At Third Base, #8, Zack McQuarrie

VoltageEJ · 01-14-2004, 10:00 PM

I decided to document one of my players, finally. This one is a Speedy switch-hitting third baseman out of High School. This is a little bit what his RPG Stats look like:

Strength:2
Intelligence:2
Dexterity:3
Constitution:5
Charisma:1
Luck:2
Personality Class:Team Captain

His Beginning Potential starts out like this:

Contact:6
Power:3
Eye:9
Gap:4
Fielding:8
Running Speed:10
Stealing:10
Hitting VS Lefties:5(I figured, since he's a switch-hitter, anyways..heh.)

Well, it's time for Draft Day.

VoltageEJ · 01-14-2004, 10:19 PM

I'm hanging out at home, having just pulled myself out of bed, a few brief hours earlier. I had tried out for the first year player draft and thought I'd made a pretty good showing for myself, but pessimistic as I was, I really didn't expect much to come out of it.

I was actually a pretty decent player on my high school team. Definitely the fastest player on the team, good contact hitter..maybe a little pop, with a good glove and a cannon for an arm. I suppose I figured I was good, for high school ball, but not the majors.

I thought I'd check things out, anyways, though. Logging on to my computer, I check out the information on the draft players and find myself a little surprised. I'm listed as a 3 and a half star prospect and am ranked the 8th best Third Baseman in the draft. Scratching my head, I realize I might actually get drafted, after all. Hunh.

Looking at the draft order, I see Baltimore, Cleavland and New York have the top three picks, with Detroit at number 4. Heh. Amusing, since they could probably use those picks. I shrug, not expecting myself to get drafted very soon and kick back to watch some TV and eat some lunch with my grandparents. I figured I'd check in on the draft occasionally, but try and give it a wide berth. No sense making myself nervous.

After checking in later, I notice the top 3 picks in the draft are:
1. Kenneth Torres, LF
2. Robert Suarez, CF
3. Alberto Pla, P

I'd never really heard of any of these guys..I didn't really follow high school or college ball too much, but I figured they were good. Shrugging, I went back to watching TV.

After checking back in later, I looked for other third baseman who'd gone in the draft.

Christopher Dolph went to the Tigers as #4 in the draft. Matt Moses went #15 to the Cubs. Miguel Vega went #17th to Tampa. Poor guy. I hoped I didn't get chosen by a team quite that bad. On the other hand, I figured it might be an interesting challenge. Eric Duncan went 21st to Oakland. Wow. 4 3rd Baseman in the first round. Hunh. Guess they're in demand this year. Kinda a nice thought that I might get picked in the first three rounds or something. Hell, maybe even get picked by my long beloved team, the Dodgers. Though I doubted it. They seem content to wait on Beltre's potential, anyways. So I went back to waiting, while going to the fridge for a soda.

I nearly choked on my drink, as the phone suddenly rang. Reaching for it, I figured it was just relatives. It wasn't.

"Hello, is this Zachary McQuarrie?"

"Speaking. Can I help you?"

"This is Chuck LaMar, General Manager for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I'd like to let you know we've picked you in the 2nd round of the draft and we'll give you a $250,000 signing bonus after you sign."

Sputtering, I nearly dropped my drink, outright. The Devil Rays. The team I'd just felt sorry for a first round third baseman going to. Great. It meant I was going to have to prove myself even more, behind a first round pick. I paused. Wait..did he say..."Uh...did you say $250 THOUSAND?"

"Yep. Welcome to the club, kid. I'll call you back later to give you all the information on the A affiliate team. *Clik*"

For a second, I kind of just stared at the phone, "Well. Damn."

VoltageEJ · 01-14-2004, 11:23 PM

Well, a little while after I'd told everyone the news and settled over a little bit of my shock, I decided to check out who else got drafted by Tampa and may likely be my teammates. Hmm. Well, I already knew they picked up 3rd Baseman Miguel Vega. I figure a little competition could be good. I figured he'd be one of the first people I talked to. I'd rather have a friendly competition than a bitter rivalry. Let's see..Shortstop Robert Bigger in the third round..he seems to be the underdog to the Rays other star prospect at A, BJ Upton. Catcher Ramon Lopez in the fourth. He seems to be another Underdog. Pitcher Aaron Jensen. He's supposed to turn out to be a pretty decent pitcher. Then there's Jo Jo Reyes. He's supposed to be an above average pitcher..still a little raw, though. Hunh. Wow. SS Robert Valido jumped up to AA ahead of Upton and Bigger. Jeff Flaig, ANOTHER Third baseman..sheesh. Mark Micheal, a pitcher. And Cleo Perez, a promising middle reliever. Hmm.

So, after looking into my potential teammates, I get another call, telling me about my affiliate club, however it's NOT from the owner, but instead from my new manager.

"Hi, is this Zack? This is Mako Oliveras. I'm your manager with the Bakersfield Blaze."

Pause. Bakersfield? Oh, talk about too good to be true.."Uh..yep. That's me. Are you telling me I'm playing for a team in Bakersfield?"

"That's right. Any problem with that?"

"Uh..no..The opposite, actually. I live in Bakersfield, already, with my family."

