Christopher Quinn, 2B

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b)

JANUARY 24, 2003

I wish I had seen it first. The article. My mother always blasts everything out of proportion. Her friend Jessica's son saw a familiar name in the daily sports pages, and suddenly the whole neighborhood is fired up. Next thing you know, I'm getting interviewed by every local news station.
True, no one of merit has ever come out of Mt. Davis before. Small town in the middle of nowhere -- uh, middle of Maine. I was just playing high school sports, and it all got out of hand. I'm trying to keep my cool and all, but look -- I'm barely out of high school, and there's something honestly exciting here. Read the blurb yourself...

PORTLAND, MAINE (AP)
Mt. Davis High's Christopher Quinn has begun getting some notice. Yes, he gets a 3.8 GPA in school, and yes, he has plans to go to college in Connecticut, but it's not his brains making the news. It's his skills on the baseball field. After leading Mt. Davis to a divisional championship with a .711 average, 19 home runs and 56 RBI as a senior, some Major League Baseball scouts have taken up residence in the bleachers at Hancock Field. It is rumored that scouts from Boston, San Francisco and Milwaukee have been spotted, but nothing is confirmed.

And some time later...

PORTLAND, MAINE (AP)
With the Major League Baseball amateur draft just two days away, Christopher Quinn and his family are getting anxious. Although his parents have decided against an agent at this time, young Christopher has high hopes that Boston will select him in the draft. They have some weakness in the middle infield, and even though Quinn wouldn't break the major leagues for a few years, the farm system is where the talent is developed. Boston would love a home-grown talent, and --

blah, blah, blah. I never said any of that. It's my dad. He wants me to play for Boston. I just want this draft to be over. If I'm picked, great. If not, I can go to college in the fall like any normal kid. I'm just trying to keep a sanity about it all.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b)

FEBRUARY 18, 2003

On draft day, I calmed my parents by actually staying home with them. They were more nervous than I was. The first pick went by, and it was no surprise. Benjamin Hirth went number one overall to Detroit. He can hit for power, he can run, he can do it all. He's a center fielder, but he even pitched three games his senior year and had an ERA of 0.50. This guy is ridiculous.

I was in the kitchen getting an iced tea when my mom called out, "Milwaukee just took someone named Bays." Barrett Bays is two years older than I am, but we're very similar players. He's also a second baseman, and he has a fairly even mix of hitting and running like I do. He's more of a power hitter, and he bats right-handed, both of which were appealing to Milwaukee. Part of me is hoping I'll hold out until the later picks -- I don't want the pressure of a first-round selection.

So much for what I want. The phone rings, and it's Pittsburgh's general manager, Larry Hochman. "Son," he says (I hate him already), "we're taking you in the first round of the draft. You'll report to our Single-A camp for training this spring. Congratulations." He goes on to explain the contract -- limited pay scale, but I get a surprisingly large signing bonus for being the third overall pick. Hell, I'm only eightteen, and they just gave me almost 2.5 million dollars!

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b)

MARCH 1, 2003

It's all a whirlwind -- I pack up my life, and move to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, home of Pittsburgh's Single-A affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Barons. The workouts are fierce. They've assigned me a trainer who has me doing every kind of workout. It's a wonder I'm able to get out of bed in the morning. I'm in the gym or on the field seven days a week, and that doesn't include the actual games. I have BP five days a week, fielding drills four days a week, running, weights, calisthenics like it's the army. What are they training here?

MARCH 14, 2003

I'm starting to get used to the routine. I'm still exhausted every morning, but so is everyone. They really are working us hard here! I have nothing to compare it to, but I'd have to say Pittsburgh has one hell of a minor league system. Of course, they can't seem to win in the bigs, but what can you do.

They're housing us here in some sort of old-fashioned bunker. Most of the team lives in the bunker. Free board. Why not? I'm sharing a room with two other guys: Christopher Gerner, a rookie catcher (4th round, 93rd overall pick) and relief pitcher Michael Toombs (7th round). We live next door to three newcomers as well: Ernesto Torres (RF, 2nd round), Anton Perez (P, 5th round) and Hai Runkle (P, 8th round). The man I'm avoiding like the plague doesn't live in the bunker. Odon Palacios is our other second baseman. He lives with his brothers in town somewhere. He's rather anti-social, but maybe it's just because I won the starting job on opening day.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b)

APRIL 1, 2003

It's opening day, believe it or not. Our lineup has me penciled in the #8 hole, playing second base. I know it's just A-ball, but they're giving me a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to play ball and $250 a week. Plus the signing bonus, which I have to force myself not to spend frivolously. Maybe some extra training and study to help my game. A better bat, perhaps. For now, nothing... I'll be patient.

We're hosting Milwaukee. Haven't been able to catch wind of whether Bays is on the team there, or if he got sent straight to Double-A.

I forget about Bays as we take the field for the top of the first inning. First batter goes down swinging. Our pitcher, Patrick White, is actually two weeks younger than I am. Not a bad debut. Second batter is Simon Fernandez. On a 2-2 count, he grounds a fastball up the middle. I scoop it up easily and toss to Eladio Henriquez at first (this guy is HUGE. He's like 6'7"). The out is made, and I have my first professional statistic.

In the second inning, the first pitch is a change to Milwaukee's catcher, Tanjirou Yoshifusa. He breaks his bat, and lines the ball directly at me. Of course, there's pieces of bat everywhere, but somehow I snare the screaming ball. I'm out of breath already... This is exciting and terrifying all at once.

In our half of the second, Albert Martinez tears a homer to right, giving us a 1-0 lead. Larry Langhorne and Ron Reaper (a second basemen by nature, starting today at third) hit back-to-back doubles making it 2-0. After Big L (Eladio Henriquez) grounds out to third, I'm up to the plate with a man on second. With one out, we're considering a sacrifice bunt to move the runner along. But it's the first, and the sign comes in to just put the ball in play. I run the count to 2-0, and then swing hard at a fastball low and away. Before I can even look to see where it went, I hear the sound of ball against glove. Line drive to the shortstop. Career batting average: .000.

