Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
June 17, 2002

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

Klassen still a prospect after all these years
June 22, 2002

Danny Klassen

This isn't the way it was supposed to be for Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Danny Klassen. The right-handed hitter would be a regular in the major leagues by now, more than four years after being taken from the Milwaukee Brewers, his original organization, in the expansion draft prior to the 1998 season. After spending part of Arizona's inaugural season with the parent club, playing 29 games at second base, it looked like Klassen had a good future with the Diamondbacks.

It hasn't quite worked out the way everyone expected. Instead, Klassen has missed much of the past three seasons with a variety of injuries.

But if you're expecting that Klassen has given up his dream of contributing at the major league level, think again. The 26-year-old from Florida is just happy to be healthy and back on the field on an every day basis. And Klassen isn't worried that his batting average is still on the down side of .200.

"I'm just happy this year to get back on the field," said Klassen. "It's been a struggle so far just to get the timing back. You really forget how fast the game is played."

The fact that he's still in the Diamondbacks system, despite the significant amount of missed time, indicates that Arizona continues to regard him as a prospect.

"They've been patient with me," remarked Klassen about the Diamondbacks brass, "and that's been the most important thing to me." He continued, "I look at it like they still must have plans for me ... They tell me all the time, 'Be patient, this isn't a one month thing where you're going to get your feet back on the ground after not playing for a year and a half.' I'm a perfectionist and it takes so much discipline not to go hard on myself, but they (the Diamondbacks) have been great about it."

Many players would have had a hard time keeping a positive attitude with the run of bad luck that has befallen Klassen. But the right-hander hitter is as chipper and upbeat as ever, with a perpetual smile on his still boyish face. What's his secret?

Danny Klassen

"I just got married this off season, and that's helped a lot," answered Klassen. "To have something that takes the focus off (the injuries) has been really helpful." He continued, "Last year was really tough on me. When the team would go out of town, I would just sit in Phoenix. I couldn't do any rehab on my foot, it was just something that had to heal and get better. After I got engaged in July, it was a lot easier to put my focus on something else."

Not all of Klassen's down time has gone to waste. "I've definitely gotten stronger over the years because none of my problems have been upper body problems," he stated. "They've mostly been foot and leg problems, so I've been able to do a lot of working out."

Klassen also learned a lot from his Arizona teammates during their 2002 championship season. "Watching last year helped," he commented. "I would have loved to have been part of that World Series team. But just to be on the bench every day, learning and watching how those guys go about their business, it helped a lot."

Klassen knows that right now he just needs to play. "I'd like to get a lot of at bats, get my feet back on the ground and in the groove of playing every day." He continued, "There's only one way to get better at hitting and to get your timing back ... that's to have at bats."

In addition to making up for lost time, Klassen believes that he still has a lot to learn about the game. His biggest area for improvement is making better contact at the plate. "I think my two-strike hitting needs to improve," added Klassen, "and my hitting with runners in scoring position. I think the only way to get better is to be in those situations."

Danny Klassen still has a lot of catching up to do before he's ready to be a regular in the major leagues. But he's got the right attitude and work ethic, so it shouldn't be long before his baseball skills are back. Then perhaps he'll finally fulfill the lofty expectations bestowed on him way back in 1998.

--- Bill Mitchell