Beyond that, I’ve been relaxing.  I’ll be playing fall ball in Arizona this offseason.  I’m on the Scottsdale Scorpions.  I have to report for that pretty soon, but before I headed to the desert, I wanted to let you guys know about the big news in my life.  As most everyone knew, my initial rookie contract I signed with Florida was set to end after 2019.  The GM Luebke approached me about an extension offer that was a bit too long, but then he came back with a shorter version that was much better.  I gladly signed it, so now I’m a Florida Catfish through at least 2021.

This is a good deal for me.  For starters, I’m going to double my salary next season.  I also got some nice incentive clauses, which will allow me to make some pretty nice coin if I play well.  I spoke with the GM about the timetable for my arrival, and there’s a good chance that I’ll see the big leagues by the end of this deal.  He says I’m progressing nicely and there could be a need for me in the big leagues soon.  Hopefully when that day comes it’ll be to come up as a starter, because I don’t think it’ll do me much good to ride the pine in the big leagues, but I’ll trust whatever Luebke has in mind for me.

Hey, I’ve written a whole blog and I’ve yet to mention my sister!  Heh.  Jess is fine.  She’s spending a lot of time with Chandler.  Speaking of, he’s going to be one of those free agents this offseason.  Chandler could really be a difference maker down here in Florida, hint hint…

That’s all I’ve got.  I’ll be busy in Arizona for a while, but I’ll check in when I can.

We’re both doing fine.  I think I’m doing better, but if you ask Jess, she’ll vote for herself.  Heh heh.  Seriously, though.  I’m proud of her.  But, this blog, for once, ain’t gonna be all about my big sis.

I enjoyed this season.  I played all season for Fort Myers, which is Florida’s AAA team.  In some ways, I did better than I did last season, but in others, I regressed some.  I hit for more power this year, hitting twenty three homers, but my average fell from .374 last season in AA to .305 this year.  I didn’t walk as much, and I struck out more often.

Someone asked me if I thought there was a chance I’d get called up to Florida since rosters have expanded to 40 men, but to be honest, I highly doubt it.  As a ballplayer, I only get 3 ‘option years’, which are seasons in which I can be sent from the big leagues to the minors without having to go through waivers first.  The scouts really don’t think I’m ready, so I can’t see the team wasting one of my options.  With that said, I’d love the opportunity to go up.  The team is in the middle of a heated pennant race, so it’d be exciting to be a part of that.  I don’t know that I could add anything on the field that they’re not already getting, but I could be a helluva cheerleader.

So, two years are up, one year left on my initial contract.  I’ve enjoyed my time with Florida.   My GM came to me with an extension offer, and things were good, except it was too long.  I’m not saying I couldn’t end up staying here in Florida forever, but I’m only 20, and I don’t want to limit my future options already.   Some tell me to hold off on extending and to try out free agency after 2019, but I don’t know.  I mean, I’m only 20, I’m not nearly ready for the bigs yet.  Who’s going to pay me good money to play in the minors?  I like Florida, and I know that Mr. Luebke is going to have this team in the playoffs soon, if not this season.  If I stick around, then hopefully I can make my mark down the line, leading this team to postseason glory.

Ah well, I better get.  I gotta go pack my stuff.  I’m keeping the apartment here in Florida, because I’ll probably be in Fort Myers next year, but I’m headed over to Texas to see Jess and the family.

Jess didn’t go with me this time.  When we got back, she went home to Texas.  She said something about going to Marble Falls to visit friends, then down to some little town in south Texas to meet Chandler’s family.  I don’t like talking about her business, but I guess things are going pretty well for them.  I caught em holding hands more than once during the trip, but I just ignored it.  She’s a big girl, and he’s a big boy – big enough to realize that if he screws around with my sister, there will be repurcussions.

So, I’m here in Orlando, spending time alone at Disney.  It’s fun and all, but it’s kinda lonely riding Splash Mountain by yourself.  I’ve always had Jess there with me, so it’s hard getting used to the fact that she’s going to eventually get married and do her own thing.  I guess I need to do that, but with baseball being my top priority, I can’t even imagine looking for love or even a girlfriend.