Patrick starts getting wild in the third. Two walks, a wild pitch, another walk, and the bases are loaded with no one out. A strikeout and a line drive to first base, and White might be on his way out of the job. But then a single brings in a run. A walk brings in another. A single brings in two more. And we trail 4-2.

I ground out to second in my next plate appearance, but I smack a single to center in the bottom of the seventh. I know I've hit baseballs a million times before, but there's something special about this one. My first real hit. I may have had a .630 career average in high school, and set the team records for hits in a season and hits in a career, but right now, I'm 1-3 for Pittsburgh's Single-A team, and nothing could be sweeter.

The rest of the seventh is uneventful -- Landreneau and Gonzalez both strike out swinging on three pitches each, and I'm stranded at first base. Before I know it, the game is over. We've lost 8-6. Palacios pinch-hit for me in the ninth, and struck out swinging badly on a curve ball in the dirt. My day was a clean and neat 1-3, no errors (turned one double-play), but nothing special.

That night, I'm checking the scouting reports and doing some stretches when Larry Langhorne comes in to tell me about some internet poll, in which I'm in a list of Top 100 Big League Prospects. I'm ranked #23. Bays is #13. Why do I feel like I'm setting us up for some kind of competition? There's another second baseman ahead of me on this list, Santiago Ramirez. He's on Tampa Bay's Single-A team. The only other Pittsburgh representation on this list is Benjamin Mandujano, a center fielder who's on the major league roster this season. He was 8-26 last year in 14 late season games.

Currently, in the Pittsburgh system, they've got two second basemen on their major league roster: Joseph Bowden and Willard Gray. Bowden's in his second year with the team, having spent his first five seasons with Cincinnati. Last year, he his .264 with four homers, 50 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He's under contract for four more years... Not a great sign. Gray has never appeared in the big leagues, but he's a switch-hitter, which is a built-in attraction. I'll have to keep tabs on these guys.

I'll also have to keep an eye on the middle infielders in AAA and AA as well. Up in AAA, there's one guy, Gerald Carmody. He's actually been in the show every year since 1997, but he's recovering from a torn back muscle, and is rehabbing in AAA. In six big league seasons, he's a .235 hitter with five homers, 69 RBI and 25 steals in 400 games. In AA there's Joel Hunt and Jared Wilner, neither of whom seem to have a whole lot going for them.

Just to stay up to date, our current major league roster features ultimate mediocrity. We have one star, Cristobal Ortiz. He's a ten million dollar left-fielder with a two-million dollar attitude. Last year he hit .298 with 38 dingers and 103 RBI. Decent numbers, but not worth ten mil, in my opinion. And the pitching rotation? Six starters on the opening day roster with a combined four years of Pittsburgh experience. Lots of new blood.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

APRIL 2, 2003

Last night, I went out with some of the guys. David Landreneau is from Canada. Everyone started calling him Otter for some reason. And Pat White came along. He suffered the loss in yesterday's game (5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 5 K), and got pretty wasted. Otter and I shot pool for a while, and talked about how we might work better on our batting technique. We're going to run together tonight after the game with Milwaukee. He's a good guy. He means well. The talent isn't as high as one would like, but he tries hard.

I start against Milwaukee again, and bat eighth again. I'd love work my way to a leadoff batting position, but we'll see. And I'm no longer a step ahead of Palacios who woke up this morning with a phone call -- he got bumped up to AA.

Meanwhile back in Little League, we run the table in the first, scoring four runs. I single in the inning, moving Big L along to second, but Otter can't drive us in. Bottom three, I get another base hit, but no runs come in. In the fifth, Langhorne walks, Ron Reaper singles, and Big L doubles, driving Horndog in. A pitching change, and I'm up to face Brian Wiles. I know nothing about this guy. Where was he on my scouting list? Thankfully for me, he's not too solid, and walks me on five pitches. A few batters later, our left-fielder Julian Rios doubles, and I'm across the plate. First time for everything. We blow out Milwaukee 15-5 in this one. In unrelated news, the actual Pittsburgh Pirates lost to Milwaukee 6-1.

Immediately following the game, we're on a plane to Arizona where we face the D'Backs' Single-A team in the morning...

APRIL 3, 2003

I go 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Three games into the year, and I'm hitting close to my high school average at .636. Twenty bucks says I drop a little by next week.

That daily Prospect Ranking report is on my brain. I dropped to 24th on the list. After going 2-4 with a double? I don't get it. But here's a fun thing -- the league put out its first edition of the Minor League Leaderboards. And check it out -- I'm first in batting, 2nd in OBP, and 2nd in hits. Fun to see my name in print.

APRIL 7, 2003

By the end of my first week, I'm feeling okay about all this. Our team is 5-1 (even if the Major's version is 2-4), and I'm hitting fairly well at .462 with three doubles, four runs and a stolen base. I've risen to 21st in the Prospect Rankings. Other notables for our little team are Kenneth Kerr (RF) who has four dingers in the first six games, and Ron Reaper (3B) who is hitting .357 with nine RBIs so far. My roommates are a combined 7-15 with a homer and five RBIs, so we have a pretty hot little suite right now.

Whoops. Spoke too soon. Chris Gerner comes into the room and begins to pack. He's been bumped to AA ball. Ramon Corpuz is our new roommate -- an undrafted shortstop sent down to Wilkes-Barre. Gerner is told he's starting the next day. He doesn't know the pitchers, he doesn't know the clubhouse. He's going to call me with a report tomorrow.

APRIL 9, 2003

Gerner calls after the second game. It's frightening for him. He's 1-6 in two games. He's getting the hang of it, and his talk makes me wonder if I'll ever even make it to AA.Palacios is hitting .143 up there in Kingston -- I'm hitting .467 here in Wilkes-Barre. What gives? Meanwhile, Estanis Lazar has replaced Otter in the starting lineup for us at center field. Otter was screwing up all over the place, and getting drunk. He missed his workouts yesterday and last Sunday.

We made a trade yesterday with Boston. We picked up Michael Siegrist (P) and two prospects (Silvio Cuestas and Eugene Escalona) for Scott Stutz (RF). Siegrist was 14-20 with a 3.81 ERA in a five-year career with the White Sox and Red Sox before coming here. There's also been some movement in the minors, too. Cuestas and Escalona came to Wilkes-Barre, and David Fowler and Alberto Matamoros left W-B for the higher ups (AA and AAA respectively).

