Red Wing Jason Bartlett broke his left wrist during a game
on Saturday, May 8. The 24-year-old shortstop will likely miss four to six
weeks.
Despite
sitting out 15 games with the injury through May 24, Bartlett was still in the
top-40 in IL hits. He rode an eight-game errorless streak before breaking his
wrist — a big improvement over the 11 errors he committed early in his first
Triple-A season. During his absence, Rochester has gone 7-8, moving in and out
of first place in the IL North.
This is the
second installment of a periodic series chronicling Bartlett’s season, as told
to Mike Doser.
After I got hurt, the team let me go home to Lodi, California, for 10 days because I’m not able
to do anything as far as rehab or working at the field. I’m in Lodi now.
The injury happened in our first
at-bat against Durham at Frontier. Dewon Brazelton was pitching. I guess I’ll
never forget him. I think I had two strikes. Brazelton was probably trying to
sneak a fast ball in and it just got away. It was a check swing that hit me in
the hands. I didn’t know the wrist was broken. I played until the fifth or
sixth inning. I made a couple of plays, got a couple of hits. I figured it was
pretty bruised.
I remember taping it really tight to
keep it compressed. When I went to take my next at-bat, I said to the trainer,
“I can’t swing.” And he said, “Well try it.” So I got on-deck and I wanted to
keep playing. At the plate, adrenaline took over. Eventually, manager Phil Roof
saw that I was hurting and took me out. We were up 13-1 at that point.
The good news is
that, being in Lodi, I saw my nephew for the first time. My sister and her
husband had him at the beginning of April. I didn’t think I’d see him until he
was six months old. He’s awesome. He’s adorable. I’m not ready to settle down
at 24, but being around him is actually making me feel more comfortable around
babies. I don’t think my teammates would be surprised to see this side of me.
Overall, it’s weird to be home
during baseball season. I’ve never been here this time of year since I turned
pro four years ago. I’m still keeping up with the team. I listen to them online.
But I’ve also been able to keep up
with the Giants. I grew up a Giants fan. Lodi is about 100 miles from San
Francisco. I’m a big Sacramento Kings fan, too. I didn’t know that the Kings
franchise once was the Rochester Royals. My whole family was bummed that the
Kings lost to the Timberwolves in the NBA Western Conference Semifinals. I lost
a bet with Mike Restovich, who’s from Rochester, Minnesota. We had a friendly
little wager going — money and dinner.
I’ve been hitting the
gym and doing some cardio, some abs — stuff that doesn’t involve the wrist.
But basically I’ve taken it easy and hung out with the family. The home cooking
is great. I’ve already put on some weight.
Last night [May 18], I went to my
old high school’s playoff game. My school, St. Mary’s, won in the last inning
and is one of the top-ranked teams in Northern California. I saw my coaches and
some friends and they heard that I broke my wrist. They had the story messed
up. They thought I was supposed to go up to the Twins, but that I played that
day in Rochester and got hurt. That’s not what happened.
Management doesn’t say too much in
particular about how long it wants a player to stay in the minors to develop.
This is my first season at this level. It’s like this: If a young guy is
playing well and the parent club needs someone, he’ll get called up. If he’s
not playing well, the club will go with someone else.
First baseman Justin Morneau got
called up. He was among the IL home run leaders. He could be playing in the big
leagues for many other teams.
There is a balance in Triple-A.
Sure, everybody wants to win. But Triple-A is all about getting ready for the
big leagues. We’re going to try to win while we’re here. But the main goal is
to make the majors.
Though I’m away, I
still keep up with the guys. I call pitcher Jesse Crain, who’s my roommate, and
also pitcher Dave Gassner and Terry Tiffee. I heard Tiffee hit a grand slam in
the first inning against Norfolk, which propelled us to a 4-3 win. Gassner won
the game, his sixth victory — among the best in the IL — and Crain got the
save. He’s also among the league leaders in that department.
I also watch the Twins. They were on
TV the other day, when Matt LeCroy came off the bench to hit the game-winning
grand slam for a 6-5 victory in Toronto. They’re doing pretty well, at or near
the top of the AL Central.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2004.