"Well, convenient. Looks like you don't have to find a place to stay. So, kid..here's how it goes. I'll give you the directions to camp and the stadium, but right now it looks like I'm going to have you batting second and playing 3rd. We have our first game tomorrow, so I'll see you there. *Clik*"

Well damn. Another interesting surprise. I quickly tell my family the news and go to check out who I'm playing with..and who I have to go up against in the organization. There's Vega with me in A, of course. Then I've got Flaig and Cantu in AA. Three guys in AAA by the names of Gonzalez, Rolls and Truby...and Jared Sandberg with the parent team. This ought to be...interesting to get to the bigs, to say the least.

VoltageEJ · 01-14-2004, 11:45 PM

Well, here I am, getting ready for my first game. I'm definitely a bit nervous, especially with family in the stands watching. Surprisingly, I get a call on my cell phone and it's apparantely my brother, calling to let me know the news that HE had gotten drafted, too...apparantely by Boston, as a pitcher. Heh. How 'bout that..I didn't even know he'd tried out. Maybe we'll get a chance to face eachother. That'd be...interesting.

So..game time's here, at last..and I'm ready for my big debut. Before I go out there, I get stopped by the hitting coach and he shows me a little printout of where my stats are at, right now..and it lists me at:

Contact: 8/60
Power: 9/30
Eye: 21/90
Gap: 11/40

Interesting. I wasn't entirely sure of the meanings of them, but I guess it meant I had a lot of work to do.

We take the field and begin warming up. I look up briefly at the scoreboard, to see who we're playing..the Sarasota Red Sox? I nearly bust up laughing, when I look across to the other field and see my brother waving. I'm going to get him for that later. He didn't even tell me he was in town.

As the pitcher prepares to throw the first pitch, I take a deep breath. It turns out to be uneventful, as no ball ends up being hit to me...which means, I'm coming up to bat, 2nd. My first pro at bat. And I walk. I got forced out, though.

Next inning, I get a groundball and my first putout. After that, my nerves seemed to calm down and I had fun. Or so I thought. I got a little too comfortable and made a throwing error, later. I also didn't get on base again, but we ended up winning 4-0. I went 0-3, with a walk.

VoltageEJ · 01-14-2004, 11:58 PM

Game two. I get a chance for a little payback, as my brother is starting for the Sarasota Sox. I do end up getting my first professional hit off of him, in the 3rd. I suppose if I get it off anyone, might as well be him.

I ended up going 1-4, but our team got pounded 8-2. My bro got the win going 7 IP, giving up 11 hits and 2 runs, but only one earned..walking one and striking out 2. Well, at least his career's already started on a high note.

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 12:26 AM

Our next game against the Red Sox started out well. We broke out to an early lead. I walked and scored, my first time up. Of course, that's all I did. We ended up winning 4-2, but I only got 2 more at bats, before they pinch-hit for me in the 7th.

I ended up going 0-2, with a BB and a Run Scored.

Last game of the series---2-5, with a bunt single, a stolen base and ALMOST an RBI single. Guy got thrown out at home. Oddly enough, later in the game, I got moved to Right field. Granted, I'd played right field plenty of times in the past, but I was a little surprised that I was playing it now. Hunh. I made an error while out there, which I shouldn't have, but then again, third is my position, not right.We ended up losing 5-4.

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 01:01 AM

Line for 4/4/2003- 0-4, 1 K
Line for 4/5/2003-1-3, 2B, 1 RS, 1 K
Line for 4/6/2003-0-3, 1 RS, 2 BB, 1 K

Not the greatest end to my first week of Pro Ball, but at least I seem to be getting on base, some. I'll be doing weekly reports, like this, unless I have some very bad or very good games to talk about. And I'll be doing monthly updates to what the hitting coach tells me my skill levels are at.

Current Stats-.167, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 RS, 1 SB, .286/.208/.494

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 01:06 AM

Line for 4/8/2003-0-2, 1 BB, 1 K
Line for 4/9/2003-0-4
Line for 4/10/2003-2-5, 2 RS
Line for 4/11/2003-1-2, 1BB
Line for 4/12/2003-1-4, 1 SB, 1 RS
Line for 4/13/2003-1-2, 1 BB, 1 RS

Not a bad second week, I suppose. Starting to slowly get things together a little bit, and get comfortable with playing. My team as a whole is struggling and we're 4-8 now, though.

Current Stats-.209 AVG, 1 2B, 7 RS, 2 SB, .320/.233/.533

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 02:45 AM

Line for 4/15/03-0-3
Line for 4/16/03-1-3, 1 RS, 2 SB
Line for 4/17/03-1-3, SB
Line for 4/18/03-0-2
Line for 4/19-1-4, 2 RS
Line for 4/20-0-4, 1 SB, 1 RS

Seems like I got moved down to 8th in the lineup at the start of the week. That's a little dissapointing, but I suppose it makes sense. I haven't been hitting nearly well enough yet. Faced my brother again on 4/16. I almost feel guilty at running so much on him, but not that guilty. He gave up 4 runs in 7 IP and still got the win, so not that guilty. I seem to still be struggling with my hitting, but my fielding and speed seem to be doing me well, at least.