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

APRIL 14, 2003

We keep moving players around between our teams, but I'm sitting still. My average has dropped to a realistic .357, but I've climbed to 16th in the Prospect Ranking. With the exception of Anaheim's Steve Breton (drafted out of high school in 2001) and Lucio Rosado (1st overall pick by Milwaukee in 2002), everyone else ahead of me on this Prospect Ranking is in the majors.

My workouts are feeling a little less exhausting. Either I'm not working as hard, or I'm getting more comfortable. I hope it's the latter.

APRIL 21, 2003

Our team is doing well (13-5) -- and the parent organization isn't half-bad (10-8). We lost another roommate -- Ramon Corpuz went to Kingston this morning. Toombs is doing well -- 2.79 ERA in five relief appearances. My average has fallen off to .286. After starting off the season so hot, I've cooled off dramatically. Otter has stopped drinking, but it hasn't helped -- he's 2-19 this season for a dismal .105 average.

Slight drop to 17th in the Prospect Ratings.

APRIL 28, 2003

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    81   23    5   1   0    4    7    3   16   2   0  .284 .310 .370 .680

APRIL 29, 2003

I can't believe what a dork I am. I saw Steve Kuffrey in the bar. I dropped about $100 on drinks with him. He kept talking about programming -- I know nothing on the subject. I tried to turn conversations to baseball, but to no avail. He left without saying a word about the game. I wonder if he comes here a lot...

APRIL 30, 20003

I couldn't get it off my mind. The day was a wash. 0-6 with three Ks. This week is not going well for me...

[ripken jr. rocks]

Very cool man, i am having a good time reading this.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

MAY 6, 2003

Joe Bowden (2B on the ILB squad) is out for the season. Willard Gray has taken his spot in the lineup, and Joel Hunt was called up from AAA. This might mean a promotion for me sometime soon... Of course, I can’t get a word out of our skipper, Michael Burdge. He’s rather tight-lipped about everything. His drills are good, and we’re winning a lot, which is exciting, but I don’t get much personal attention. No one does. I need a tougher skin...

MAY 10, 2003

May is getting to be a good month. So far, I’m 11-34 this month, and tonight, my first Pittsburgh home run. Yes, it’s Single-A ball, but a paid pitcher threw it, and I hit it 300-something feet, which was good enough to give me a couple ribbies in the game. It’s been 34 games, and I’m feeling comfortable here. Wilkes-Barre is a lame town, but the team is having fun.

MAY 12, 2003

So much for that promotion. Dennis Bauza was just signed to a free agent deal, and they put him in AAA. I’m still stuck in Wilkes-Barre with my adequate .286 average, and my rather pathetic .312 OBP. I’ll never hit leadoff if I can’t start pulling walks. Meanwhile, why is Kenneth Kerr still here in A-ball? He’s hitting .382 with 17 home runs in 35 games. PROMOTE HIM!

MAY 17, 2003

Another slap in the face of my eternal hope. We just shipped Gerner and ILB pitcher Oren Logan to Atlanta for John Batton. He’s nothing special – career .160 hitter with Baltimore and Atlanta. But it looks like they’re giving him the starting job in the bigs. Bauza went down to AAA, and there’s rumors that Gerald Carmody (current AAA second baseman) is on his way out.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

JUNE 9, 2003

Carmody was let go on May 19. Dennis Bauza and Willard Gray have been moving back and forth between the bigs and AAA. And in Pittsburgh, they’re 34-25 and leading the NL Central. As for me:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    59   227   72   15   3   1   27   16   11   31   8   2  .317 .351 .423 .774

My roommate Toombs has been in a slump – his ERA has risen to an uncomfortable 5.08. And Otter’s got just three hits in 34 at-bats. It doesn’t look good. Meanwhile up in AA, Palacios is hitting .213. Some people are saying I could get a call soon, but it’s awfully early for that. We’ll see...

Oh, and I bought a new glove. Mine was getting a little tattered – it’s the same one I’ve had since sophomore year, for crying out loud. My defense has been sharp – only three errors in 290 chances (.990).

JUNE 26, 2003

Are you kidding me? Two more free agent second-basemen were signed this week. Hernandeo Avalos and James Swick. Swick has no pro experience, and he’s in AAA. Avalos took drills for a week in AAA, didn’t play, and was let go. Apparently, he had a drug problem or stole stuff. Or both. I just sit here in Wilkes-Barre shaking my head. I’m batting .310 with 18 doubles and ten stolen bases, and I’m still in Wilkes-Barre. In AA, Wilner and Palacios have combined to hit about .230 with 19 doubles and 11 stolen bases. I’ve bettered that myself! And it doesn’t get any better up the line. Our new second baseman in the bigs, John Batton, is hitting .223 for the season with more strikeouts (30) than extra-base hits (9), walks (7) and stolen bases (0) combined. Incidentally, I don’t know how the Pirates are in first place in the NL Central. The ten-million-dollar mistake (Ortiz) has a .255 average and 10 homers, they have two players down for the season, and with the exception of one starting pitcher, the rest of the rotation is a combined 19-22.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

JULY 7, 2003

I’m confused... Swick was released on June 30th, no new second basemen were signed. What are they doing? On July 3rd, we traded away our hottest minor leaguer in Kenneth Kerr. He went to Montreal with Ernesto Torres for pitcher Cruz Moreno. Moreno’s a starter with a 27-31 career record (20-14, 3.16 in the last two seasons with Montreal). In other shifting news, Palacios came back to Wilkes-Barre and Ron Reaper went uptown to Kingston. As far as I can see, they’re keeping me at second base, and using Palacios as a designated hitter. I’ve also been moved to 7th in the order for our next game. At the All-Star Break, I’m hitting .311 with a homer, 33 RBI and 12 steals. Not a single one of our major leaguers made it to the mid-season spectacular. Yet we’re division leaders. Go figure.

