up in front of a crowd of 75 people and given a standing ovation as head coach McFarland shared a little bit about JB's story.

Playing catch with Justin, Josh before a game

Justin is a tough kid, how can he not be after everything he has been through. He has undergone more in his short life than most people will in their entire lives. It is clear to all those around him that Justin loves to be around the team; he loves to run around and play baseball like any other child. He is always smiling and most importantly, he loves life. I can only hope to have half of the strength and courage that JB has. His story and my experiences with him, I cherish and will never forget. The biggest lesson that I have learned from Justin is to enjoy life everyday and to be thankful for all the blessings that I have. The team has benefited tremendously from meeting this special person because no matter how difficult things seem to be with baseball, we think about Justin and remember how fortunate we are. As I mentioned earlier Justin is in remission, but the possibility of re-growth is always there, so your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated. Special thanks to David (Spider Monkey) Warner, the JMU baseball team manager because he was crucial in getting our team involved with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.

Justin high-fiving after a win

Quotes from other JMU baseball players:

Jake Lowery: “Justin has shown us that we can get through anything. Getting through a tough workout is nothing compared to him fighting for his life. We are so fortunate to have the presence of Justin in our lives.”


Trevor Knight: "Justin has been a great inspiration to us and great motivation for us to take advantage of the opportunities that we have as Division I athletes."


Evan Scott: “Justin has provided us with inspiration by showing us how to never give up even when faced with great adversity.  We all admire his courage.”


McKinnon Langston: “Justin’s experiences and victories in his life have been an eye-opener for me.  We often take the things we have and can do for granted.  Justin has made me appreciate life’s journeys and he has helped me to be more thankful.”


David Warner: “Justin is a superhero.  He is incredibly brave and it is an absolute honor to have him as a part of the JMU baseball family.”

Great video about Justin and the JMU baseball program.

Swing Like a Big Leaguer

There are many, many theories about the proper swing mechanics. The reason for this is because a baseball swing is a very complex, unique motion. It really is unlike any other movement involved in sports. You can watch a major league game on television and everyone's swing will look different because they know what works for them. That's why every coach, player, instructor, etc. has their own philosophy on the mechanics of the swing. As a simple way to look at the baseball swing the sequence should be load, stride and swing. The load and stride need to be comfortable for each hitter. Some people feel comfortable with a big leg kick, while others prefer a simple small stride forward. Either way, the load and stride should act as timing devices that allow you to generate power. But, my focus is on what happens after the load and stride, the actual swing. Some people focus on "staying inside the ball" or "squish the bug" or "hit the ball deep," but within the last year I've realized that most great hitters do one thing in common.

Great hitters start there swing with their back knee driving forward. The focus is that the back knee drive should be the first thing to fire after your load and stride. When your back knee starts the swing it puts the rest of your body in a great position to deliver the bat to the ball. One big problem that people have when they try this is that their front shoulder will fly open which will decrease power, plate coverage, and consistency. As we look at this video of A-Rod posted below you will see his big leg kick followed by his back knee driving forward, but his shoulders stay on the ball. You will see when he makes contact his back knee is fully engaged and driven forward which allows him to maximize his power.

Now I want to look at a different type of hitter, Joe Mauer, who hits to all fields for average and can hit the ball out of the park. As we see in this video of Mauer's swing, his back leg starts the swing and when this happens his hands slide forward into the slot position. This allows him to deliver the bat to the ball with ease, staying inside the ball and getting great extension. Mauer gets his bat on path with the ball so early in his swing and that is why he can hit the ball deep and drive the ball to all fields.

Albert Pujols is probably the best hitter in baseball (Mauer and Rodriguez are also in consideration). His set-up is much different than Rodriguez and Jeter's, as Pujols has a very wide stance, but we will see that he generates his power from his strong base. We see Pujols has a compact load and stride. As you could have guessed, the first thing to fire is his back knee. You will see Pujols' bat angle change as he starts his swing. As he starts his load and stride his bat is angled at that catcher, but when his back knee starts his swing, his hands stay back, but his bat angle changes and starts to get on the proper swing plane. He even drives his backside so well that his back foot slides forward ever so slightly. Again his back knee is fully driven forward on contact.

Now, some people will do this in their swing and not realize, which is great. Some people's back knee doesn't drive forward and start the swing like it should, but you can change that. In the video below I am hitting off a tee working on driving my back knee. As you see I load and stride, fire my back knee forward while keeping my hands back. This puts my body into the correct position and will hopefully train my body to do this when I take a full swing. This is a good drill to do off a tee or with side/front toss. 

