Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
April 22, 2002

Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Major league teams have multiple goals
in extended spring training
April 23, 2002

"What we're trying to do is to get them to play hard nine innings and to get them so that they're fundamentally sound," said Fred Stanley, extended spring training manager for the San Francisco Giants, about his job during the months of April and May. "Our job is to teach them as much as we can about the game of baseball and get them onto a team."

The OTHER Manny Ramirez, this one a catcher in the Brewers' organization, hits a double in an extended spring training game against the Cubs.

The players to whom Stanley is referring are the kids who are not ready for a full-season class A league, yet must wait until mid-June for the short-season leagues to begin their scheduled games.

Only the more serious baseball fans, those who closely follow the game, even know that such a thing as "extended spring training" exists. They may read in their local paper or on the internet about an injured major league player doing his rehabilitation in preparation for returning to he big club. Or perhaps they hear about one of the organization's minor league prospects getting in some extra work.

Most of the players in extended spring training are those still near the bottom of the minor league system, not in the camps because of an injury, but instead continuing their education in the game of baseball.

Giants minor league manager Fred Stanley

"The biggest thing is to get these guys ready for the next level," commented Mark Littell, pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers' short-season A affiliate in Ogden, Utah. "We're always trying to get them better, trying to kick it up a notch, and let these kids find out that they can do some things. There's a lot of confidence building going on."

Another goal of extended spring training, according to Stanley, is to help the organization's pitchers work on new pitches and develop arm strength. "Or just learn how to pitch," he added, "because they may have had a position change."

But what about the injured players working themselves back into playing condition? "Rehabbing is a big thing here," answered Littell. "Not only do we have the big league rehab, but we have minor league rehab as well." Littell continued, "We try to bring them along slowly and emphasize what it takes to get to another point ... to let them have a clear, vivid picture of what they're trying to do."

Bill Mueller batting in a game against the Angels, while two of the five fans in attendance observe.

Chicago Cubs' third baseman Bill Mueller is currently working out with the extended spring training team in Mesa, Arizona while rehabilitating a knee injury suffered in early March. In yesterday's game, the six-year major league veteran batted five times before leaving the game to get his knee iced down. He cheerfully remarked after coming out of the game, "It was a good day ... I didn't get hurt."

While getting back into playing condition is his main goal, Mueller believes that he also owes something to the Cubs' organization by being a good role model to the younger players. "You show respect for everyone," remarked Mueller, "whether you're doing this or anything else. As a professional athlete you're always under the microscope. But that doesn't change how you treat other people."

Giants' AAA player Carlos Valderrama, on a rehab assignment in Scottsdale, at the plate.

The extended spring training games are loose and informal. Rehabbing players, like Mueller, will often hit out of order in order to get their at bats in early. Giants' catcher Jim Lunsford, preparing for a return to his San Jose team in the California League, batted nine times in last Saturday's game against the Mariners, leading off every inning. Some innings may go more than three outs to give a particular pitcher a little extra work.

A very small percentage of fans ever get to see what goes on during extended spring training, which is a shame because there's plenty of baseball happening on a daily basis at the training complexes in Arizona and Florida. It's rare that there are ever more than 10 fans at a game, most either family members of the players or curious passersby.

Stanley concluded his comments about extended spring training by stating one more goal they are trying to achieve . "Success breeds confidence," he said. "That's what we're trying to do, get them to feel comfortable and create a good working environment. We've got some good coaches here, they spend a lot of time and they're patient. That's our job."

--- Bill Mitchell