JULY 11, 2003

We’re going down the toilet. We traded away Allan Ray, a 9-7, 3.69 starting pitcher (those are ILB stats) and a second base prospect (Odon Palacios) for a 5-8, 4.06 (ILB) starting pitcher. How? How? How? The only good that comes of this is that I’ve got one less second baseman on the roster to compete with. But what sort of a deal is that? Oh, and the new guy (Benecio Fernandez) has a salary of about a million more than Allan Ray. Who the hell is running this franchise? I’ll be standing in the Incredulity Line when we win a title.

JULY 21, 2003

Some movement in the second base department. Free agent Eric Tuma was signed to a minor league deal. He started the season with San Francisco, but was released mid-June. He hit .262 with Frisco’s AAA franchise in 33 games. So far with us, in five games at AAA, he’s 8-19. So much for my lack of competition. With the trade deadline approaching, everyone wonders how stable they are.

And I’ve been so focused on the game, I would have missed my birthday last week if it hadn’t been for my teammates. Otter threw me a little party in the hotel. Most of the guys were there – Julian, Gonzo, Big L, even Joel Hunt (our other Single-A second baseman, and a guy who actually was up in the show for a day and a half this season).

JULY 31, 2003

Yesterday, we traded away another starting pitcher (Einar Alonso) for an ILB second baseman (Freddie Porras). We got him from Cleveland, where he hit .288 with 12 homers and 46 runs batted in. Better numbers than anyone else we’ve had upstairs at second base. First game in town, he went 3-4 against Arizona. Looks sharp, this guy.

I got moved to leadoff! With the trade yesterday, some juggling in the lineup, and I’m batting leadoff. Maybe in an effort to avoid being traded, I went 3-3 with two runs batted in on deadline day. I’m at .306 for the year, two homers and 44 RBI. Also 22 stolen bases. I can’t complain at this point. Life is good. Otter has moved back into the starting lineup here in Wilkes-Barre, which is good for him. He’s starting to turn things around. We’ve been bumming around some with Castor Gonzalez, too. Early in the season, Gonzo was very aloof – hanging out only with the other native Spanish-speakers. There’s still a lot of that, but now he’s branched out. I don’t know if it’s helped his game any, but 30 homers, 60 RBI, 17 stolen bases – nothing to complain about there either.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

AUGUST 2, 2003

Otter, Gonzo, Julian Rios and I put together a poker game last night. Pat White came, and Toombs as well. It was good stuff. I won about $100 off the rest of these chumps. I’m putting the cash toward a series of books I heard about, “The Art of Hitting.” Supposed to improve young players. The first volume is a bit much. I don’t have a lot of time to read, but I’m doing the best I can. So far, I can’t say it’s helping me much... My average has dropped eight points since I first opened the book.

At the poker game, we got to talking about life in Single-A ball. None of us have seen a world above Single-A. We’re all pretty young, but what is life like at the next level? Is it really that much harder? Is the talent that much higher? I look at some major leaguers and I wonder how they got there, some of them can’t hit a watermelon on a stick. But here we are, still in A-ball. I talked to Chris Gerner the other day – he’s still with Atlanta’s organization since the trade. He says it’s pretty much the same. All the minor are is just a place to develop your team. It’s mix-and-match. Rehabs, rookies, free agent short-term contracts, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is just trying to hit the ball enough to get noticed.

If I had to make a list of goals for myself, it would be to hit AAA by 2005, and the majors by 2007. And then in the world of my dreams, to make an All-Star team or to hit .300 or both by 2010. I’d be 25 then. That seems about right...

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

SEPTEMBER 1, 2003

The minor league season ended today. We finished 76-54 in our 130-game schedule. Notables on the stat sheet included Larry Langhorne (OBP-6th, .431), Castor Gonzalez (HR-7th, 35; R-7th, 109) and the baby of the team, Julian Rios, leading the Single-A league in triples with 13. Pat White, Ryan Herndon and Jame Pankey hit the top tens in some pitching categories (Herndy led the league in wins with 14, and Pankey and Herndy were 1-2 in ERA at 3.34 and 3.46). Of course, to reach the top tens in minor league stats suggests that while you’re very good, you’re still not good enough to get out of the minor leagues. It’s a dubious distinction at best.

Up in the bigs, we still lead the NL Central by a game over St. Louis. We also have Philadelphia in the East and Colorado in the West to worry about if it comes to the Wild Card.

September call-ups began today. No one from A-ball got a call. Seven AAA players were called up, and two new pitchers were signed to minor-league deals, ostensibly for next year.

Our batting order on the last day of the season looked like this (with Single-A Avg.-HR-RBI-SB):

                AVG  HR RBI  SB
Quinn, 2b      .304   3  52  26
Henriquez, 1b  .289  17  83   7
Martinez, c    .296  18  64   6
Rios, lf       .242  10  59  27
Gonzalez, 3b   .289  35  76  21
Thompson, rf   .315  11  42   7
Corpuz, ss     .315   5  30   2
Hunt, dh       .374   3  15   1
Landreneau, cf .220   1  17   5

My line at the end of the season was this:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A   130   510  155   37   4   3   52   54   26   78  26  10  .304 .339 .410 .749

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

OCTOBER 6, 2003

Our ILB team wasn’t able to win enough down the stretch to turn a mid-season division lead into a playoff berth. Sadly, we finished four games out of first, losing the division to St. Louis. And as we head into what is now my first off-season (!), I have to focus my energies on making it out of Wilkes-Barre by next year! I finished the year rated 14th on the Prospect Ranking list, and no other Single-A second-basemen were ahead of me... In fact, only one other second-baseman at all was ahead of me – Lino Duenas, who has already made it to the show with the Cubs.

