COLLEGE to PRO: Team Dynamic

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.

MiLB LIFE: Explaining My Profession to Non-Baseball Minds



DJ wasn't always the money-making, actress-dating, ring-winning machine he is today.

I love talking baseball with people who know the game. It's a topic that never gets old for me, and, if prompted, I always enjoy sharing my own insight and experiences on a life-long passion that I'm now lucky enough to call my job.

"What position do you play? When do you report to spring training? What level will you start at this year?" These are some of the questions I face regularly, and I'm always appreciative of the person's curiosity. I realize I'm lucky to do what I do - to be a part of the decimal point percentage of young baseball players who get a shot at their dream - and I'm proud to share my story with anyone interested.

But as cool as I feel while talking baseball with those in the know, I feel ten times less accomplished - less worldly, less established, less intelligent - when discussing my career with those without a baseball mind.

"You play baseball? For a living? Ohh, so you know A-Rod! Oh, how cool! When do you play on ESPN?"

MiLB LIFE: Clubhouse Rules

Every organization is different, and each has their own unique set of rules. Coming up through any minor league system, you become accustomed to these rules- they become second nature. They are guidelines that everyone must follow, and as strange as some may be, no questions are asked. We follow these rules blindly, all while hoping to some day break free from such oppression and make it to the Show, where you basically do whatever you want because, well, because you can- you're a Big Leaguer.

But as we struggle to climb the ranks, we still fall under minor league jurisdiction. Now every team demands its players be on time, work hard, and abide by the different daily schedules and appointments- but they also each have their subtle clubhouse rules: rules that make the MiLB experience slightly different for every club.

For example:

No Cleats in the Clubhouse: This rule is a mainstay in most clubhouses, and almost everywhere it proves effective for maybe the first week. The idea is to keep from tracking dirt and mud into the clubhouse, but taking your spikes off outside and walking around in your socks is surprisingly annoying- unfortunately for the clubbie manning the vaccuum, this rule almost never stands the test of time.

Dress Code / Collared Shirt: Every time you make your way to the ballpark, regardless of the time or reason, you have to wear a collared shirt. They want their players looking sharp and professional, which I can actually appreciate. (Hilarious in Rookie Ball seeing the surfer dude from California who brought nothing but t-shirts and wife beaters react to hearing this rule- harsh, bro.)

MiLB LIFE: New Helmets Issued, Players Respond: "Are You Joking?"

The least cool thing about the Minor Leagues has got to be the batting helmets. The bus rides, the Podunk towns, the long season- it's all tough, but these are all side effects of a profession that for most of us is a dream come true, and so we tolerate them because, quite frankly, we get to play baseball for a living and well, that's pretty sweet. We get paid to play baseball- it's not a whole lot of money, but every now and then I think about that and I can't help but feel a little cool. The least Minor League Baseball could do is let us look cool while we're out on the field feeling so cool.

But no. They don't even give us a chance. Take a look at the Rawlings-S100. These helmets became mandatory in Minor League Baseball last season and believe me, no one is happy about it. It has got to be the worst-looking piece of equipment in sports. Seriously. It looks like a space helmet, and why the hell is it so long? The batter looks alright looking straight ahead (although still ridiculous), and then he turns to the side and BOOM- it just keeps going. It's just painful to look at.

Apparently these new helmets are capable of withstanding fastballs of up to 100 MPH, hence the name- clever. Was there entirely no way to make it any more stylish? Did they really finish making it and not laugh when they all looked at it? "Oh my God, we totally messed up, look how big it is! And why is it so long? No one's gonna wear that! Oh man this is hysterical looking, let's keep the mold just for fun because of how hilarious it looks, but yeah we definitely need to get back to the drawing board on the real helmet." No one said this at the Rawlings factory? Really? I find that hard to believe.

I don't know what's more embarrassing, Rawlings pitching this helmet to MLB officials with a straight face or the fact that someone high up enough to sign off on something like this actually thought, "These are great!" Whoever that is has been cursed in Minor League dugouts across America and some portions of Canada since instituting these new lids, and it won't stop until we get helmets that actually fit in the helmet racks at most stadiums.

