Performance Enhancing Drugs in the Minor Leagues

             For the start of the 2015 MLB and MiLB season the commissioner’s office of baseball handed out the list of just under 50 domestic minor league players that have tested positive for performance-enhancers, recreational drugs (a.k.a. drugs of abuse) and stimulants count as violations of the minor league drug prevention and treatment program. All suspensions are between 50-100 games of the 2015 minor league season.

            All baseball players know that baseball is one of the stickiest sports about performance-enhancers, recreational drugs (a.k.a. drugs of abuse) whether you are a youngster playing travel ball or a ten-year veteran in the major league. So why are all these players trying to get away with something illegal that will jeopardize their career forever? They will always have that on their back saying they have used these band drugs at some point in their lifetime and could possibly cause them to loose their eligibility for making the hall of fame in the future. Examples of that are Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa were the best baseball players in the 90’s and early 2000’s will most likely never be inducted to the hall of fame because of the substance abuse.

Texas (the RedHawks' parent club) usually tests everybody in the minor leagues two or three times a year, and then the commissioner's office comes in and tests maybe 10 guys on the team. "There's no comparison”, said RedHawks manager Bobby Jones.” Minor leaguers have no union. They're up to whatever the (baseball) commissioner wants to do, so they test these guys three or four times a year.”

 MiLB and MLB need to figure out what they want to do with this whole situation because it is truly getting out of hand. It is embarrassing to baseball fans and is killing America’s Past Time.

Best Days at the Park

              What is the best themed night around in minor league baseball parks? The answer is simple: Autism Awareness Night. Autism Awareness Night is held each year. At every minor league organization park, to help give back to the community.

             On Autism Awareness Night, the players and coaches custom jerseys will be auctioned off and the auction winners will have the opportunity to get their jersey signed by the player or coach who wore it after the game. The auction will benefit different organizations in each city where that teams is located. With 1 in 110 children in the United States having some form of autism. Half of each ticket sold, sponsor donations and proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to different organizations.

 Some teams will team up with Autism Speaks to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders as well as advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks has grown into the worlds leading autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism. Last year's events earned the highest amount to date, which benefited many autism services around the United States.

          The entire Birmingham Barons, affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, team will sport special autism jerseys designed with the trademark autism puzzle pieces. Baron’s team members will sign the jerseys and will then be auctioned off at the end of each night. "The Birmingham Barons have been a pleasure to work with throughout the years. Our families always enjoy a night out at the ballgame, and this event will bring more autism awareness to our area," says Melanie Jones, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Alabama. The Autism Society of Alabama's staff will be present both evenings to take bids and to hand out information on autism spectrum disorders. "This is a great opportunity for us to meet and interact with some of the families that we work with on a regular basis," says Jessica Charlton, Resource Manager at the Autism Society of Alabama.

        This is not the first partnership between the Barons and the Autism Society of Alabama. The Autism Society had the pleasure of throwing out the first pitch of the 2010 baseball season at Regions Park and also hosts its annual Walk for Autism in the facility." We are proud to partner with the Autism Society of Alabama in hosting this jersey auction during our upcoming Barons series. We hope this fundraiser will not only raise money for the Autism Society, but will also help those in the autism and Asperger's syndrome community," said Jonathan Nelson, General Manager of the Birmingham Barons. 

The Best of the Best Need to be Called Up

           Why are the number two and number three picks in the 2013 MLB draft waiting to make an impact for their major league clubs in 2015? The answer is simple; it deals with money, and millions of dollars are at stake.

In MLB, since free-agency eligibility requires six full seasons, a player can be shorted a full season of service time at any point in his career and wind up spending more than six actual years under team control. This is where players like Bryant and Gray are affected. In the case of the two former players, their clubs either have already decided, or will likely decide, to wait until 171 days are remaining in the season before adding them to the active roster. That way, the player will have accrued 0.171 and not 1.000 years of service time. Assuming Bryant and Gray remain in the big leagues for the entirety of their years under team control, they wouldn't become free agents until they reach 6.171 years of service time as opposed to 5.171 (or five full years plus 171 days). Baseball needs to reevaluate their rules about these issues. They are ruining the game of baseball over money, which should never happen.