Looking forward to next year, I have to examine my competition within the team. These are the second-basemen who ended this season still signed with Pittsburgh:

MAJORS           GP  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K  SB CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS   Signed
F. Porras  ILB  159 590 174 51  1 19  89  79  33  59   0  1  .295 .330 .481 .811  auto-re
J. Batton  ILB  105 285  75 10  0 11  40  37  16  47   0  0  .263 .301 .414 .715  arbitr.
J. Bowden  ILB   31 129  31  4  2  0   9  14   7  22   8  1  .240 .279 .302 .582    -2006
W. Gray    ILB   63  75  23  0  1  0   6  14  10  18   3  3  .307 .384 .333 .717  auto-re
D. Bauza   ILB   13  30   9  1  0  0   1   4   0   4   0  0  .300 .323 .333 .656  auto-re

MINORS           GP  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K  SB CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS   Signed
D. Bauza   AAA   70 261  69 20  1  6  29  39  11  67   3  6  .264 .304 .418 .721      ILB
J. Hunt    AAA   75 219  53 15  0  7  23  31  17  59   6  2  .242 .302 .406 .709  auto-re
E. Tuma    AAA   49  78  25  2  1  2  11  12   1  19   3  1  .321 .346 .449 .794   minors
W. Gray    AAA   12  49   9  3  2  0   7   0   2  14   1  0  .184 .216 .327 .542      ILB

J. Wilner   AA  125 473 126 33  3  4  39  56  41 116  19  7  .266 .328 .374 .702   minors
J. Hunt     AA    2   6   2  0  0  0   1   0   0   0   1  0  .333 .333 .333 .667  auto-re

C. Quinn     A  130 510 155 37  4  3  52  54  26  78  26 10  .304 .339 .410 .749   minors
J. Hunt      A   36 115  43 11  0  3  15  19  13  25   1  2  .374 .434 .548 .982  auto-re

Note that Bowden got hurt in May, and missed the whole rest of the year. He began 2003 as the opening day starter. Bauza had most of hit at-bats in the minors, but appeared in 13 games at the big-league level. Hunt split his time between A and AAA (played DH in A with me at second, hit .374). Note also that Batton’s stats are a split season with Atlanta, and Porras’ are a split season with Cleveland. It’s going to be a battle at the start of next year.

I’m spending my winter taking a lot of batting practice and working out at the gym. I’m going to be living at home in Maine for part of the winter, and working out indoors, but then I’ll head down to Georgia for Pittsburgh’s minor league training camp in February. I’ll have to work part-time in Maine for the winter, though – I don’t have much in the way of income right now, and I spent some of that signing bonus on better equipment to help my game.

There are bound to be changes before next year. Some trades, some signings. We have another draft yet to come. And this past year, the draft wasn’t all that big for Pittsburgh – their picks from rounds 2, 3 and 4 were all traded away. And the furthest anyone else made it was Lawrence Plemmons, a closer, who after a mediocre 2-5-3 start in A-ball went 2-1-1 for AAA with a 6.75 ERA.

I want to set the standard for the Pirates. I want to be that draft pick that makes something happen. I want to make it to the bigs, I want to lead the team to a championship.

Yeah, I want a lot. I have to wait for 2004...

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Single-A)

JANUARY 2, 2004

Happy New Year! I went up to Montreal to hang with Otter and some of his high school friends for the new year. He’s been working out a lot this winter as well, but I don’t know... He may just quit baseball all together. He was talking about getting a job in Montreal, moving scrap metal or something. What he should do is get looked at by the Expos, and see whether they can swing a trade with Pittsburgh.

We’re both eager to see what Pittsburgh does in the upcoming draft. It’s all I can do not to scream at the world, “DON’T DRAFT ANOTHER MIDDLE INFIELDER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” But I don’t.

APRIL 1, 2004

I can’t believe I haven’t written a thing since New Year’s... So much has happened. We had the draft.

We also made a trade in the big leagues. We got Alex Massenburg, an aging but decent first baseman (last year, he split the season between Oakland and San Diego, hit .244 with 6 homers and 22 RBI in 123 at-bats) and minor-leaguer Bill Garbutt (also known as Garbage-Butt) who was 5-2 as a reliever for San Diego’s A-ball team last year. I remember facing him at one point last August. He struck me out looking twice in that game. Two weeks later, I hit a 2-run double off him to win a game for us. In the trade, we gave up outfielder Jose Zena. Jose is 36, and perhaps his better years are behind him. He played in 138 games for us last year in the majors, hit 18 homers, 53 RBI and had a .263 average. Nothing special. We were able to shave about three million from the payroll with this deal.

We hung on to 10 players through arbitration, including John Batton. We lost Bernardo Mazza, our big-league first baseman, to free agency (which is, I’m sure, what prompted the trade for Massenburg).

Our draft this year was as follows: 1st round: Anthony Bielecki, 3b; 2. Paul Kee, cf; 3. Brandon Orme, cf; 4. Paul Leamon, p; 5. Paul Singletary, p; 6. Melvin People, p; 7. David Tait, ss; 8. Jamie McCullough, p; 9. Walter Thompson, p; 10. Adrian Frisina, p.

In February, we signed three free agents: pitcher JM Velasco (5-1, 5.10 in relief for the Rangers last year), starter Anthony Brewer (12-8 last year for St. Louis, but the two years before that, a combined 39-17 with a 3.29 ERA). This guy can pitch. He was also 4-0 with a 2.10 in the post-season last year (this, after St. Louis edged the Pirates for the NL Central). He’ll be our #3 starter in the bigs after Pio Pena (16-12, 3.17) and Cruz Moreno (13-12, 3.13).

As we gear up toward opening day, some things are becoming clear. They’re not likely to move any of the current second basemen on this roster. My chances of promotion are pretty slim at this point. Porras and Batton are on the ILB roster; Gray, Bowden and Tuma are in AAA; Wilner is in AA, and Joel Hunt and I sit here in A-ball. However, a week after telling management he might quit the game, Otter was promoted to AAA! He doesn’t think he’ll start, but he’s there. Looks like that scrap metal job might be pushed back a couple years.

Opening day, I’m batting leadoff. We’re up against Philadelphia. First inning, I single, and get thrown out stealing. Another single, and I advance on Big L’s base hit to right. Galeana strikes out swinging, though, and we still have no score. By my next plate appearance, we’re up 3-0, and we end up winning the game 12-2. I go 4-5 with a stolen base and an RBI. Good start to the year.