I’ll be packing my stuff and heading for Spring Training soon.  Thankfully our Spring Training is here in Florida, so it’s not that far of a drive, but with gas prices being what they are, even I can’t afford to drive that far in and out every day.  This year will be interesting.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in AAA.  I don’t even know if there’s a chance that I’ll make the big leagues – frankly I’d hope not.  But, I’ll trust Luebke – he’s the boss.  I had a good debut season, much better than I would have hoped, but let’s see how i do against much better competition.  I’ve heard that the difference between AA pitchers and AAA pitchers is vast.  I hope so – AA was actually almost too easy.  I’m ready for a challenge.

Jess and I will both be in AAA this year, so inevitably our teams are going to play each other.  That’ll be interesting, to say the least.  Hold up, let me look it up….yep, her team is actually coming here for the opening series of the season, starting April 4.  I love ya sis, but we’re gonna whip yalls butts.

That’s all I’ve got.  I’ll write again soon.

So, anyways, we saw a lot of stuff – a lot of amazing stuff.  We started out in Melbourne.  One of the advantages to my career is that I make a fairly decent living, so i packed light – one carry on bag was all I brought for 2 weeks.  Once we got down here, we all went shopping for clothes to wear on our trip.  We got some nice stuff – just thank God that the dollar isn’t as worthless as it was back in 2008.

From there, we went to Apollo Bay and then on to Mount Gambier.  We were hoping to see some whales on the way, but we were told we needed to be there from May to September to see that.  Seeing that it’s January, I guess it ain’t going to happen.

To be honest, most of the rest of the trip is a blur.  We saw and did so much.  One thing that was really cool was getting to stay a night on Kangaroo Island, which was just a short ferry ride from Cape Jervis.  It was an amazing experience, one that i could write three blogs about.  (Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with it now).  I don’t know that TC enjoyed it as much as I did.  He doesn’t seem to be that thrilled with the outdoors as I am, but to each his own.

The other awesome highlight of the trip was when we got to snorkel along the Great Barrier Reef.  How many people can say they’ve done that?  I actually got brave and took a scuba diving class and did some of that, but Jess & TC stuck with the surface.  Once they saw my pictures they both regretted not joining me.

So, like I said, I’m here in Sidney, about to head to the Opera House with the others.  We’ll be headed home soon.  It’s not that we want to, but Spring Training is right around the corner.

Sigh.  Back to work.

I’m not quite sure of the itinerary yet.  Usually, I let Jess handle those details.  One thing I insisted on, though, was making sure we have time in our schedule to work out and take some swings. I was going to take a pitching machine, but since we’re taking Chandler, I’ll get some use out of his arm.  (Don’t worry, Philly GM, I won’t wear him out).

She has mentioned that she wants to spend time in Sydney, maybe go to the Sydney Opera House.  I don’t know if I’m up for an opera, but I’ll make her happy.  Plus, by going places she wants to go, that means she has to acquiesce when I ask her to go places for me.  The only place I’m NOT going to take her is the nude beach I’ve found down there.  No, it’s not an issue of being over-protective, I just have no desire to see that.  She can find her own nude beach – as long as I’m not there.

Plus, I don’t want to find out that her and Chandler went to one of those beaches together.

Before any of you ask, no, I still don’t know what’s going on with those two.  She says they’re just friends, but I’ve caught em kissing before.  She’s a big girl and I trust her completely, but she thinks she has to hide things like that from me.  I give her my blessing, if that’s what she needs, but Chandler better not hurt her.  Tell him to ask Jess about some of her other ex-boyfriends and what happened when they did her wrong.  Jess has been about all I’ve had for a long time, and I’m going to protect her.

Well, I better go pack.  Chandler’s plan arrives at 8am, then we’re leaving at 9am, and I think the terminal is for the Australia flight is a long way from the one Chandler gets there on.  Its going to be a long day, but I”m looking forward to it.

I’ll try to blog once we’re there.  Do they have the Internet down there?

