Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders

The Show Before The Show

(This story originally appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yankees Magazine.)

A real project for me this year was to try to get away from the typical 25 guys you see in a baseball clubhouse. I wanted to tell different stories, and one thing I really sought was the chance to tell some stories about women and their places around the game.

So when I was able to combine that goal with my interest in writing about Deivi Garcia, I pounced.

I first saw Garcia pitch last year, when I was writing about then-Yankees pitching coordinator Danny Borrell. Garcia was this tiny guy with amazing stuff; I couldn’t believe what I was watching, but I was writing about Borrell (and, it turned out, another Garcia — Dermis — so there wasn’t room in that story for much on Deivi).

Then, this year, Deivi Garcia broke out, and ended the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. And his presence there allowed me to write about his journey, but also about Blayke Scheer, and the YES Network program HOMEGROWN.

Everyone around the Yankees knows Blayke, her voice, her style. She is the consummate producer, always around, always solving problems, always helping everyone around her. And the show she produces is just so perfect for the minor leagues — a version of HARD KNOCKS with a smaller focus. I got to spend time behind the scenes, as she developed segments, did her confessional interviews, schmoozed with players to help build the rapport that comes through so clearly during the broadcast.

I think that both sides of the story worked well, and it all synthesized well into solid piece.

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-deivi-garcia-stars-in-homegrown?t=yankees-magazine

Let It Be

(This story originally appeared in the April 2019 edition of Yankees Magazine.)

Guys like Clint Frazier fascinate me. Sure, there’s the simple baseball talent. But I’m always drawn to polarizing figures in sports, trying to figure out what exactly makes them so complicated. So I definitely approached this feature on Clint Frazier with a bias in his direction.

Because here’s the thing with Frazier. Everyone has such an easy time talking about the ways that the’s not living up to some part of the game’s code, the rules passed down from Abner Doubleday to Babe Ruth to Mickey Mantle to Derek Jeter. He needs to carry himself differently. He needs to stop making everything about himself. He needs to just shut up.

And yet, anytime you ask the obviously follow-up question — what has he actually done in defiance of those rules? — you get silence. There’s the simple answer, that he had hair that was too long and flashy, and that he expressed some reticence to cut it. But does anyone really care about that? Does anyone actually think that the wildly outdated grooming policy is a good thing? Frazier cut his hair like he was supposed to. Does it really matter that he wasn’t thrilled about it?

A couple of points about this piece: in the quotes I used and the ways that I framed them, I really had to hold in my frustration with the conversation I had with Nick Swisher. I went to talk to him because I figured he would probably be someone to share my irritation with everyone’s overheated takes on Frazier. Instead, I listened as Swisher went on and on about Frazier needing to rein it all in, that he can’t act the way he does. I tried to get him to explain what he meant, but Swisher just kept giving me the rote nonsense.

Conversely, Clint was interesting and willing to engage with all of my questions, even if it might seem weird to have to explain to a reporter why everyone has an opinion about you, and why it’s not necessarily OK. I’ve had plenty of chats with Frazier over the years, but this was probably the deepest we went together. I enjoyed it, and I really think that by the time the season’s over, he’s going to be playing a big role in the Bronx.

Hope you’ll enjoy.

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/healthy-frazier-ready-to-bring-energy-to-yankees?t=yankees-magazine

Short Track

(This story originally appeared in the 2017 New York Yankees Official Yearbook)

As I write this, Gleyber Torres is injured, and out for the rest of the 2017 season, which is a shame, because I can’t wait to see what happens when New York gets to know this kid. Acquired by the Yankees in the 2016 trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, Torres was said to be a stud, but as someone who pays incredibly little attention to midwestern teams’ farm systems, I didn’t really know anything about him other than what I could see on his Baseball-Reference page.

But in August, soon after the trade, I headed down to Tampa to meet with him and some of the other newly acquired prospects. And I was absolutely blown away by his poise, his maturity, his savvy. After he posed for a bunch of photos, he asked the photographer to let him see them. It was a small move — most guys just want to move on as quickly as possible, but he cared about how he looked. It didn’t come across as vain, just a kid in control.

Similarly, during the photo shoot, we were hanging out at second base (when I’m not interviewing, I’m often helping out by holding a light or something else in these situations). We were making easy small talk in English, just a normal conversation. Torres, from Venezuela, didn’t even appear to be struggling. But when it came time to sit down for the actual interview, he called over a translator. Again, he wanted to be perfect. I have no doubt that he would have been just fine doing the interview in English, but I totally respected the fact that he wanted to do it his way. I think that as long as translators are available, players should use them if it makes them comfortable.

Anyhow, no one should care about how Torres behaved toward me the first times I met him. But I honestly think that it was indicative of a guy who just won’t settle for anything other than perfection, and if he’s that way with interviews, I expect him to put similar work into what he does on the field. Watching him at the Arizona Fall League a few months later, and then during spring training this year, the impression stuck.

I figure he’ll be competing for a role with the big club when spring camp opens in 2018. I hope so. I really can’t wait to see him play in New York.

Hope you’ll enjoy.

http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/221541182/yankees-gleyber-torres-living-up-to-hype/?topicid=163658034