Current Stats-- .194 AVG, 1 2B, 11 RS, 6 SB, .275/.210/.485

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 03:19 AM

Line for 4/21/03-2-4, 1 2B, 1 RS
Line for 4/22/03-0-4, 1 K
Line for 4/23/03-1-2, 1 RS
Line for 4/24/03-0-2, Catcher's Interference, 1 SB
Line for 4/25/03-1-3, 1 RS
Line for 4/26/03-1-2, 1 RBI, 1 RS
Line for 4/27/03-0-2, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 CS

Got moved down in the order again. This time to the 9 spot. Ouch. Hopefully I'll do better to get out of this mess I seem to be digging for myself. Got my first RBI this week, though.

Current Stats-.210 AVG, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 15 RS, 7 SB, .278/.235/.512

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 03:34 AM

Line for 4/29/03-1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 RS, 1 K
Line for 4/30/03-0-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Line for 5/1/03-0-4
Line for 5/2/03-0-4, 1 K
Line for 5/3/03-2-5, 2 RS, 2 Ks
Line for 5/4/03-1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Got moved up to 6th in the Lineup, in the middle of the week. Whew. Good to be out of the nine hole. But I'm still not playing anywhere near as good as I want to or should be. At the end of the month my skills have increased like this, though:

Contact: From 8/60 to 10/60
Power: No Change
Eye:No Change
Gap: From 11/40 to 16/40

Current Stats: .198, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 18 RS, 7 SB, .252/.226/.479

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 03:52 AM

5/8/2003- 3-4, 1 RS, 1 CS
5/9/2003- 1-3, 1 RS, 1 SB
5/10/2003-0-3
5/11/2003-1-1, 1 BB, 1 SB

This week definitely started out badly. I'm still a starter, but I was benched two games in a row, when I'm not tired, and when I was playing again, I was batting 7th..Guess the coach isn't too pleased with me. I'm not really, either. Especially with family watching a lot of these games. It's really kinda embarassing. On the plus side, I had my best game so far on 5/8...amusing considering I was a little hungover during that game. Not a bad week, despite the lack of playing time.

Current Stats-
G-36
AB-117
H-26
2B-3
RBI-4
R-20
BB-9
K-15
SB-9
CS-2
AVG-.222
OBP-.276
SLG-.248
OPS-.523

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 04:17 AM

Line for 5/14/03--1-3, 1 BB, 2 K
Line for 5/15/03--0-3
Line for 5/16/03--1-3. 1 K
Line for 5/17/03--1-4. 1 RS
Line for 5/18/03--0-4
Line for 5/19/03--0-4, 1 K
Line for 5/20/03--1-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 RS, 1 K
Line for 5/21/03--2-3, 1 3B, 1 RBI
Line for 5/22/03--1-5, 1 3B, 1 RS, 2 K
Line for 5/23/03--1-3, 1 K
Line for 5/24/03--0-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 K

Decided to sim two weeks before giving my report and I have good news, in the sense that as of 5/20, I reclaimed my 2 spot in the order. Now, I just have to try and KEEP it. Doing a little better with the stick, though, so I might be able to. But I need to improve my BB/K Ratio, big time.

G-48
AB-161
H-36
2B-5
3B-3
RBI-7
R-23
BB-11
K-25
SB-10
CS-2
AVG-.224
OBP-.270
SLG-.292
OPS-.562

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 04:27 AM

Line for 5/27/03--1-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Line for 5/28/03--0-0, 1 SB, 1 RS
Line for 5/29/03--1-3, 2 K
Line for 5/30/03--1-4, 1 2B, 1 SB, 1 RS
Line for 5/31/03--0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K
Line for 6/1/03--0-5, 1 BB, 1 K

Well, I was a little..inconsistent, this week. It started out pretty well, at least. My monthly meeting with the hitting coach to determine my skill growth came out as follows:

Contact: From 10/60 to 14/60
Power: From 9/30 to 11/30
Eye: No change from 21/90
Gap: From 16/40 to 17/40

Current Stats-
.218 AVG, 7 2B, 3 3B, 10 RBI, 25 R, 12 SB, .268/.291

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 05:10 AM

Week of 6/3--6-8
Worst Game
6/6---0-4, 1 K
Best Game
6/7--2-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RS, 1 SB

Week of 6/9--6/15
Best Game
6/11---2-5, 2 SB, 2 RS, 1 K
Worst Game
6/15---0-2, 2 SB, 2 R, 2 BB

Week of 6/16--6/22
Best Game
6/18---1-4, 2 R, BB, CS
Worst Game
6/21---0-5

Week of 6/23--6/29
Best Game
6/24---2-3, 1 RBI, BB, K
Worst Game
6/28---0-6, 3 K

Well, not a very good month for me. I decided to simply stuff by giving my best and worst games of every week. Shoot. Right when it seems like I'm starting to hit my stride, I just completely lose it.
I had another meeting with the hitting coach. He thinks I have actually improved a bit. But my eye hasn't improved at all, so I decided to spend most of my money to purchase a book about taking walks. Volume 2. Man, these books are expensive. Hopefully, I'll see an improvement in my BB/K Ratio out of this.