This was my first offseason as a professional baseball player, and I have to say, it’s been pretty nice to be able to kick back, relax, and – more importantly – be able to afford to do nothing but relax.

Don’t worry, fans (and Mr. Luebke)…I’m not just sitting around doing nothing.  Sure, I did that for the first couple of weeks, but since then I’ve been working out a lot.  I’m working on my speed, my strength, and my hand eye coordination.  I’m not going to be a big leaguer in 2018, but by 2020 or so hopefully I can break through to the big leagues.  My main focus right now is to do whatever I can to be the best ballplayer possible when I do get that call.

Hold up a second…

Ok, I’m back.  I just got a call from Jess.  She’s really been bugging me to go on a trip this year.  I’m fine with that, but I didn’t want to spend two weeks at Disney World again.  She had an idea, and it sounded good – Australia.  I’m fine with that, as long as I get to spend time on the beach and we get to take some tours of the outback.  They have ant mounds taller than me!  I’ve always wanted to see a kangaroo up close, that should be my chance.  ‘Course, I’ll have to keep an eye on Jess to make sure that she doesn’t try to sneak a koala home with us.  I don’t think customs would like that too much.

So, Jess was calling to say she got the tickets and our passports and we’re headed out next week.  It sounds like a lot of fun.  She mentioned something about Chandler going with us, which is fine, but that means we’re getting two rooms – one for the boys, and one for Jess.  I’m not ready for her to start sharing a room just yet.

I better go make sure she took care of everything.  I’ll write more later.

That season was nothing.  This year, I started Spring Training in February and the minor league season ended up at the beginning of September.  That was 7 months of baseball.  Had the coach called me up for a cup of coffee with the big league club, I’d still be playing.

Instead, I’m sitting here by myself in my apartment in Florida.  I’m taking a few weeks off to relax, heal up, and catch up with all my friends and family I lost track of due to the season.  Hopefully Jess will be coming to visit me soon, I’d like to head up to Disney World again. She said she’d be over here, but she wanted to head up to Philadelphia to watch TC pitch.

And, no, before you ask, I don’t know what’s going on with her and him.  Ask her yourself.

Anyways, so here I am.  I’m thinking of surprising Jess with some cruise tickets when she gets back, but I have a feeling I’ll have to wait until after the EPL playoffs to get her out of the country.  Even then, we might need 3 tickets, but TC makes good money, so he can buy his own.

So how’d my season go?  I can’t complain.  I hit really well down in A ball, so after about 60 games I shuffled up to AA.  I was worried that I might have some problems up there, but I actually hit better!  My average ended up at .375 and I clubbed 11 homers there in AA.  Not bad at all.  Supposedly the scouts think I’m ready for AAA.  It’s all up to coach, though.  He asked me in August how I felt about moving up, and I told him I was ready for any challenge, but ultimately it was his call and I’d trust any decision he made.  I guess he decided to keep it slow, because I stayed in AA.

All in all, I had a good time.  Getting to play baseball professionally has been a dream come true.  Now, the next of my goals is to make the big league club and stick.  I think I’m still a couple seasons away from that, but that’s ok.  I want to learn everything I can in the minors before getting called up.

Well, guys, I’m gonna get back to my TV and my beer…what?  Of course I mean non-alcoholic.  I’m only 19!

Until next time…

Fast forward to now.  I’ve got 5 games under my belt.  I didn’t puke at all (well, at least not any since the firs game).  I’m almost starting to feel comfortable out there.  ‘Course, looking at my stats, it doesn’t look like I’m that comfortable at all.

I’m hitting a whopping .176 after my first 5 games.  I’m tearing the cover off the ball lol.  Seriously, though, I’m not worried.  It’s been 17 at bats in my professional career.  The road to Florida is a long and windy one, and if you get discouraged by road bumps, you’ll never make it.  The good thing is, I walked as many times as I struck out.

Jess had a good week playing for Corpus’ AA team.  She told me that she was a bit nervous about starting out so high, but she can handle it.  She managed to hit ‘only’ .391 in her first 5 games.  Nice job Jess!  Still, I drove in more runs and walked more, so I claim my week to be the better of the two

Playing pro baseball is like nothing I’ve experienced.  In little league and then in  high school, everyone whined and cried about stupid stuff.  They would nag coach about playing time or about having to bunt in certain situations.  All those guys didn’t see the big picture, which was winning the game.  They were more worried about their stats than the win loss of the team, which pissed me off.

