Skip to main content

Reply to "Ups/Downs of the Minor League"

@KG posted:

Hi. I would love to hear from minor leaguer families about how you handle the ups and downs of the minor league season. Having a position player, each day we await the lineup, watch performance if he’s in the lineup, learn about promotions/demotions, and console/congratulate/counsel. Don’t get me wrong, we know we are fortunate each day we are here, and are absolutely thrilled about this experience (we are also cognizant of other important world events, so we try to keep things in perspective). I would love to hear from those experienced with this incredible journey. How do you handle the stress, the disappointments, the emotional roller coaster, while also trying to stay sane? 😉 Would love to be able to lean on this group through these ups and downs. I’m excited to hear from you. Feel free to DM me if you’d like. Thank you so much!

It's not easy for a parent. Son often says how baseball is a game of frequent failure and constant need for adjustments. As KG says, it is an emotional roller coaster for us and him. We often tell him that he can only control what's before him and involves him. I know as a fact that I look at stats more than him (with players in a similar position that he is, both up and down the organization). He'll usually tell us if he's out that day or playing a new position/spot of lineup, etc. I often breathe a sigh of relief when he gets a hit in his first AB. We (my wife and I) tell ourselves not to get caught up in an AB or bad game, as the season measures more of the body of work. Even with this mantra, I'll admit, three pitch strikeouts are hard for me to view.

When he was last promoted, he was coming off a 2 week road swing, and about to start the second two week road trip with his new team. He was facing the best staff ERA of the league. He started out 0 for 17 with several strikeouts. We offered words of encouragement as did a few of his former college coaches. He started his college career, college 0 for 21 and ended up with the second most hits in school history and 6th highest number of hits in league all time. I thought he could turn it around. He explained how some ABs were "good" with hard hit balls. He often is leadoff hitter so the organization likes for him to take/see a lot of  pitches. Again as a parent, "It almost always seems like he has 2 strikes."

Son has many followers/fans/writers that are intrigued by his background. He probably gets the question , "What will you be doing after baseball?" more than anyone else in the minor leagues. I told him he should say that he doesn't look at 15 years into the future.   He prefers to lay low on the radar; many pundits have been surprised with his rise through the organization. His instagram is appropriate as he calls himself as the "Little Engine that Could." He shares some of the sabermetrics of his batting with us , which he gets and absorbs given his scientific and analytical mind. We try to point out some positives and offer to be a sounding board, which often revolves around "bad calls." Sometimes his calls involve mundane matters like how to acquire renter's insurance.

Fortunately now at his current level, all league games are on Milb TV. I try doing other things while the game is going on and he isn't up. My wife worries that we are spending too much time on the games- I counter with , "You never know when his last one will be." Our other son is a senior in college; we text often in family group chats. But there is something neat, different and peculiar about knowing where my other son is and watching him at work a few hours a day. I teach, and don't have 5,000+ observe me daily!  It was tough to watch/listen to games on the opposite coast which would end after 1 AM sometimes. But I didn't want to miss a special moment.

RipkenFanSon seems to perform well in front of family/friends, hitting .375 in one 6-game series and .348 in another 6-game series that I attended along with family, friends, former coaches, etc. He did manage a hit in each of the three games I saw on his home field this past week. Things will probably get emotional for me when he concludes the year with a series playing in my hometown, the place I lived my first 20+ years. I plan on going to 2 games. My parents are laid to rest there, but they'll be looking down from heaven. I also know that they'll be plenty of friends of theirs in the stands, pulling for my son (And helping me keep it together, that first game).

Last edited by Ripken Fan
×
×
×
×