Steve Potter
7/7/21 : Just Sayin
When the minor league season starts I rarely if ever write articles about the big club. There are plenty of paid professionals who do so and numerous outlets where folks can read their comments. My focus is on the minor leagues which get far less coverage and interest by the majority of fans, until they bemoan the system at least š¤£.
Itās been my daily practice to get to the complex for the day games to observe the beginning rung of the process when possible and then to watch the full season squads at night on the MILB app ⦠usually simultaneously on three different devices. I have been granted media access to the Threshers games and on occasion will go watch them as well but my preference there is to sit in the stands rather than upstairs so lately Iāve been buying a ticket to attend instead. For those that follow this site each evening the āMinor League Roundupā is published which recaps the games of the day. I pride myself in getting those articles out as soon as possible after the last out of the last game played has been made, my notes are primarily done as I watch each game. Recently Mr. Shenk has chipped in to help with the effort and is now doing the site recaps for the Tuesday thru Thursday games.
Each Monday I produce a āWeekly Standoutsā article and also list the leaders on both the offensive side of things and pitching. All of my efforts are done from personal observances and the good old baseball reference site for statistical support. Iām not paid monetarily to do any of this and some may wonder why a 61 year old corporate retiree would work so hard at gathering and providing this information š§š¤·āāļø. Sometimes I wonder that myself especially when I read less informed commentary or what I perceive as unnecessary negative remarks made either on my page or on others. Often Iāve made the decision to stop the full blown effort yet Iāve never been able to pull myself away, itās become redundant how many times Iāve started to do so and then eventually come back š¤Ŗ.
I love the game of baseball and have always fancied myself at being good with the written word. Itās those two reasons why I donāt walk away and yes Iām sure there will be continual times of doubt going forward. I hope my passion for the organization comes thru in my writing and that itās not just perceived as a bunch of numbers. There are people behind those numbers, many of which Iāve come to know a bit ⦠I take that to heart.
Iām often asked ābaseball discussionā questions like āWho are your top 30ā or is such and such an āAceā. To be honest I find those types of chats silly and go out of my way to avoid them. āProspectsā lists are entirely subjective and most that are published are based on secondary or even beyond conjecture ⦠as are chats about things like āAcesā š„“. From my perspective every minor league player has a chance to climb to the ultimate level as long as they are afforded the chance to wear the uniform. I observe their baseball ability, acumen, makeup, reactions to both good and bad performance, team interaction and moxy ( desire ). Itās not just about the numbers in the minor leagues, while numbers are reflections of game successes Iāve learned itās far from being the true overall evaluation. I will likely never comment on ālistsā or win/loss projections, just not my thing.
Perhaps there is no other unpaid individual whoās as deeply embedded in this Phillies pro baseball world who can offer observances on the development part of the organization ⦠for whatever thatās worth. From my perspective itās not worth a paid position either internal or external to the team but hey thatās not the end game here ⦠at least thatās what I tell myself as well š¤. āFor the love of the gameā is often used and perhaps mocked by some ⦠just sayin ⦠there are more than a few of us, I tell myself that as well, that still take that to heart and thatās regardless of rule changes, robotic umpires, technology advances, etc ā¦. To me baseball is still pure good old fashioned fun to play, watch and write about ⦠even if on occasion I get a bit tired of doing so š ⦠Iāve always found my way back š¤Ŗ
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ā¾ļø