Knowledge is Power

So it's been a little while since I've able to get on here, mostly because I have made the move back to JMU to train for the upcoming season. The coaching staff and everyone here has been more than welcoming allowing me to use the facilities, so I'm making the most of this opportunity. It is a big help being down here with the team and some other minor league guys who are really working hard preparing for the spring. I'm planning to start video taping different drills or maybe some interviews with college coaches and players about what they are looking for in high school players and what it takes to be a college player.

As a kid I always attended 'Make the Play' basketball camp run by former Torrington High School basketball coach Tony Turina. Every year there was a guest speaker, the head coach from Notre Dame-West Haven in Connecticut. The quote that I remember most from his speech is 'KNOWLEDGE IS POWER' because he delivered the message loud enough for all of Torrington to hear. I am trying to get some more knowledge although I have never been an avid reader. But, there are several books that I've started that I want to share. I got a few baseball oriented books for Christmas that I'm looking forward to. I've also included a couple books about being successful in life.

The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams is a book that I found in my room at home. My dad bought it for me when I was in high school, but I never finished reading it then. Ted Williams gives some insight into the fundamentals of the swing and some of his hitting philosophies.

Positional Hitting by Jaime Cevallos is a book that a couple of teammates from the summer told me about, but I haven't gotten very deep into it yet. It breaks down the swing fundamentals and I am a fan of learning about mechanics in the baseball swing. There are many, many coaches and instructors who will teach different things about the baseball swing and I don't agree with all of them, but I think it's beneficial to learn about different people's beliefs.

Mental Toughness: Baseball's Winning Edge by Karl Kuehl, John Kuehl, and Casey Tefertiller is a book that many former teammates have read and recommended to me. As the title says it's all about the mental aspects of baseball and being mentally tough with a positive attitude. As I've mentioned in some earlier posts, the mental side of baseball is so important and becoming a very popular topic.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis is about the A's philosophy on baseball and the many new statistical measures that they use to evaluate players. I read the book while I was in college, but it is pretty essential for me to read now that I play for the organization. The main person behind this new age thinking is Billy Beane, the A's general manager.

Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success by John Wooden and Jay Carty breaks down Coach John Wooden's building blocks for success. Wooden is one of my father's favorite coaches and role models, with good reason. I particularly like this book because it gives insight from one of the greatest coaching minds of all time along with corresponding passages from the Bible.

The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino is a book that both of my parents have read and lent to me last year. As I mentioned I don't often read or find many books interesting, but I think I read through this book in 2 days. It's an easy read and I really feel that it's guiding the way to a happy, positive life and to become a better person.

God's Game Plan: The Athlete's Bible was given to me a couple of years ago from one of my college coaches. Its a very readable translation of the Bible and is geared towards athletes. I think my mom has found it on Amazon for a good price.

More to come soon as I videotaped myself hitting and hope to make a video break down my swing compared to some big leaguers. As mentioned earlier I also want to make some videos interviewing other players and coaches about their experiences with baseball. Hope everyone is having a good start to 2011, God Bless!

Focus on the Now

I've heard from many people who have been following the blog and enjoying it, especially the story I wrote about tripping over my own feet. I've also heard some good feedback on topics people would like to hear about. I would love to hear from you via email (mfabiaschi12@gmail.com) to see if I can answer any questions that are applicable. I was talking to a high school friend Chris Pashley about some of my experiences from last summer and he gave me some great insight from a fan's perspective. He let me know that most fans never get to hear about the mental/personal side of a professional baseball player.

Playing any sport requires a level of mental toughness to be able to compete at a high level everyday. There are a couple of reasons why baseball will test you mentally, mostly because even the most successful hitters will fail seven times out of ten. Can you guess how many major leaguers hit over .300 last season? Only 12 out of the hundreds of hitters finished the season hitting .300 or higher. Failure is a part of baseball, and to be a successful hitter you have to be able to deal with this failure. The way that I try to deal with this part of the game is to treat every at bat the same. This seems like a pretty obvious idea, but it is only human nature to think some at bats are less important than others. Batting at the end of a close game with runners on base is very different than hitting when your team is down 15 runs. But, you really should have the same mental approach for every at bat because at the end of the season, all at bats are equal. You shouldn't be trying harder because it is a pressure situation, you should be giving yourself the best chance to hit every at bat. I posted a great video about mental toughness in baseball below.

I've also been asked what else I do to deal with the struggles that are sure to come at some point in a long season. The speaker in the video above makes a great point about focusing on the present. I am a huge believer in this, because right now is the only thing that you can control. You can't control your performance yesterday and you can't guarantee what your performance will be tomorrow. But, today you can control. I heard a quote that really stuck with me, "The most important day of your career is today." I love this quote because it applies to sports, work, school, and all aspects of your life. My focus when I get to the ballpark is to improve my skills and make the most of that day. We have hours before the game where we work on our swing, defense, and all parts of our game. When it comes time to 'tee it up' and the game starts, I try to focus on each inning, each out, each pitch. If you do this, you are totally focused on the current play, not the error you made last inning, or the home run you hit last night.

