MLU is Back!

With the mix of headlines floating around this off-season, I couldn't possibly sit back in silence.

I have truly missed MLU. I've missed writing, I've yearned for the Twitter banter, and for months I've longed for someone to call me Smalls.

In an effort to stay connected to the game over the winter, I spent last year's entire off-season sharing daily insights and commentaries on all aspects of the baseball world. Preparing each blog post quickly became the highlight of my morning, and before I knew it, MLU had taken on a life of its own. But some time back in May - around the time I was stuck in Extended Spring Training and questioning my existence on this baseball-diamond-filled Earth - I lost it.

There were a number of factors that played a role in the sudden freeze of MLU - spotty internet service, an ever-changing home address, and an exhausting daily schedule, to name a few - but mainly, it became tougher to uphold a blog about baseball and the game I loved while, at the same time, that very sport seemed to be showing my career a giant middle finger. Things were not going as planned, and whether it was pride, or resentment toward a game that had once been my sweetheart, I shut it down.

It was no more than a month into my stay in baseball Purgatory when that phone rang and I was called to greener pastures. I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and flew off to join my new team. A feeling of purpose was restored in my life - baseball was great again.

Over the course of the next five months, I experienced my share of ups and downs. My play was inconsistent, but my peaks evened out my valleys and I was able to put up respectable numbers and even earn a promotion before season's end. Baseball was once again enjoyable, but somehow there still didn't seem to be enough time to carefully revive MLU back to what it once was. It would be a shell of its former self, and for a project that I unapologetically obsessed over for an entire off-season, restoring it to a level inconsistent with previous posts was out of the question.

So instead, I spent the season observing, making notes, and jotting down any experiences and interactions I deemed worthy of sharing with the world. I kept my eyes and ears open and stocked up on material, not knowing exactly when I would revive MLU, but fullly aware that the return of Scotty Smalls was imminent.

And finally, that day has come. I have taken it upon myself to restore order to an Internet consumed by faux Kardashian weddings, aimless Occupying of every street corner, and coverage of the NBA Lockout that I've miraculously found even more boring than their actual games. 

And so, after a monumental hiatus rivaled only by those of Dave Chappelle and Ricky Williams, Scotty Smalls is dusting off the old long-billed cap and once again getting back behind the keyboard. A fresh crop of posts starts up tomorrow!
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Thank you to everyone who has been emailing or reaching out over the past few months - it is so exciting to hear that there are people aside from my parents enjoying this blog.

Please continue to stay connected to MLU via Twitter (@MinorLeagueU) and the Minor League University Facebook Page. And, as always, if there is a topic you'd like to see covered or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to send an email to MinorLeagueUniversity@gmail.com.

SMALLS TALK: Last Day at Work

My last day at the office has finally come. After six months of 6 AM wake-ups, shirts and ties, staff meetings, spreadsheets, phone calls and paper jams, the time has come for me to leave this place and head to greener pastures- it's time to start my other 'job.'

My last day here will be just another day at the office- no party, not one balloon, not even a card. My colleagues offered to get me a cake but I politely declined- who needs those empty calories?

I'm actually relieved that nothing big is going on today- it will give me time to complete all the work I've been putting off for the past six months. Projects to finish, emails to follow up on, phone calls to put in- I've got a long day ahead of me.

But at the end of the day, I'll move on, and baseball will once again be my main focus.

The truth is, I liked my job here at the office, and I was lucky to have it. Finding a full-time job for half a year with zero work experience is not the easiest thing to do, but somehow I got it. I worked with some great people, finally got a non-baseball item for my resumé, and got a chance to make some actual money: an ideal off-season gig, really.

MiLB LIFE: A Taste of the Minor League Off-Season

What other job requires you to work every day for seven months and then gives you a five month vacation? It's wild. The season is a grind, it wears on you, it beats you down, it's repetitive, it's monotonous, it appears endless- and then, well, it ends. And you go home. You have five months to do whatever you want. One hundred and fifty days to yourself. No baseball requirements. No bus rides. Nothing but an empty calendar. So what do you do?

The off-season is a time for bonus babies to relax on beaches for a while before eventually focusing all their time on baseball training and their Big League aspirations. It is also a time for lower draft picks to find a real job and use this reprieve from baseball as a chance to actually make some money so that they can afford to keep chasing their dream. I fall into the second category.

I'm working a desk job this off-season so that when the day comes that I get released- or whenever I retire after my Hall of Fame career- I will have more than my petite signing bonus in the bank and more than baseball statistics on my resumé.