APRIL 7, 2004

A week into the season, and Pittsburgh starts its spring cleaning. Sixteen players were released this morning, including AAA second-baseman Eric Tuma. On the down side, my old buddies from Wilkes-Barre last year, Ryan Herdon and Pat White were both let go. Pat was in AAA, Ryan in AA. Pat hadn’t pitched yet, and Ryan had a good outing in his one start (7 IP, 2 ER, 6 K and the win). I’ll have to keep my eye on those folks, and see what develops. (Speaking of old friends, Chris Gerner is still with Atlanta’s farm system, and he made it to the AAA roster. So far, he’s just 0-1 – a strikeout – in his tenure there.)

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A)

MAY 1, 2004

My old Wilkes-Barre friend Ron Reaper was traded to Oakland the other day. He was hitting .345 for our AAA club, and I’m surprised we gave him up. But our end of the deal was getting first baseman Baltasar Pena, who hit 37 homers for Oakland last year. Hopefully he can help us out on offense. Our big league team hardly looks like the squad that contended for the NL Central last year.

At the end of April, I was tearing up the Baby Circuit. For the month, I hit .429 with 14 RBI and six stolen bases (caught five times, though – yikes!). But the big news came as I was in the locker room after the last game of April. My cell phone starting ringing, which was weird because I don’t usually get good reception in the locker room. (Okay, if I’m in that fourth stall, the one with the green graffiti over the toilet saying COACH EATS RECTAL WARTS FOR LUNCH – I get good reception in the stall, and don’t you dare ask how I know that.)

Anyway, I got a call from the AA club – I’ve been promoted! I drove to Kingston last night, and we played Arizona today. I batted 7th and played second base. My first AA plate appearance came in the first inning, we were leading it 2-1, two outs, men on second and third. I managed an infield single that oddly held the runners in place. Our catcher, Oriol Arnau smacked a single to center, and we all advanced. The next guy struck out, and we were stranded. The rest of the game just flew by. Somehow, I went 5-5 (all singles), and we won 9-4 (we had 21 hits!). I scored two runs, but couldn’t manage a stolen base.

I look around the locker room after the game (I’ve made a great first impression – five hits!), and recognize only a handful of faces. Where did these guys come from? I miss my friends from Wilkes-Barre, but things are looking good here. After the game, I go out for drinks with Larry Langhorne; we shared a few infields together in A-ball last year before he got bumped up. Angel Jimenez and Ramon Corpuz join us – we all were teammates for a stretch last year. The basic word here is that the pitching is just as thin as in A-ball, and it’s in AAA that things get difficult. Ramon and Angel have both had a breath of AAA in Plainfield, but none of them have stayed long enough to really know it. Larry things the competition is just too stiff right now, especially for the middle infield. Even though Tuma got released, they still have two second basemen and three shortstops up there. It’s going to be a challenge to break in.

MAY 5, 2004

Already, I’ve been moved up to the leadoff spot. In my first few games here, I’ve gone 7-11 (that 5-5 first game isn’t going to hurt my stats) with a homer and 4 RBI.

My first game as the leadoff hitter for AA started well – I bunted an infield single on the first pitch to get on right at the start. By the end of the day I was 4-5, but I didn’t score, I didn’t drive in a run (despite having two opportunities with men in scoring position), and we lost 3-2.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A)

JUNE 1, 2004

A month at Kingston, and I’m feeling okay. Of course I wasn’t going to stay at that opening day’s pace, but I had hoped my numbers wouldn’t have dropped quite as much as they did. Here’s my line so far in AA ball (I’ve also included my A stats as well):

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    91   39    3   4   2   14   19    7   15   6   5  .429 .480 .615 1.10
2003 PIT,AA   25   108   41    8   1   1   19   19    7   12  16   1  .380 .412 .500 .912

I’m trying to stay in touch with my friends from Wilkes-Barre – Baby J Rios (.332, 12 HR, 37 RBI), Gonzo (relegated to the bench) – but there’s just so much to stay on top of here in Kingston. Plus the town is a lot cooler, so there’s more to do. There’s still that Prospect Ranking – I’m number 7 now – but that’s not all that present on my mind. (Incidentally, Barrett Bays, who dropped off the radar last year, has resurfaced. He’s #62 on that list, and hitting .310 for Milwaukee’s AA club.) Otter is up in AAA where he’s an occasional replacement in center field. He’s 2-15 so far this season. And Tony Bielecki, our 2004 first round pick who had the locker next to mine in Wilkes-Barre, he’s hitting .242 with 12 HR and 31 RBI. Not too shabby. Herdy and White haven’t been picked up by anyone since we released them... Herdy should have a shot at a team. He’s good. Oh, and I’ve heard stories about our old first baseman (from the ILB roster), Sixto Borras – he played from 1992-2003 for the big league team (with the exception of a one-year free-agent ride in Kansas City in 1996), and since then, he’s amassed about 20 games, 65 at bats, three minors-assignment refusals, and a whole mess of bad attitude. Note to self: do not become like Sixto Borras.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A)

JULY 1, 2004

By the end of June, I really feel like I’m a major part of this team. Of course, I have the end of July to get paranoid (trade deadline!), but so far in Kingston, I’ve looked nothing less than sharp. Check it out:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    91   39    3   4   2   14   19    7   15   6   5  .429 .480 .615 1.10
2003 PIT,AA   53   225   88   16   3   4   37   51   15   26  27   2  .391 .427 .542 .970

June was better than May... Let’s see if we can make July better than June.

Unfortunately, June also saw the signing of a free agent second basemen. Let me go back. Freddie Porras got hurt, and Joe Bowden was brought up. They didn’t think that Dennis Bauza was enough at AAA for the bag, so they signed Bill Tyrell. He’s a 30-year-old journeyman with a wealth of minor league experience. In the bigs, he was semi-regular for San Diego in 2002, hitting .238 in about half a season’s worth of games. Last year, he split the season between Kansas City and Cleveland. In the majors, 7-27 in 11 games; in the minors, .266 average in 110 games. So there you have it.

Robert Brown, one of the ILB veterans on the roster, refused his minors assignment and was let go. This is a former all-star (1998-1999 with Oakland) who just couldn’t find his niche with Pittsburgh. Arizona picked him up yesterday.