Here in the pros, though, the guys are, well, professionals. They work hard and play hard.  They sincerely want to win and they’ll do what they can to help you.   Being in the clubhouse and in the locker room with guys that have the same goals as me just feels right.

I like it.

Jess and I stayed home today, home being the apartment I’m renting during Spring Training.  We’ve spent the good part of the last two weeks in Disney World and their various parks, and I’m just a bit burned out on rides, lines, and theme park food.  I got up this morning, and after running 3 miles I went down to the store, bought a little hibachi grill and some brats, and I’m going to cook lunch.  Jess said if I cooked lunch she’d get supper, so I’m doing what I do best – grill.  The bad thing is, I really needed some beer to cook my brats with, but neither of us are legal, and the nice guys in the Catfish legal department have impressed upon me the importance of keeping my nose clean, so I’m doing without.

Thankfully, Jess turns 21 during Spring Training.  Wait – did I say that?  Mom, dad, if you’re reading this, I’m only joking.  I’ve never drank.

I read that they’re getting ready for the Aidan Quinn Hitting Academy down in Austin again.  I guess it’s time for me to come out of the closet (lol) – I attended the first ever camp two offseasons ago during my Junior year of high school.  It was the best experience of my life, at least baseball-related.  I learned a lot from Aide, from T-Bob, and from others.  Not only that, but they sent me home with a nice glove and some other equipment, most of which I still use to this day. In fact, the clubhouse attendant for Florida offered to get me a new catching mitt, but I told him no thanks.  This one has sentimental value.

Those guys are doing a great thing over there.  Maybe later on after I’m more settled in as an EPL player they’ll let me come do some coaching, shag some flies, whatever I can to help.  I believe in that program.  It helped me.  Without it, I wouldn’t be here right now and you can extrapolate that to say Jess wouldn’t be playing either if I hadn’t had the opportunity to go.

Oh well, guess what starts up soon?  Spring training.  I get to report sooner than most players, but I would have anyways.  I’m anxious to meet the guys and see how things go.

It sure seems like there are a lot of brash young players coming into the league right now.  The league headlines are dominated by the latest quotes from guys like Dantes and now JB Thiele, among others.  Where are they gonna go?  What are they going to say about each other?  What are they going to say about girls playing ball?

Honestly, who cares?   So Edmund doesn’t think that women should play baseball.  Great, that’s his misguided opinions, but why is it front page news?  Trust me, Jess will prove him wrong every time she takes him out of the yard when both break into the big time a few seasons from now.  JB wants to go to only Las Vegas, then decides he’ll go somewhere else, but when he finds out that Dantes is already there, the ego won’t let him take the #2 spot in the future rotation, so no trip to Toronto to JB.

Are you kidding me?  Imagine that future rotation, headlined by Dantes & Thiele.  I think I could learn to play with him.  The only reason Dantes is in Toronto is because he didn’t want to play in Florida.  Ya know what?  That’s his loss, my gain.  I’ve been treating superbly since arriving here, and the GM has been nothing short of fantastic.  I’m not saying he won’t get that treatment in Toronto, but he didn’t give this team enough of a chance.

Just before you get me wrong, let me explain something to you guys:  I’m the least judgmental, most easy going guy you’ll ever meet.   If those guys want to be attention hounds and soak up the press, they can knock themselves out.  It’s not for me, but i don’t think any less of them for doing it.  I’ll just keep my head down, keep my mouth shut, and play ball.

Oh well, enough of that.  I got to meet Paige Seaver the other day.  She agreed to meet up with Jess and I tagged along.  I told her I’d love to catch her someday, and I meant that.  of course, she’s in Wichita forever, and I’m here in Florida, so it probably won’t happen, but we’ll see.  It was cool to get to meet her on the cusp of greatness.  That’s right, I said greatness.