My wife Barb and I chose to take our daily stroll today on the Ream Wilson Trail and also see what we could of Fall Instructs practice. Camp concludes on Saturday with a game against the Blue Jays.
While walking we met Billy Sullivan’s grandparents on the trail, they are here from Delaware hoping to catch a glimpse of him in practice. They said they got to see him pitch in an intra squad game this week by peeking thru the gates at Spectrum Field. It’s always cool to meet the families of the players.
We stopped and watched a few of the practice drills. Saw pitchers stretching and playing catch on Carlton Field in the outfield and some infield/outfield drills on Ashburn Field.
In the outfield base throwing drills the arms of Jhailyn Ortiz ( RF ) and Johan Rojas ( CF ) stood out. I’ve long marveled at the throwing ability of Ortiz ... very strong hose. Rojas is smooth but yet he plays with energy, doesn’t take any play or drill off. When he throws to the bases it’s with velocity and quickness ... gets himself into a really good position to throw and usually is very accurate to his target. I really like the young man’s game ... am eager to see him play daily next season.
Joe Girardi was on hand to watch, we spotted him along the third base line on Ashburn Field observing the drills. I think it’s cool that the big league skipper takes the time to watch the minor leaguers in action.
As stated Camp will break on Saturday, there’s been a group of young Venezuelan players here since early February ... they were “stranded” once camp shut down in March due to Covid and spent their summer in Clearwater working out each day at the Joe DiMaggio Complex across the street from Spectrum Field and later on the backfields of Carpenter. A summer of social distancing protocol, mask wearing and a very extended hotel stay. Those fellas are especially eager to get home to their families and friends ... they love baseball but I’m sure they never expected to have a summer like this one that just past ... none of us did for that matter.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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