I almost cried when I saw Pujols and Ethier (along with others) sporting these moon caps during last season's All-Star Game . I flipped out. I could not believe they were stooping so low- was this change permanent? Was Major League Baseball making the full transformation after the break? Luckily this was not the case, as I rejoiced watching highlights of the two of them on Baseball Tonight a few days later wearing normal, human-sized headgear. Some say they had been offered big bucks to wear the new models for the showcase game, others say the helmets were the only ones available in the clubhouse- either way, what a scare!

David Wright was encouraged to wear this abomination of a helmet because of its added safety when he was coming back from a concussion after getting hit in the head. (Talk about an added incentive not to take one in the head- 'I gotta wear that thing?!') He foolishly did so, and for about a week he couldn't get one girl in New York to take him seriously. It could have been a career-breaker, but he wisely returned to his old helmet shortly after and order was restored in Queens. This is a guy who wore a fastball in the head- a traumatic experience. He is offered a helmet that is proven to be safer and be more suitable for avoiding head injuries, which would be wise with his history of concussions and could even prolong his career, and he turns it down. 'Um, no thanks.' Now THAT is saying something! Could these things be any uglier?

There is one positive thing I can say about the Rawlings-S100: I take two gloves out to the dugout with me everyday, and because of its ridiculous length and volume, I'm able to fit both gloves inside of my helmet and carry it as sort of a basket which is kind of convenient. That's it. It's ugly, it's heavy, it's not comfortable- sure it can help you take 100 MPH off the dome, but so could a football helmet or a Medieval Knight helmet- there have to be some parameters here.

Thanks to these new helmets, Minor Leaguers everywhere want to make the Big Leagues now more than ever.

SMALLS TALK: Minor League Hats are the Way to Go

Almost makes getting to the Bigs not even worth it...

*Relevant Tangent: So I'm in the gas station yesterday and I see a kid wearing the hat of the MiLB team I played for last season. Holy shit! We're like 2,000 miles away from that city and this kid's wearing this hat like it's no big deal. So I obviously say something cause stuff like this is still cool to me and he says he had no idea what team it was but he found it online and thought it was cool. Bingo! Knew exactly where he was coming from. I, of course, spent the next 5 minutes telling him about the team, the city, the stadium, our average attendance, our record last year, my batting average, the reason for my slump at the beginning of August, and our clubbie who makes the best chicken salad East of the Mississippi. By the time I had snagged a Sharpie from behind the counter to personally sign the gallon of milk he was purchasing the kid was 3 blocks away.

The New Era 59/50 has got to be the most popular hat in the world. Every baseball player from little league through high school can be seen sporting his favorite team's lid to homeroom, and come college the collection has grown so extensively that you're even able to match different hats with particular outfits and colors. While the MLB hats are a classic look, it's easy to grow tired of the same old teams. Can you go anywhere without seeing someone wearing a Red Sox, Yankees, or Dodgers hat? Even hats of the less popular teams started flying off shelves because people were looking for a new look, and all of a sudden White Sox, Angels, and Tigers hats started sprouting up everywhere. There aren't enough good-looking hats to go around, and even when they come up with a new hat (usually a throwback ironically), that hat quickly becomes old news because everyone is starved for a fresh new 59/50 that they think no one else has.

In college, I wanted my own look, so in class one day I started surfing Mickey's Place and Starstruck on a quest to find a new hat, one I had never seen before, something original. Boom, it hit me like Roberto Alomar's spit hit John Hirschbeck's cheek- MINOR LEAGUE HATS. They're perfect. They present the same baseball look that's accomplished with the big league caps, but instead of picking from 30 teams, you have close to 200 teams to pick from, with each one usually supplying two or three different options.

On top of the variety, the Minor League hats are more fun. With names like the Modesto Nuts and the Chatanooga Lookouts they don't take themselves too seriously, and their logos are usually more interesting and vibrant than those in the Majors. Major League Baseball is a business, and each team is a big time organization. Their look is their identity, and so they can't afford for it to constantly be changing. They want their logo to be permanent and recognizable, while conversely some Minor League teams switch up their logo and colors on a yearly basis.

In addition to the plus of never running into someone with the same hat, Minor League lids are a great conversation starter. Generally no one will know the name of the team you're repping and will then inevitably ask. But the real fun comes when someone does recognize the team- "Myrtle Beach Pelicans, no way! I have a house on Myrtle Beach! I used to go to their games all the time as a kid! Let's hang out, I'll buy you drinks all night! This is awesome!" Every time.

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