Contact:From 14 to 16/60
Power: From 11 to 13/60
Eye: No change
Gap: From 17 to 19/40

Current Stats:
.215 AVG, 9 2B, 4 3B, 13 RBI, 34 R, 19 SB, .272/.278

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 06:00 AM

Week of 6/30--7/6
Worst Game
7/4--1-5, 1 K
Best Game
7/5--1-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Week of 7/7--7/13
Worst Game
7/9--0-3, 3 K
Best Game
7/12--3-4, 1 3B, 2 R

Well, here I am at the All-Star break. Man. It's a little frustrating at this point. I checked in on the parent club and they made a deal to get Mark Teixeira from Texas. Him I definitely have heard of..considered one of the best prospects in baseball and at my position.that makes things considerably more difficult, looking long term. Even if I weren't sucking bad enough, as is. At least I'm doing better than some members of my A team. We're 40-53 this year. Real bad. 12th Place bad. At least my bro seems to be doing good, over in Boston. He's 9-6, with a 2.84 ERA, 111 Ks in 123.2 IP and 25 BBs. He's even considered the #2 Prospect in the country, I hear. I'm kinda proud of him for that. Makes me a little frustrated with my own play, though. And of course, there's the trade deadline coming up. As worried as I am with Teixiera being traded for at my future on the team, I kinda hope I get to stay with Tampa, for at least as long as I'm in A. Despite my struggling, I kind of like playing at home, like this. And I still want to hit my first homerun in front of family. Here are my stats so far:

.226 AVG, 10 2B, 5 3B, 14 RBI, 42 R, 23 SB, .282/.290

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 07:07 AM

Week of 7/14--7/20
Worst Game
7/17--1-3, 1 R
Best Game
7/18--1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

Week of 7/21--7/27
Best Game
7/21--1-4, 1 R, 1 K
Worst Game
7/22--0-4

From 7/28--7/31
7/29--0-4, 1 K
7/30--3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 K
7/31--3-5, 1 2B, 1 R

Decided to change up my workout a bit, see if that helps me play any better through the second half. I also noticed I got moved to batting 5th in the lineup. And I finally hit my first professional homerun. Ended up being my best game to date so far, too. Stayed with the Bakersfield Blaze past the trade deadline, too..so it looks like I'm here for the rest of the year. Met with the Hitting Coach, after the trade deadline passed and he looked pleased with my progress. My skills improved as follows:

Contact: From 16/60 to 18/60
Power: From 13/30 to 14/30
Eye: From 21/90 to 22/90
Gap: From 19/40 to 24/40

Current Stats:
.233, 12 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 48 R, 25 SB, .282/.301

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 07:52 AM

Week remaining from 8/1--8/3
8/1--1-4, SB
8/2--3-5, 3B, R
8/3--2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Week of 8/4--8/10
Worst Game
8/6--0-4, 2 K
Best Game
8/8--2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 SB, 2 K

Week of 8/11--8/17
8/11--0-5, 2 K
8/12--1-3, 1 RBI, 1 SB
8/13--2-4, 2 R, 1 SB, 1 BB
8/15--1-3, 1 R, 1 BB
8/16--5-6, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 R, 6 RBI
8/17--3-4, 1 3B, 1 SB, 2 R, 1 K

Week of 8/18--8/24
8/18--2-4, 2 SB, 2 R
8/19--3-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
8/20--0-4
8/21--1-3, 2 BB, 1 K
8/22--0-4, 11 RBI
8/23--0-3, 1 K
8/24--2-6, 1 SB, 1 R

Week of 8/25--8/31
8/26--1-4, SB
8/27--0-3, 1 K
8/28--2-5, 1 2B, 1 SB, 1 R, 1 K
8/29--0-4, K
8/30--1-5, SB, K
8/31--2-5, 2B, 3B, SB

Well, I'm entering the last month of my first season in the Minors and my spot in the lineup changed again and NOW I'm batting leadoff. I finally pieced together what that book I bought was telling me and felt like I knew at least a small bit more about taking walks than I did before and about halfway through the month I started really catching fire. And I ended the Minor league season pretty solidly, I think. I haven't got a call up to AA yet, but that's okay. After conferring with the Hitting Coach, I still feel I have some things to work on, anyways.

Contact: 18/60--No change
Power: 14/30 to 15/30
Eye: 22/30 to 25/90
Gap: 24/40 to 27/40

With no more playing time to worry about before the off-season, I up my workout to a more strenous one, given the extra time to workout, over the last two months of the baseball season, while watching games and meeting new people and teammates at a local sports bar. I manage to improve myself even more to

Contact: 18/60 to 23/60
Power:No change
Eye: 25/90 to 28/90
Gap: 27/30 to 30/40

Final Season Stats:
133 G, 488 AB, 121 H, 16 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 65 R, 27 BB/85 K, 40 SB, 6 CS, .248 AVG, .293 OBP, .320 SLG, .613 OPS

Fielding:12 Errors, .960 Fielding Pct.

And thus ends my first season in Pro Ball.

chug74 · 01-15-2004, 05:36 PM

Great first season man!!! I wish mine was so exciting.

VoltageEJ · 01-15-2004, 06:08 PM

Well, after a long offseason, I'm ready to get back to work. Meeting with the hitting coach in Spring Training, we go over my development.

Contact: 25/60
Power: 16/30
Eye: 29/90
Gap: 35/40

I also apparantely improved a little on defense. Looking around, I see a few new teammates, but no one overly impressive, skill wise. It seems the Blaze are likely to have another bad year. Well, I suppose I can just the do the best that I'm capable of. I'm batting in the 5 slot, again.