I hope this helps some fans get some insight into the mental side of a baseball player. But, I also hope this helps younger players and coaches learn more about baseball mental training, which is becoming more popular every year. Again, I would love to hear any feedback or questions anyone has about this or any topic you are interested in. God Bless!

Chopper to Third..

One of the most memorable games of the summer was also one of my most embarrassing moments on a baseball field, but it makes for a good story. It was a classic baseball blooper and a play that you would see on Sportscenter's Not Top 10. In order to get the full understanding of this entertaining story I need to describe the atmosphere at this game.

It was July 16th and we were playing in Spokane, Washington. Spokane lead the league in attendance. This was a Friday night with fireworks following the game, so there was a large, rowdy crowd at the game. The official box score from that night shows 6,845 people were in attendance, the largest crowd that we played in front of all summer. In fact, it was the largest crowd that I've ever played in front of, it was a great atmosphere. The Spokane Indian's employees did an incredible job getting the fans involved in the game. They even had a (creepy) mascot, Recycle Man, who would dance on top of the dugouts and try to promote recycling at the games. Needless to say, it's a great place to see a game, with high energy fans and a great stadium.

Avista Stadium in Spokane, WA

Recycle Man

Now that I've set the stage a little bit, I'll talk about the actual game. Our everyday third basemen was sick and couldn't play in the game, so I was approached by our manager and asked if I could play third base. Obviously being an infielder I jumped at the chance to get in the game and help out the team.

The very first batter of the game, a speedy left handed batter, hits a routine ground ball to third that I don't field cleanly and make a poor throw to first base. E5. Not the ideal start to the game, but there is plenty of game left, so I didn't get too down on myself. Fast forward about two hours and it is the bottom of the 7th inning, Vancouver leads Spokane 5-4, but Spokane has the bases loaded with two outs. I remember the hitter quickly getting to two strikes, so I retreated deep into the dirt at third. You can guess what happens next, chopper to third. I charge, reading the bouncing ball expecting to get a hop around my waist, field, and throw to first. Easy enough, right? At the last second I realize I misjudged the hops; I bend at the waist to field the ball around my ankles in a horrible fielding position. I try to shuffle my feet and prepare to throw to first, but I never got that far. Before I knew it I was face down on the infield grass, with seven thousand fans going nuts, it was unlike anything I've ever heard before. As I shuffled my feet forward, my right cleat caught the lip between the grass and dirt, and I went down like a ton of bricks. As it always seems to happen in baseball, the next two hitters double and we go on to lose the game 9-5.

I will never forget the rise in the noise level following my epic fall. The noise had built up as the ball was hit in my direction and the fans anticipated a close play at first. Then I hit the ground harder than one of Mike Tyson's knockout victims and the fans erupted. The noise was like the fizz inside a shaken up soda bottle that shoots out when the top is taken off.

My parents were listening to game being broadcast on the radio and over the internet. This is something close to what they heard, "ground ball to third, Fabiaschi charges, fields, and HE GOES DOWN!" I've heard my dad try to do an impression of the radio play-by-play man. I can only imagine what they were thinking as they listened from bed as it was almost one in the morning (because of the time zone difference).

It wasn't until days later that I could laugh it off, but I have one other fond memory from this game. Our pitcher at the time, Mike Hart, looked at me, as the stadium was going crazy and the hecklers already began reminding me that I couldn't stay on my two feet, and said "You're alright, get the next one." For the record I did eventually make the play that ended the inning and got a hit in my next at bat. I felt horrible that I had cost my team the game, but my teammates and coaches were there to pick me up when I had fallen (literally). Because of my competitive nature, it wasn't until some days later that I was able to laugh about it like I can today. I told you it makes for a good story.

I once heard an interesting concept that I always try to apply in my life with baseball. But, it can be applied with any job, school, sport, etc. When you put on your jersey (or suit or whatever you wear for your job or sport) you leave everything else going on in your personal life behind. So when I get to the ballpark, put on my uniform, I'm ready to work and improve as a baseball player and not let other distractions from my personal life effect me. When the game is over, I shower and put back on my street clothes, and I leave behind everything from baseball that day at the park and can pick back up with everything going on in my personal life. So after I finished a game where I embarrassed myself in front of thousands of people it felt good to put on my regular clothes and I reminded myself that the sun was still going to rise the next morning.