Life of a Big Leaguer: Tony Sanchez

Pirates Catcher Tony Sanchez

The Marist baseball team has put itself in great position heading into conference play this upcoming weekend after going 8-0 during the spring break trip.  Baseball was the only concern and top priority during the trip since we were without classes and schoolwork.  As a result, I (Chad), was able to catch up with an old friend who is currently fighting for a spot in the Major Leagues.  Tony Sanchez, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is preparing for another successful season in pro baseball.  Tony attended Boston College through his junior year, after which he was drafted fourth overall by the Pirates.  Tony recently informed me that he was a fan of the blog so I asked him to write about his experience in baseball starting from his younger days all the way to what he has become today.  Here is what Tony had to say:

Throughout my years of playing baseball at the high school and college level, my sole dream was to get drafted into Professional Baseball. That was the goal, the only goal; do whatever needed to be done to get drafted. Whether it be extra sets in the gym, extra swings in batting practice or just a few more blocks during catching lessons. I had my sights set on one thing and one thing only, professional baseball. Ever since I made varsity my sophomore year of high school as the starting catcher, I knew I had the potential to turn baseball into a career. Little did I know that the “Pro” life is neither as easy or as glamorous as I dreamt it to be.

After I finished my senior year of high school and began my journey at Boston College, I can remember how excited I was to receive a scholarship at such a prestigious university and have the opportunity to play everyday in the gauntlet conference you know as the ACC. Playing against, and at venues such as Miami, Florida State (schools that passed on yours truly), North Carolina, Clemson, and NC State, it was always easy to stay focused on doing whatever needed to be done to win the game. We faced the some of the best teams in the country and I got the chance and experience of hitting off some college arms that could have easily had success in the pros. If it wasn’t for playing in the ACC, I would not of been as polished of a hitter or a catcher and probably would not of had as much success as I did when I first got into pro baseball.

For me Personally, the hardest part of going from college to the pros, or I should say the “minors”, was the fact that minor league ball is an everyday GRIND, one maybe two off days a month, long bus trips, sub par hotels and 100 fans in the stands, not the image I had dreamed about when I was an amateur.

Tony was the 4th Overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft

While I was at BC, I was going to war with my brothers every game. We spent 24 hours a day together, living together, going to class together, lifting and practicing together, all because we had one common goal, to win. When I first got to the minors, I still had that college mentality that everyone pulled for one another and everyone wanted to win every game. I still had the sense that the team I was going to be playing for was a family and guys would take bullets for one another. Unfortunately, I was mistaken and what I learned fairly quickly was that the minors was all about developing players. Its a dog eat dog world and its a business, everyone is out there taking care of their own business and worried about themselves because we all want to make it to the next level. Now, I’m not saying that guys are rooting against each other or hoping for others to fail, but my first realization of minor league ball was that everyone is on their own agenda. Yea people wanted to win games, because lets face it, losing sucks. But winning isn’t at the top of the list of priorities.

As I log more and more games and practices with my fellow professionals and guys that play on the Pirates with me, I get the sense that we are becoming closer and closer everyday. I for one am always working harder for my pitchers behind the plate then I am for myself when I’m at the plate, and they notice. We all have each others backs and we all want each other to do well, but if me and another guy are battling it out at a certain position, you better believe I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m in the lineup every night.

Tony working an at-bat against Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay last week

Washington D.C

2011 Marist Baseball Team in D.C

After coming off a nice two game sweep of the Towson Tigers we arrived in Vienna, Virginia last night to get ready for our weekend series with George Washington.  Today our team spent the day in our nation's capital.  We walked around the Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the White House.  Many of us have been to these sites before but some guys had not, either way it was a great experience for all.

Guarding the tomb of the unknown soldiers

One of the coolest things we got to do was see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inside the Cemetery.  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937.  No matter what the weather, there is always a guard patrolling the area around the tomb. It is considered one of the highest honors in the Army to guard the tomb.

Kyle, Rick Pacione, Chad (L to R)

After leaving the Arlington National Cemetery we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.  After taking some pictures of honest Abe a few of us walked over toward the White House to see what that was all about.  It was pretty cool actually seeing the White House in person and all the security and activity around it.  After grabbing some food downtown we got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel.