01-15-2004, 05:36 PM	#19
chug74 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Detroit MI Posts: 14	Great first season man!!! I wish mine was so exciting. __________________ Go Blue 10-3 ranked #6. We may have lost, but we lost to the best team in the country. We also got the 4th best recruting class in the country, so we have high expectations. GO BLUE!!! S3BL- Montreal Expos GFBL- Jailblazers

01-14-2004, 10:00 PM	#1
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	At Third Base, #8, Zack McQuarrie I decided to document one of my players, finally. This one is a Speedy switch-hitting third baseman out of High School. This is a little bit what his RPG Stats look like: Strength:2 Intelligence:2 Dexterity:3 Constitution:5 Charisma:1 Luck:2 Personality Class:Team Captain His Beginning Potential starts out like this: Contact:6 Power:3 Eye:9 Gap:4 Fielding:8 Running Speed:10 Stealing:10 Hitting VS Lefties:5(I figured, since he's a switch-hitter, anyways..heh.) Well, it's time for Draft Day.

01-14-2004, 10:19 PM	#2
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	I'm hanging out at home, having just pulled myself out of bed, a few brief hours earlier. I had tried out for the first year player draft and thought I'd made a pretty good showing for myself, but pessimistic as I was, I really didn't expect much to come out of it. I was actually a pretty decent player on my high school team. Definitely the fastest player on the team, good contact hitter..maybe a little pop, with a good glove and a cannon for an arm. I suppose I figured I was good, for high school ball, but not the majors. I thought I'd check things out, anyways, though. Logging on to my computer, I check out the information on the draft players and find myself a little surprised. I'm listed as a 3 and a half star prospect and am ranked the 8th best Third Baseman in the draft. Scratching my head, I realize I might actually get drafted, after all. Hunh. Looking at the draft order, I see Baltimore, Cleavland and New York have the top three picks, with Detroit at number 4. Heh. Amusing, since they could probably use those picks. I shrug, not expecting myself to get drafted very soon and kick back to watch some TV and eat some lunch with my grandparents. I figured I'd check in on the draft occasionally, but try and give it a wide berth. No sense making myself nervous. After checking in later, I notice the top 3 picks in the draft are: 1. Kenneth Torres, LF 2. Robert Suarez, CF 3. Alberto Pla, P I'd never really heard of any of these guys..I didn't really follow high school or college ball too much, but I figured they were good. Shrugging, I went back to watching TV. After checking back in later, I looked for other third baseman who'd gone in the draft. Christopher Dolph went to the Tigers as #4 in the draft. Matt Moses went #15 to the Cubs. Miguel Vega went #17th to Tampa. Poor guy. I hoped I didn't get chosen by a team quite that bad. On the other hand, I figured it might be an interesting challenge. Eric Duncan went 21st to Oakland. Wow. 4 3rd Baseman in the first round. Hunh. Guess they're in demand this year. Kinda a nice thought that I might get picked in the first three rounds or something. Hell, maybe even get picked by my long beloved team, the Dodgers. Though I doubted it. They seem content to wait on Beltre's potential, anyways. So I went back to waiting, while going to the fridge for a soda. I nearly choked on my drink, as the phone suddenly rang. Reaching for it, I figured it was just relatives. It wasn't. "Hello, is this Zachary McQuarrie?" "Speaking. Can I help you?" "This is Chuck LaMar, General Manager for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I'd like to let you know we've picked you in the 2nd round of the draft and we'll give you a $250,000 signing bonus after you sign." Sputtering, I nearly dropped my drink, outright. The Devil Rays. The team I'd just felt sorry for a first round third baseman going to. Great. It meant I was going to have to prove myself even more, behind a first round pick. I paused. Wait..did he say..."Uh...did you say $250 THOUSAND?" "Yep. Welcome to the club, kid. I'll call you back later to give you all the information on the A affiliate team. Clik" For a second, I kind of just stared at the phone, "Well. Damn."

01-14-2004, 11:23 PM	#3
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Well, a little while after I'd told everyone the news and settled over a little bit of my shock, I decided to check out who else got drafted by Tampa and may likely be my teammates. Hmm. Well, I already knew they picked up 3rd Baseman Miguel Vega. I figure a little competition could be good. I figured he'd be one of the first people I talked to. I'd rather have a friendly competition than a bitter rivalry. Let's see..Shortstop Robert Bigger in the third round..he seems to be the underdog to the Rays other star prospect at A, BJ Upton. Catcher Ramon Lopez in the fourth. He seems to be another Underdog. Pitcher Aaron Jensen. He's supposed to turn out to be a pretty decent pitcher. Then there's Jo Jo Reyes. He's supposed to be an above average pitcher..still a little raw, though. Hunh. Wow. SS Robert Valido jumped up to AA ahead of Upton and Bigger. Jeff Flaig, ANOTHER Third baseman..sheesh. Mark Micheal, a pitcher. And Cleo Perez, a promising middle reliever. Hmm. So, after looking into my potential teammates, I get another call, telling me about my affiliate club, however it's NOT from the owner, but instead from my new manager. "Hi, is this Zack? This is Mako Oliveras. I'm your manager with the Bakersfield Blaze." Pause. Bakersfield? Oh, talk about too good to be true.."Uh..yep. That's me. Are you telling me I'm playing for a team in Bakersfield?" "That's right. Any problem with that?" "Uh..no..The opposite, actually. I live in Bakersfield, already, with my family." "Well, convenient. Looks like you don't have to find a place to stay. So, kid..here's how it goes. I'll give you the directions to camp and the stadium, but right now it looks like I'm going to have you batting second and playing 3rd. We have our first game tomorrow, so I'll see you there. Clik" Well damn. Another interesting surprise. I quickly tell my family the news and go to check out who I'm playing with..and who I have to go up against in the organization. There's Vega with me in A, of course. Then I've got Flaig and Cantu in AA. Three guys in AAA by the names of Gonzalez, Rolls and Truby...and Jared Sandberg with the parent team. This ought to be...interesting to get to the bigs, to say the least.

