The More You Succeed

The more you are screwed over

The Rockies screwed me over, railroading my pro baseball career. But the reality in life is that the higher you go, the more people help you out AND the more people screw you over.

I hit .304 my first season in pro ball & played amazing defense at 2nd & 3rd base.

My reward? No invitation to Instructional League that fall where all the prospects are sent. Wasn’t even slated to make a full season team the following year out of Spring Training.

I was held back in Arizona for Extended Spring Training where they keep the injured players and non-prospects, a humiliating outcome for an all-SEC college player.

Then after hitting over .400 in Extended Spring Training, I was benched behind an undrafted player to start the year who came from a college that my Vanderbilt team wouldn’t even schedule a game against.

I played better than many top prospects and got the same treatment as a nobody. Because nobody cared.

But am I really mad at the Rockies 14 years later? Of course not. Because the reality is that I was drafted in the 43rd round, and 43rd round draft picks may not usually play as well as I played, but they usually get the same treatment if they do.

Minor League baseball is political, and if I wanted a better shot, I should have hit more home runs in college. The Rockies gave me a shot when 29 other teams passed on me 43 rounds in a row. But often times in life rather than be grateful to those who throw us life rafts, we are angry they didn’t do MORE.

My baseball career fell short of the MLB, but it required so much LUCK to accomplish what I did in college & professional baseball. So rather than dwell on what could have been, it’s healthier to count my blessings and be grateful for all that was.