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.