01-14-2004, 11:45 PM	#4
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	First Professional Game Well, here I am, getting ready for my first game. I'm definitely a bit nervous, especially with family in the stands watching. Surprisingly, I get a call on my cell phone and it's apparantely my brother, calling to let me know the news that HE had gotten drafted, too...apparantely by Boston, as a pitcher. Heh. How 'bout that..I didn't even know he'd tried out. Maybe we'll get a chance to face eachother. That'd be...interesting. So..game time's here, at last..and I'm ready for my big debut. Before I go out there, I get stopped by the hitting coach and he shows me a little printout of where my stats are at, right now..and it lists me at: Contact: 8/60 Power: 9/30 Eye: 21/90 Gap: 11/40 Interesting. I wasn't entirely sure of the meanings of them, but I guess it meant I had a lot of work to do. We take the field and begin warming up. I look up briefly at the scoreboard, to see who we're playing..the Sarasota Red Sox? I nearly bust up laughing, when I look across to the other field and see my brother waving. I'm going to get him for that later. He didn't even tell me he was in town. As the pitcher prepares to throw the first pitch, I take a deep breath. It turns out to be uneventful, as no ball ends up being hit to me...which means, I'm coming up to bat, 2nd. My first pro at bat. And I walk. I got forced out, though. Next inning, I get a groundball and my first putout. After that, my nerves seemed to calm down and I had fun. Or so I thought. I got a little too comfortable and made a throwing error, later. I also didn't get on base again, but we ended up winning 4-0. I went 0-3, with a walk.

01-14-2004, 11:58 PM	#5
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Game two. I get a chance for a little payback, as my brother is starting for the Sarasota Sox. I do end up getting my first professional hit off of him, in the 3rd. I suppose if I get it off anyone, might as well be him. I ended up going 1-4, but our team got pounded 8-2. My bro got the win going 7 IP, giving up 11 hits and 2 runs, but only one earned..walking one and striking out 2. Well, at least his career's already started on a high note.

01-15-2004, 12:26 AM	#6
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Our next game against the Red Sox started out well. We broke out to an early lead. I walked and scored, my first time up. Of course, that's all I did. We ended up winning 4-2, but I only got 2 more at bats, before they pinch-hit for me in the 7th. I ended up going 0-2, with a BB and a Run Scored. Last game of the series---2-5, with a bunt single, a stolen base and ALMOST an RBI single. Guy got thrown out at home. Oddly enough, later in the game, I got moved to Right field. Granted, I'd played right field plenty of times in the past, but I was a little surprised that I was playing it now. Hunh. I made an error while out there, which I shouldn't have, but then again, third is my position, not right.We ended up losing 5-4.

01-15-2004, 01:01 AM	#7
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 4/4/2003- 0-4, 1 K Line for 4/5/2003-1-3, 2B, 1 RS, 1 K Line for 4/6/2003-0-3, 1 RS, 2 BB, 1 K Not the greatest end to my first week of Pro Ball, but at least I seem to be getting on base, some. I'll be doing weekly reports, like this, unless I have some very bad or very good games to talk about. And I'll be doing monthly updates to what the hitting coach tells me my skill levels are at. Current Stats-.167, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 RS, 1 SB, .286/.208/.494

01-15-2004, 01:06 AM	#8
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 4/8/2003-0-2, 1 BB, 1 K Line for 4/9/2003-0-4 Line for 4/10/2003-2-5, 2 RS Line for 4/11/2003-1-2, 1BB Line for 4/12/2003-1-4, 1 SB, 1 RS Line for 4/13/2003-1-2, 1 BB, 1 RS Not a bad second week, I suppose. Starting to slowly get things together a little bit, and get comfortable with playing. My team as a whole is struggling and we're 4-8 now, though. Current Stats-.209 AVG, 1 2B, 7 RS, 2 SB, .320/.233/.533

01-15-2004, 02:45 AM	#9
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 4/15/03-0-3 Line for 4/16/03-1-3, 1 RS, 2 SB Line for 4/17/03-1-3, SB Line for 4/18/03-0-2 Line for 4/19-1-4, 2 RS Line for 4/20-0-4, 1 SB, 1 RS Seems like I got moved down to 8th in the lineup at the start of the week. That's a little dissapointing, but I suppose it makes sense. I haven't been hitting nearly well enough yet. Faced my brother again on 4/16. I almost feel guilty at running so much on him, but not that guilty. He gave up 4 runs in 7 IP and still got the win, so not that guilty. I seem to still be struggling with my hitting, but my fielding and speed seem to be doing me well, at least. Current Stats-- .194 AVG, 1 2B, 11 RS, 6 SB, .275/.210/.485