Also, the Alexander Massenburg experiment didn’t work. He lasted 45 games, hitting .294 with four homers and 12 RBI. Houston has since picked him up. Ironic that Houston also leads Pittsburgh by two games in the NL Central right now.

JULY 13, 2004

This could be a big deal – Joseph Bowden is out for the rest of the year AGAIN. He tore a back muscle this time, and is done. He’d only appeared in 29 games in the bigs since Porras was the opening day starter. But with Porras hurt, Joe went up. He only hit .227 with a homer and 10 RBI, but he was starting to feel good again. And here’s the worst part – he hurt his back shagging flies. He’s a second baseman, and he was just taking light tosses in the outfield when he went down in agony.

Porras came back from the DL (perhaps early) to take the roster spot.

JULY 29, 2004

As the trade deadline approaches, it doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere, but there’s no denying I’ve been slumping a little. My numbers are still sharp – .344 average, 46 RBI, 33 stolen bases – but the team doctor has discovered a series of blisters on the index finger of my left hand. This explains the pain when hitting, the pain when throwing, and the fact that I’ve been 0-12 in the last three games. They’re putting me on some medication (which tastes terrible), and a lotion for the finger (which smells terrible). I may not play the next few days.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A)

AUGUST 2, 2004

In the two games following my “injury,” I go 0-8 with three strikeouts. I haven’t been this bad since I was about four. Larry and I go to the bar, and I can’t shut up about how lame I am, how I don’t belong in Kingston, how I barely belonged in Wilkes-Barre. Larry is trying to keep me sane, but I keep throwing back the drinks. I am plastered by the time I stagger home at 4am. Of course, I’ve forgotten we have a 1pm start the next day. I show up at the field, still drunk. Go figure this one: I go 5-5. That night, I get drunk again, and then last night, I’m 4-4. I know ballplayers get superstitious about things. I mean, Oriol hasn’t changed his socks since he started hitting better. But I don’t know if I can keep drinking like this. It’s not safe. For me. For anyone!

Cruz Moreno was signed to an extension for $16.5 million over three years. He made the all star team this year, and so far, he’s 14-5 with a 3.38. He’s about the only reason we’re still vaguely contending the NL Central. Cristobal Ortiz went to the all-star game as well. He’s playing a lot better this year than last. I can’t believe I grew up following his career, and now we get our paychecks from the same organization. Still haven’t met the man, of course, but...

Poor Otter still can’t hit at the AAA level. He’s reconsidering that scrap metal job. He’s at .142 so far, and not looking forward. Meanwhile, I’ve been rated the 2nd best prospect in baseball. Who’s number one? Atlanta’s pitcher, Michael Taylor – who has already been in the big leagues both in 2003 and 2004 (0-3, 11.90 career).

Downtown in Wilkes-Barre, Baby J Rios was tearing up the league when he got hurt – he’s back now, but weaker than before. Gonzo has all but disappeared, and what happened to Joel Hunt? He was such a hot prospect, and now he’s mired in A-ball with no way out, it would seem. Haven’t heard from Gerner in a while, but I know he hasn’t gotten out of AAA yet in Atlanta.

AUGUST 11, 2004

Explain this. After recovering from my injured finger with brilliant results (13-18 over a four-game stretch in last week), I get shifted down to the 5-spot in the lineup. What? I promptly go 3-19 and then... I GET A CALL TO AAA PLAINFIELD! This is too exciting. I’m packing as I write this, and I’m driving there tonight. We have a game tomorrow, and I want to be ready.

What led up to this? Nothing in particular, it seems. Bauza has been hitting .266, this new guy Bill Tyrell is working primarily as a replacement. But I got the call. And I’m slated to bat leadoff tomorrow night against the Mets’ affiliate. I caught up with Otter immediately, and he caught me up on everything so far. Although his numbers aren’t very good (still hitting around .140), he’s paying attention to everything. Getting quite the education. He tells me that Bauza has been missing practices, and he might get cut from the squad. Tyrell is a nice guy, but he can’t play. Simple as that. Doesn’t have any movement to his left, which is no good for a middle infielder. Hai Harris and Dominic Compo are both primarily third basemen, but they’ve both seen a little action at second. However, neither has much offense to show.

The AAA club isn’t winning as many games as we were in Kingston (or even Wilkes-Barre). But the prospect of being just a phone call away from the show is pretty exciting. It doesn’t matter much at this point, I guess, but I finally reached number one on the Prospect Ranking.

My numbers in A and AA so far this year:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    91   39    3   4   2   14   19    7   15   6   5  .429 .480 .615 1.10
2003 PIT,AA   87   362  127   25   4   6   52   74   27   47  35   5  .351 .401 .492 .893

I’ve got so much adrenaline rushing through me... I’m just barely 20 years old, and I can smell Pittsburgh from here.

Okay, that sounds weird. I didn’t mean it that way.

AUGUST 15, 2004

I’m a little scared and a lot excited. I went 4-4 in my first game, 5-5 in my second here for AAA Plainfield. I shouldn’t say anything more for fear of a jinx.

AUGUST 16, 2004

4-4 last night. No jinx in sight. Are New York’s minor league pitchers that bad?

All the hits are singles. I’ve scored four runs and stolen one base. We don’t play today... Will the day off hurt me?

AUGUST 18, 2004

4-4 again... This is really creepy. I’ve never had a stretch like this. Are you kidding me? Seventeen consecutive hits? I also had four steals tonight.

Here’s a weird stat – my OBP is lower than my batting average. I had one sacrifice bunt in the game this evening – that must be what did it. I’ve never before seen an OBP lower than a batting average.

Are there records for consecutive hits? Although I guess I blew that streak with the sacrifice... But I’m 17-17. That must mean something...