Twenty-three year olds Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs and Jon Gray of the Colorado Rockies were held off of the 2015 opening day roster. After having amazing 2015 spring season with their respected big clubs neither of them were called up. Many analysts say that the service time rules in baseball played a major influence on the team's decision to keep Bryant and Gray in Triple-A for the first weeks of the season.

This is the silliest MLB rule ever. Keeping the best young players out of the MLB because a matter of days can mean the difference between millions of dollars in salary, or even an extra year of team control. I feel that this rule should be abolished because now we are making the game all about money and not about the love for the game, as a child you don’t play baseball for the money or fame, you play because you enjoy the sport, the competition, and the love you have to be on the field with eight other players that love it just as much as you do. Money is talking that passion out of baseball and it is disgusting.

Best Brand in the Game

         What’s been the best glove for a second basemen to use in the game of baseball in the past 10 years?  The Wilson A2000 model is where it’s at for any good ball player looking to be great. The Wilson A2000 has been used by the last 8 of 10 National League Gold Glove winners and 8 of the last 10 American League Gold Glove winning second basemen. Some of these winners are Brandon Phillips 4X, Orlando Hudson 4X, Dustin Pedroia 3X, and Placido Polanco 2X.

        This glove is an expensive purchase for a young baseball player, but it is worth the high price. Starting around $200 for the basic model all the way to $400 with the custom design of your choice. The leather is prime, the pocket is perfect for quick hands, and weight is unbelievably light. These gloves are sold at wilson.com, eastbay.com, ebay.com, or baseballexpress.com.

       I know from playing baseball since I was practically born at the diamond with my father who played professional baseball for several years, I have used all sorts of gloves from Rawlings, Nike, Wilson, TPX (Louisville Slugger), Mizuno, and all the way to a no name start up Mexican company the Rolin/Barraza. But the glove I used to start my high school career and finish my 4-year college career, as a second basemen was a Wilson A2000.

        It has been a wonderful piece of leather to me in the past and present. I would recommend it to every baseball player I come in contact with from now to ten years down the road.

Italian Born Strives to Become a Professional Baseball Player

Federico Castagnini or Fede came over from Verona, Italy as a foreign exchanged student to the United States in 2008. Where he played and lettered both years as a tennis and baseball player at Skyline High School in Longmont, Colorado. Fede had a great journey on his way to the league. A member of the Italy Junior National Team, Fede has played in many countries and has had many opportunities to be exposed. He played two years of high school ball, was then only offered one junior college scholarship at Barton Community College, and then received many offers after his two years from Illinois State, Costal Carolina, Liberty, Richman, and Creighton University. Fede choose Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. “I took my official visit there and fell in love with the stadium (TD Ameritrade) home of the college world series, the way they play small ball, they way they cared for us players, and the academics it offered were unbelievable outstanding.”

After his first year at Creighton, Fede was drafted for the first time 909 overall in the thirty-first round by the Baltimore Orioles as an infielder. The biggest decision as this 22-year-old boy was do I take the offer the Orioles have given me or do I go back to school, graduate and play my senior year, and hopefully get drafted again in the 2014 draft. “I always dreamed about the opportunity I have received but I didn’t know how to make it come true until it did in the summer of 2013.” After a long discussion with his family, friends, and high school baseball coaches, he took the opportunity he was given and signed his first contract as a professional baseball player.

Unfortunately, his dream was crushed two weeks before the regular season. The Orioles gave Fede a choice. He could ask for his released or he could stick around in Instructional League until a spot opened up because of injury. Fede decided to give it up at the age of 25.

Check back in a week!

Within the next week I will be posting about Federico Castagnini and his journey to the minors. Come back and see how he accomplished his dream.

About This Blog

My blog will be dealing with the life of minor league baseball. Including player interviews, product reviews, different aspects of the minor leagues, and fun days at the ball park.