01-15-2004, 03:19 AM	#10
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 4/21/03-2-4, 1 2B, 1 RS Line for 4/22/03-0-4, 1 K Line for 4/23/03-1-2, 1 RS Line for 4/24/03-0-2, Catcher's Interference, 1 SB Line for 4/25/03-1-3, 1 RS Line for 4/26/03-1-2, 1 RBI, 1 RS Line for 4/27/03-0-2, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 CS Got moved down in the order again. This time to the 9 spot. Ouch. Hopefully I'll do better to get out of this mess I seem to be digging for myself. Got my first RBI this week, though. Current Stats-.210 AVG, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 15 RS, 7 SB, .278/.235/.512

01-15-2004, 03:34 AM	#11
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 4/29/03-1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 RS, 1 K Line for 4/30/03-0-4, 1 RBI, 1 K Line for 5/1/03-0-4 Line for 5/2/03-0-4, 1 K Line for 5/3/03-2-5, 2 RS, 2 Ks Line for 5/4/03-1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K Got moved up to 6th in the Lineup, in the middle of the week. Whew. Good to be out of the nine hole. But I'm still not playing anywhere near as good as I want to or should be. At the end of the month my skills have increased like this, though: Contact: From 8/60 to 10/60 Power: No Change Eye:No Change Gap: From 11/40 to 16/40 Current Stats: .198, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 18 RS, 7 SB, .252/.226/.479

01-15-2004, 03:52 AM	#12
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	5/8/2003- 3-4, 1 RS, 1 CS 5/9/2003- 1-3, 1 RS, 1 SB 5/10/2003-0-3 5/11/2003-1-1, 1 BB, 1 SB This week definitely started out badly. I'm still a starter, but I was benched two games in a row, when I'm not tired, and when I was playing again, I was batting 7th..Guess the coach isn't too pleased with me. I'm not really, either. Especially with family watching a lot of these games. It's really kinda embarassing. On the plus side, I had my best game so far on 5/8...amusing considering I was a little hungover during that game. Not a bad week, despite the lack of playing time. Current Stats- G-36 AB-117 H-26 2B-3 RBI-4 R-20 BB-9 K-15 SB-9 CS-2 AVG-.222 OBP-.276 SLG-.248 OPS-.523

01-15-2004, 04:17 AM	#13
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 5/14/03--1-3, 1 BB, 2 K Line for 5/15/03--0-3 Line for 5/16/03--1-3. 1 K Line for 5/17/03--1-4. 1 RS Line for 5/18/03--0-4 Line for 5/19/03--0-4, 1 K Line for 5/20/03--1-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 RS, 1 K Line for 5/21/03--2-3, 1 3B, 1 RBI Line for 5/22/03--1-5, 1 3B, 1 RS, 2 K Line for 5/23/03--1-3, 1 K Line for 5/24/03--0-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 K Decided to sim two weeks before giving my report and I have good news, in the sense that as of 5/20, I reclaimed my 2 spot in the order. Now, I just have to try and KEEP it. Doing a little better with the stick, though, so I might be able to. But I need to improve my BB/K Ratio, big time. G-48 AB-161 H-36 2B-5 3B-3 RBI-7 R-23 BB-11 K-25 SB-10 CS-2 AVG-.224 OBP-.270 SLG-.292 OPS-.562

01-15-2004, 04:27 AM	#14
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Line for 5/27/03--1-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB Line for 5/28/03--0-0, 1 SB, 1 RS Line for 5/29/03--1-3, 2 K Line for 5/30/03--1-4, 1 2B, 1 SB, 1 RS Line for 5/31/03--0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K Line for 6/1/03--0-5, 1 BB, 1 K Well, I was a little..inconsistent, this week. It started out pretty well, at least. My monthly meeting with the hitting coach to determine my skill growth came out as follows: Contact: From 10/60 to 14/60 Power: From 9/30 to 11/30 Eye: No change from 21/90 Gap: From 16/40 to 17/40 Current Stats- .218 AVG, 7 2B, 3 3B, 10 RBI, 25 R, 12 SB, .268/.291

01-15-2004, 05:10 AM	#15
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Week of 6/3--6-8 Worst Game 6/6---0-4, 1 K Best Game 6/7--2-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RS, 1 SB Week of 6/9--6/15 Best Game 6/11---2-5, 2 SB, 2 RS, 1 K Worst Game 6/15---0-2, 2 SB, 2 R, 2 BB Week of 6/16--6/22 Best Game 6/18---1-4, 2 R, BB, CS Worst Game 6/21---0-5 Week of 6/23--6/29 Best Game 6/24---2-3, 1 RBI, BB, K Worst Game 6/28---0-6, 3 K Well, not a very good month for me. I decided to simply stuff by giving my best and worst games of every week. Shoot. Right when it seems like I'm starting to hit my stride, I just completely lose it. I had another meeting with the hitting coach. He thinks I have actually improved a bit. But my eye hasn't improved at all, so I decided to spend most of my money to purchase a book about taking walks. Volume 2. Man, these books are expensive. Hopefully, I'll see an improvement in my BB/K Ratio out of this. Contact:From 14 to 16/60 Power: From 11 to 13/60 Eye: No change Gap: From 17 to 19/40 Current Stats: .215 AVG, 9 2B, 4 3B, 13 RBI, 34 R, 19 SB, .272/.278