AUGUST 19, 2004

Streak is over. I grounded out to third base in the second. We won the game 2-0, and we’re 4-0 since I came up.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

As the minor league season came to a close, I came back to Earth. After that unbelievable 18-18 (with five steals) to start my AAA career, I went just 9-48 (.188) the rest of the month (with one steal), finishing with this line of stats:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    91   39    3   4   2   14   19    7   15   6   5  .429 .480 .615 1.10
2003 PIT,AA   87   362  127   25   4   6   52   74   27   47  35   5  .351 .401 .492 .893
2003 PIT,AAA  17    66   27    1   1   0    1    8    3    2   6   0  .409 .411 .455 .866

I went out with Otter and some of the others for drinks to celebrate the end of the season (AAA finished at 70-60 for the year, 14-3 after my call-up). I didn’t even hear the phone ring, but Otter said he thought my jacket was making noise. I grabbed the cell phone and it was LARRY HOCHMAN. Pittsburgh’s general manager himself was calling me. I sobered up quick, and tried sounding mature and professional – which is not easy for a 20-year-old from Maine. Mr. Hochman went on to explain that in September, certain members of the AAA affiliate are brought to Pittsburgh to get a couple of swings, a couple of plays in the field, just so the players and the management can get a sense of each other. Nothing is permanent, and many of the players called up in September are back in AAA to start the next season. But it’s a step forward, and would I like to come to Pittsburgh the next day to join the team there!!!!

By more than three years, I’m the youngest player on the Pittsburgh club. I may not see any action whatsoever. But I got some money out of the deal (a major league call-up results in some major league salary – over $5,700 a week!), and I’m wearing the black and yellow of the major league team.

Willard Gray, Bill Tyrell and Dennis Bauza were not happy for me. They were all in the show last year, and they’ve only seen the minors this year. The front office of this organization, though, is very stats-oriented. And I’ve got the numbers to show it. Everyone wants to say that my 18-18 streak was phony, and that I’m just a .190 hitter. But I might be a .190 hitter for three weeks if it means I’m a 1.000 hitter for another week. That’s streaky, but it’s still real.

Otter’s happy to see me move forward, and that’s great, but I feel bad for him. He works so hard, and nothing comes of it. He finished his year in AAA as a .142 hitter with no power. That’s not the player that came up the ranks with me last year. He had a future, and should have fared better. I hope he gets another chance, and if it’s not here, it’s somewhere better.

I look around the clubhouse, and start meeting some of the players. I don’t get a chance to introduce myself to Ortiz, but that time will come. Most of these guys are strangers to me – I was only in the AAA club for about three weeks, and I spent most of that time in the gym or on the field. I feel a lot like my first day in Wilkes-Barre. I know no one, no one knows me. It’s a little spooky. I call home, tell my folks – they’re thrilled for me. Mom wants to come to Pittsburgh to see my first game. I tell her that I probably won’t get onto the field much (if at all) this month. She and Dad are coming out to visit anyway.

[bcimmet]

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

SEPTEMBER 6, 2004

One fact that was lost on me when I first arrived is the fact that the Pirates are in a pennant race. They were tied for first in the division with a 70-60 record (same as AAA Plainville). Since then, they’ve gone 3-2, and are still holding on to first place (or at least a piece of it).

The big news of the day is that I made my debut on the field against Houston. I was put in as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was a tie game. Porras grounded out to third, and Ortiz grounded out to second to open the inning. Baltasar Pena singled, and I went to run for him. Alfonzo Sato hit a two-run homer to give us the lead, and the tiny little footnote to that event was that I scored a run, and got my first tick on the major league stat sheet. If ever I’m in contention for the career record for runs scored, we’ll all remember that this was the first one.

As we’re still fighting for the division, I certainly don’t anticipate seeing much action. But this was a good move – Manager Ralph Lemon put the young speedster in to run for the veteran slugger. The only potential backfire was if we didn’t score, and needed Pena’s bat later in the game. But we won, and we’re still moving forward.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2004

It’s pretty weak to chronicle every event here, but so far I don’t have a lot to discuss, so I might as well focus on the minutiae of this career.

I played in the field for the first time tonight. It was against Philadelphia. I went in as a defensive replacement in the top of the 9th inning. We were leading 5-3. First ball hit went way over my head, and rolled to the wall – a double. Pilly’s shortstop grounded to me on the next play, and I turned the out easily (fielding percentage of 1.000 thank you very much!). After that, it was downhill for Bob Temples, our closer. He’s been pretty solid this year, but blew it here. He walked Philly’s next hitter, and then gave up a monstrous 3-run shot to George Suarez. We couldn’t score in the bottom of the inning, and the game was gone.

We’ve got a 2-game lead on Houston for the division; our magic number is 23.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

We’re barely hanging on in the division, having gone 1-3 in our last four games, and 6-7 since the start of September. We currently share first place in the NL Central with Houston. This is winner-take-it, because either Colorado or San Francisco (in the NL West) will get the Wild Card spot.

I’m starting to get used to being here. These guys are just guys. Yes, they’re professional ball players, but they’re just guys like I’m a guy. It’s a matter of doing the right thing at the right time in front of the right people. There’s nothing magical about it, to tell you the truth.

Got a phone call from Otter today – he read me stats from the Minor League Reports. Apparently, I led National League AA in batting average (.351). I finished fourth in OBP (.401, just behind Barrett Bays), and fourth in stolen bases (35). Otter’s back in Montreal, working for the scrap metal factory. Again, he’s unclear on whether he’ll return to Pennsylvania in the spring to play again for the organization. He has a girlfriend back in Montreal, and he only got to see her when we played there, or in the winter. It doesn’t seem worth it, to him. He wants to start a family. Maybe if baseball took off, and he made a major league team – even for one season, he’d have enough money to start a family.

Where’s my drive for a family? I think I want this baseball world to be my family, at least, for now. I’m focusing my energy so tightly on working out and batting practice, I can’t imagine sparing a moment for a relationship. Not now. Call me crazy. I’m a 20-year-old single guy, and what do I do in my free time? Lift weights. Swing a bat. Watch video tape.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2004

We’re slipping away from the division, two games behind Houston now, with 14 games to go. I got my first plate appearance, and I’d just as soon forget that it happened. We were leading Atlanta 4-2. I came out in the bottom of the 8th inning to pinch-hit, and struck out on three swings. Yay.

We won the game, and that’s what matters. But I wanted something more substantial for my first time at the plate. Hey, at least it will get better from here. (I hope.)