The Twins called up Red Wings shortstop Jason Bartlett on
July 27 for his first big-league stint when utility infielder Nick Punto broke
his clavicle. Bartlett, 24, played in two games against Anaheim but he
struggled, going 0-for-5 and committing two errors. Minnesota sent him down on
August 6.
In Rochester, Bartlett hit .339 before breaking his left
wrist in May. He returned to the lineup in mid-July and hit .312 as of August
16, when the Wings were 10 games out of first in the IL North and four games
out of the wild card playoff spot.
This is the third installment of an occasional series
chronicling Bartlett’s season, as told to Mike Doser.
It was amazing to go up to the Twins. The biggest thrill was living out that dream ever since
I was a little kid, and finally making it to the top, stepping on that field in
front of 30,000 to 40,000 people, and playing against Boston’s Pedro Martinez
and Curt Schilling — the superstars. That’s just the biggest shock. Once I
got used to that, it’s just baseball, the same game we’re playing down here.
Red Wings manager
Phil Roof was the one who gave me the news. He called me on the cell around
11:30 p.m. [July 26], and said, “You’re going to the big leagues.” So I had to
come home and pack, then leave for the airport around 6 a.m. I didn’t finish
packing until 3 a.m., and by that time, my adrenaline was running and I
couldn’t get to sleep.
I was calling my family and friends, trying to get tickets
for them to come out and see me. And I was trying to pack all of my stuff and
take care of my bills. It was really hectic.
I didn’t forget
anything. Actually, I left a lot of bills for my roommate, pitcher Jesse Crain,
to send out, but then he got called up, and now I’m back down here, so I can
take care of it. That’s kind of funny.
The rent assignments
are messed up. Pitcher J.D. Durbin is now living in Crain’s old place, which
was my old place. Pitcher Beau Kemp took my place there too. And I’m living in
pitcher Matt Guerrier’s place right now. He’s in Minnesota. It’s part of the lifestyle.
I understood my role when I got to Minnesota. They said shortstop Christian Guzman’s back was
bothering him, so I was going to give him a day off now and then. But his back
was feeling fine, so I started just one game and got into another. As much as I
had fun up there being on the bench, I need to be down here playing.
But I saw what it was
like and got the butterflies out of the way. I wish I could have performed a
lot better. I need to refine my game in Rochester, and show the people up there
I can really play. I have to work on a couple of things, such as defense —
catching the ball everyday and making the routine plays.
When I got sent down,
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire called me in his office and told me they want me
playing every day. I understood where he was coming from. They swapped me for
Red Wings utility infielder Augie Ojeda who can play once a week and play any
infield position.
But overall, it was a
great experience. And I like the Metrodome field over Frontier. I pretty much
like any field over Frontier. Frontier’s a great stadium — one of the nicest
stadiums I’ve seen. But they play soccer on it and they try to fill the holes
up with sand and rocks, that’s just not a very good combination.
I made some good money up there, too. When a player goes up, he gets paid on the Major League minimum
pay scale of at least $300,000 per season. It’s nothing like being in Triple-A.
Don’t get me wrong, just playing up there was a dream come true, but money just
makes it even better.
I didn’t really
reward myself by buying anything extravagant. I’m going to be smart about it.
During the first few days, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau and I went to the
mall in anticipation for the road trip to Seattle because I needed some dress
clothes for the plane. Morneau took me to Nordstrom and made me buy some
expensive clothes, so I dropped a lot of money on that stuff.
Players don’t have to
wear a suit, just a nice shirt, slacks, and dress shoes. Down here I think I
only had one of each. When we fly as Red Wings, we have to wear collared shirts
and slacks. It’s a job and we have to look professional.
Speaking of
Rochester, the team has struggled some, and I said something to the media
recently I shouldn’t have: that we’re depressed. But no one’s depressed. We’re
giving it 100 percent. Right now, maybe guys are trying too hard. For instance,
there might be runners in scoring position and we’re trying to get the guy in
by swinging at bad pitches.
We’re not talking about the
playoffs right now. We’re just talking about winning ball games and seeing what
happens in the end.
This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2004.