01-15-2004, 06:00 AM	#16
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Week of 6/30--7/6 Worst Game 7/4--1-5, 1 K Best Game 7/5--1-4, 1 R, 1 SB Week of 7/7--7/13 Worst Game 7/9--0-3, 3 K Best Game 7/12--3-4, 1 3B, 2 R Well, here I am at the All-Star break. Man. It's a little frustrating at this point. I checked in on the parent club and they made a deal to get Mark Teixeira from Texas. Him I definitely have heard of..considered one of the best prospects in baseball and at my position.that makes things considerably more difficult, looking long term. Even if I weren't sucking bad enough, as is. At least I'm doing better than some members of my A team. We're 40-53 this year. Real bad. 12th Place bad. At least my bro seems to be doing good, over in Boston. He's 9-6, with a 2.84 ERA, 111 Ks in 123.2 IP and 25 BBs. He's even considered the #2 Prospect in the country, I hear. I'm kinda proud of him for that. Makes me a little frustrated with my own play, though. And of course, there's the trade deadline coming up. As worried as I am with Teixiera being traded for at my future on the team, I kinda hope I get to stay with Tampa, for at least as long as I'm in A. Despite my struggling, I kind of like playing at home, like this. And I still want to hit my first homerun in front of family. Here are my stats so far: .226 AVG, 10 2B, 5 3B, 14 RBI, 42 R, 23 SB, .282/.290

01-15-2004, 07:07 AM	#17
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Week of 7/14--7/20 Worst Game 7/17--1-3, 1 R Best Game 7/18--1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Week of 7/21--7/27 Best Game 7/21--1-4, 1 R, 1 K Worst Game 7/22--0-4 From 7/28--7/31 7/29--0-4, 1 K 7/30--3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 K 7/31--3-5, 1 2B, 1 R Decided to change up my workout a bit, see if that helps me play any better through the second half. I also noticed I got moved to batting 5th in the lineup. And I finally hit my first professional homerun. Ended up being my best game to date so far, too. Stayed with the Bakersfield Blaze past the trade deadline, too..so it looks like I'm here for the rest of the year. Met with the Hitting Coach, after the trade deadline passed and he looked pleased with my progress. My skills improved as follows: Contact: From 16/60 to 18/60 Power: From 13/30 to 14/30 Eye: From 21/90 to 22/90 Gap: From 19/40 to 24/40 Current Stats: .233, 12 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 48 R, 25 SB, .282/.301

01-15-2004, 07:52 AM	#18
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Week remaining from 8/1--8/3 8/1--1-4, SB 8/2--3-5, 3B, R 8/3--2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R Week of 8/4--8/10 Worst Game 8/6--0-4, 2 K Best Game 8/8--2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 SB, 2 K Week of 8/11--8/17 8/11--0-5, 2 K 8/12--1-3, 1 RBI, 1 SB 8/13--2-4, 2 R, 1 SB, 1 BB 8/15--1-3, 1 R, 1 BB 8/16--5-6, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 R, 6 RBI 8/17--3-4, 1 3B, 1 SB, 2 R, 1 K Week of 8/18--8/24 8/18--2-4, 2 SB, 2 R 8/19--3-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K 8/20--0-4 8/21--1-3, 2 BB, 1 K 8/22--0-4, 11 RBI 8/23--0-3, 1 K 8/24--2-6, 1 SB, 1 R Week of 8/25--8/31 8/26--1-4, SB 8/27--0-3, 1 K 8/28--2-5, 1 2B, 1 SB, 1 R, 1 K 8/29--0-4, K 8/30--1-5, SB, K 8/31--2-5, 2B, 3B, SB Well, I'm entering the last month of my first season in the Minors and my spot in the lineup changed again and NOW I'm batting leadoff. I finally pieced together what that book I bought was telling me and felt like I knew at least a small bit more about taking walks than I did before and about halfway through the month I started really catching fire. And I ended the Minor league season pretty solidly, I think. I haven't got a call up to AA yet, but that's okay. After conferring with the Hitting Coach, I still feel I have some things to work on, anyways. Contact: 18/60--No change Power: 14/30 to 15/30 Eye: 22/30 to 25/90 Gap: 24/40 to 27/40 With no more playing time to worry about before the off-season, I up my workout to a more strenous one, given the extra time to workout, over the last two months of the baseball season, while watching games and meeting new people and teammates at a local sports bar. I manage to improve myself even more to Contact: 18/60 to 23/60 Power:No change Eye: 25/90 to 28/90 Gap: 27/30 to 30/40 Final Season Stats: 133 G, 488 AB, 121 H, 16 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 65 R, 27 BB/85 K, 40 SB, 6 CS, .248 AVG, .293 OBP, .320 SLG, .613 OPS Fielding:12 Errors, .960 Fielding Pct. And thus ends my first season in Pro Ball.

01-15-2004, 06:08 PM	#20
VoltageEJ Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 66	Well, after a long offseason, I'm ready to get back to work. Meeting with the hitting coach in Spring Training, we go over my development. Contact: 25/60 Power: 16/30 Eye: 29/90 Gap: 35/40 I also apparantely improved a little on defense. Looking around, I see a few new teammates, but no one overly impressive, skill wise. It seems the Blaze are likely to have another bad year. Well, I suppose I can just the do the best that I'm capable of. I'm batting in the 5 slot, again.