For the most recent three baseball seasons including this one Phillies fans have been blessed with having a major league club that’s been in the hunt for the World Series title. Attendance has been spectacular as is to be expected in such a sports oriented city, great teams generate huge interest. This fall’s major league tournament should be just as robust and we hope it ends with a championship parade down Broad Street for the third time in history!
While I watch every Phillies game via my MLB subscription, (albeit I was unable to see the last three games against the Rays - local blackout 🤦♂️), my writing focus, as you know, is the player development efforts in the minor leagues. High A Jersey Shore finished their season last week while Low A Clearwater concluded last night. I sent my season end appreciation notes to those players and both skippers, always great to hear the responses back. Double A Reading has three games left and Triple A Lehigh Valley has nine to play. The Complex league wrapped up play in late July and the Dominican Summer League did so in the third week of August - both complexes remain active with the Dominican Fall Instructs going on in Boca Chica and rehab players continuing work at Carpenter Complex. In mid October High Performance camps will start.
I’ll write more about the players individual 2024 baseball accomplishments as well as the teams in upcoming articles but today I’d like to focus on some of the behind the scenes people experiences during this minor league season. Perhaps the coolest thing this summer in player development was the field dedications at the Dominican Academy on May 29th honoring former players Bobby Abreu, Carlos Ruiz and Juan Samuel along with legendary Manager/Coach Roly deArmas. As I described watching the event that day it brought goosebumps - especially when Roly was truly surprised with the dedication of the bullpen mounds in his name. Great stuff!
It’s been another very hot summer in regard to weather here in the Clearwater area with record setting amounts of rain to boot. Getting games in was a huge challenge and the grounds crew throughout the organization (there was quite a bit of rain in PA & NJ this year as well) deserve a collective thanks for their outstanding efforts. Facilities maintenance is an area that is taken for granted by visitors but without folks like Joe Cynar (Director - Minor League Training Facilities & Equipment) the upkeep would fall off tremendously. Not many job descriptions include gathering fish off of fields after hurricanes that I know of 🤓, kudos to Joe, his staff and all the workers who do the behind the scenes work at the facilities and stadiums.
Security is yet another area that doesn’t get the accolades they deserve. The security team at the Complex and Stadium in Clearwater is exemplary in their efforts, they keep the team employees safe and maintain respectful distances while allowing fan interaction and the local police crews on hand keep things in hand regarding public safety, thanks to all.
I’ve had multiple players tell me that the medical and training staff at the complex is “nails” in that they are excellent in getting players back from injuries and surgeries and have a sharp focus on doing so. Coupled with the baseball coaching it’s my continued observation that the group is likely one of, if not, the best in the industry.
I’ve had the great pleasure and honor of interacting with each of the MILB broadcast teams at the affiliates - they supplied me with the game notes I used in my nightly minor league roundups, included me in the collective audio summary of each week’s minor league action along with allowing interaction during games. I think that Sam Jellinek (LHV), Jake Starr and Bob McCool (Reading), Greg Giombarrese and Tony Graham (Jersey Shore) and Josh Sperber (Clearwater) all do great work describing the games - each game night I jump back and forth between the broadcasts on my IPads while watching the Phillies on the TV - it’s become an art form to do so 😂. Each broadcaster is unique in style but I enjoy them all - thanks for the work folks! Btw this was the first year that all four teams were streamed live with video on MILB TV and Bally Live.
Living in the Clearwater area I’ve come to know almost every one of the minor league coaches, scouts, coordinators, front office leadership and staff members. I’d like to specifically acknowledge the hard work of Jake Primack (Assistant - Player Development) who is always professional, upbeat and cordial. He works directly for Edwin Soto (Assistant Director - Player Development) and both embody the spirit and direction of the organization in a positive persona in protecting the standard. Another one of my favorites is Ray Robles (Director - International Operations) who serves in a vital role for the club dealing with multiple international topics, he is one of the most genuine and caring people I’ve ever met - just a really good dude!
Great organizations have well defined and directional leadership while allowing for input and growth within. Player development is an area that doesn’t always get wide scaled recognition - in fact a scout from another team who is a former Director of Player Development in the organization he works for told me he thought it the most difficult and thankless job there is in baseball. Many folks read the minor league box scores, watch the highlight clips and review the stats but few get to look into the window of the daily work and the village of effort it takes to develop a player into a major league contributor. For the past ten years I’ve been fortunate to get my glimpses and to attempt to provide a spotlight via my articles. I will always prefer that the spotlight shines on the ones doing the work, I’ve turned down radio spots, podcasts, writing opportunities and even some scouting inquiries - perhaps that’s wrong to do as those things might actually provide bigger forums to “get the word out.” One thing I do know for sure though is that pro baseball is much more than stats and opinions - it’s people and it’s life - that’s what makes it great and that’s good stuff!
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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