Minor League Baseball is not about championships. It's not about making friends, or winning baseball games- it's about player development. Every player begins his season looking to get better, achieve personal success, and finish up the year at a higher level- and if the team wins, well that's great, too- I guess.
It's a concept that has taken a while for me to fully grasp- winning is secondary? I'm not pulling for my teammates?
I spent four years in college putting the team first, and I wasn't alone- that was our mentality. Nothing was more important to me than my teammates and our collective success. The team was a unit- we were best friends on a mission to win baseball games and finish our season in Omaha. We were a family, really. All that time spent together, how could we not be? We shared a common goal and rallied around it- there was nothing any of us wouldn't do for one of our teammates.
Now I'm not saying that people don't want to win in pro ball- it's just not a main focus. And when you take winning out of the equation, you're really no longer a team- you are now 25 individuals trying to achieve individual success. And in our sport, sometimes that works- after all, baseball is an individual game with merely a team concept. Guys hit back to back home runs: it's good for both of their stats, and it's good for the team- regardless of whether or not helping the team was a part of their motive.
The jump from college to pro baseball is ridiculous. Pitchers throw harder, guys hit the ball further, and no one, I mean no one, makes an error. I felt so overwhelmed when I stepped on a professional diamond for the first time- these guys were baseball machines!
Ok, ok- absolutely none of that is true. That may be the conception of most players walking into a professional clubhouse for the first time, but it only takes a few minutes of that first Rookie Ball practice- perhaps when the guy you're throwing with air mails you by 10 feet, or when the pitcher fielding grounders watches the ball go through his legs for the third straight time- for you to realize that the guys around you are all human.
Your new teammates are just like you- they were the best players on their college team, and there's something about them- a tool, a quality, a mindset- that enables them to play at the next level- but they're not perfect.
Every first year player makes mistakes- hell, every Big Leaguer makes mistakes. Baseball is a game made up of errors and miscues, but it's the best players and best teams that are able to minimize those miscues. Consistency is what every player strives for in this imperfect game- it's what separates the best from the rest.
Consistency is also what separates pro-ball from college baseball.
In college, you have it made. You are given everything you could ever need while playing or preparing for the game of baseball- you could literally show up on day one of practice without a single possession and you'd be perfectly fine. Your school dresses you, puts a glove on your hand, places a bat on your shoulder, and slips a fresh pair of cleats on your feet- and just in case, there's an extra pair sitting in your locker. Back in school I was all about the free gear, so naturally when I made the jump to pro-ball I assumed there'd be even more handouts. To say I was let down is an understatement.
On my first day in Rookie Ball, I walked into the clubhouse equipment room expecting the full treatment. In my mind I saw maple bats, a table filled with different glove models, and a tailor running toward me with a measuring tape, eager to form-fit my uniform. I mean, this was professional baseball!
What I got was an entirely different experience, however. I walked in thinking I was hot stuff, and I left realizing I was nothing but a name checked off a list for having received his pro-ball gift basket.
What I had come to know in college as a thorough process of careful perusing and selecting was now a whirlwind of flying clothing and quick-draw 'yes or no' questions. I stood still, a target for the clubbies as they ran around, throwing socks, jerseys, shorts, and hats in my direction. It was all hands off- no options or choices, aside from uniform number and bat model.