Burial Site of JFK

We will start our series with George Washington tomorrow at 3 p.m.  We will play a single game on Saturday and Sunday before heading back to Poughkeepsie to conclude our Spring Break Trip.  We Will check back in early next week when we are back at Marist.

Spring Break: Dover, Delaware

The front of the Speedway

While most students boarded planes off to exotic places for spring break we were once again boarding a bus for an early morning trip, to Dover, Delaware.  The Hornets of Delaware State hosted us for the weekend and it was another good weekend for our ball club.  We played well enough to earn another sweep bringing out winning streak to six games now.  However, some of the most exciting events took place off the field in Dover…

Bryce Nugent, Ben Luderer, Eric Helmrich, and I (Chad) took off from the hotel Saturday night in search of a good dinner spot.  Right down the street from our hotel was the Dover International Speedway.  I swear you could see the stands for this place from miles away.  It was unlike any professional baseball or football stadium I have ever seen.  So, the four of us decided to take a stroll around the track to see if we could get a glimpse inside the 250,000 seat stadium.  We came across a security guard who was of no help to us, so we kept walking.   As we kept going we found ourselves getting closer and closer to the actual track. As it turned out we walked through a gate, which someone must have left open knowing we were coming, and there we were right in the middle of the track.  It was quite an experience.  The stands seemed like they never ended, and the fact that cars drive over 200 miles per hour right where we stood, was a little spooky.  After venturing around the track for a few minutes we made our way out and enjoyed a nice dinner from Chipotle, laughing about what we had just done.  

Dover International Speedway- Home of the Monster Mile

We arrived last night in Towson, Maryland for a 2-game mid-week set with Towson Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.  We will be checking in frequently this week with some good stories we are working on so stay tuned.

Checking in with Schwind

A look into the 2011 season so far with Junior IF/OF Jon Schwind. Enjoy!

Sweeping Spiders

(Coach Michalski giving his words of wisdom)

There are not many good things about having a 7 hour bus ride home on a Saturday night after a double header…unless you won both games of the double header.  Not only did we win two games on Saturday, we also took the opening game of the series against the Richmond Spiders this past weekend in Richmond, Virginia.  It was a nice home coming for Coach Seay, who lives less than five minutes from the Richmond campus.  It was also a nice visit back to Richmond for Coach Michalski who was a member of the George Washington baseball team that won the 2002 Atlantic-10 Championship on the same field.

It was probably the best weekend we have put together thus far.  We pitched, stayed with a solid approach offensively, and played flawless defense to complete the sweep of a traditionally solid Richmond club.  Standing now at 6-3 its back to practice before heading to Delaware State to kick off our spring break trip.  There are a number of positive things to take away from the weekend, but probably the most positive of all is that you can actually see our field.  Another couple warm days and the field will be all clear to practice on, cause this gym floor is getting a little old.

We will have a video interview coming within the next day or so…our tech guy is working on a couple things.  Next week we will be on the road for eight games for our spring break trip.  Well, its time to get back to studying for the 4 mid-terms we have left this week.  Thanks for all who continue to read and follow!

Red Fox Love

At the beginning of every school year teams come together after coming back from playing in their respective summer leagues. The first meeting of the year gives teammates the chance to share stories of the summer and meet the new incoming freshman. Some of the new players that the team doesn't get to meet are players who attempt to walk-on to the team.  In college sports, a walk-on is a player who doesn't get recruited to play; they try out for the team in an open try out.  

In the past our team has welcomed walk-on players with open arms. Walk-on players, such as Eric Helmrich,  made huge strides over the season and ended up making an impact on the team. This year, we have one walk-on player, Eric Molinaro.  His story is rather unique in the world of college sports.  Not only did Eric walk-on to our team, his girlfriend, Nicole Van Loan, walked on to the softball team.  It’s not every day high school sweethearts are able to come to the same college and walk on to Division I teams.

The two have been in a relationship for three years and decided that it would be cool to attend the same college. Not being too far from home (30 minutes) was also a factor in their decisions. Nicole decided before coming to Marist that she was going to try out for the team with the support from Eric. Eric was unsure of whether he would try out for the baseball team.  In the end he decided that he would regret it if he didn't try out. With both sport's rigorous travel schedules, they have found support from each other as they undergo the taxing experience that is Division I athletics.

In the mean time we are in Richmond, Virginia to face off against the University of Richmond for a weekend series. We will be checking back in after the weekend to fill everyone in on how it went.