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“Oh yeah, I tried out for the Tigers.”
By Kyle | March 5, 2008
As posted Monday, I decided to check out the Tigers open tryouts for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
The time was 8:38 AM. I climbed into my Chevy Tahoe with only one question on my mind: What am I doing? I have declined the opportunity for extra sleep in order to try out for a baseball team that I have no shot of making. This sounds like a novel idea.
Welcome to the world of Internet blogging.
I arrived at Tigertown in my home city of Lakeland a few minutes late and was told to head out to Al Kaline field. After making my way to the registration site, I immediately saw hundreds of hopeful players, decked out in all forms of baseball gear. Naturally, I felt out of place in my sleeveless shirt and athletic shorts, but this would become a recurring theme for the day. I made my way to a table with registration cards, where I filled out as much information as I could. At least I knew my name and address. In all reality, it would have been a little easier to fill out the card had the last time I played on a baseball team not been in 6th grade. Oh well. You had better believe that I wasn’t going to write that down.
I submitted my card with the rest of the second basemen, as I felt that was the safest position to aim for. I play third base on my softball team, but I didn’t think I could consistently make the throw from third base on a larger field. I was finally assigned #417, and my initial thought was that I was the 417th person to submit a card. Thankfully this was not the case. At this point, I waited with all of the other applicants outside the field until 10 AM, when we were ushered onto the field.
Once on the field, one of the instructors ordered participants to line up according to numbers. My number was 417, so I lined up at the tail end of the 400 line with the rest of the second basemen. The first exercise involved the potential catchers throwing to second base after a simulated pitch. Next, pitchers and catchers were then moved to another part of the complex and outfielders prepared to work out first. While these workouts were taking place, my group stretched and loosened our arms. I basically ran around aimlessly for some time and then found someone to throw with in order to loosen up. Unfortunately, I spent half of the time dodging balls from the individual throwing beside me. He fell under my category of, “Don’t quit your day job…unless its baseball.” I found myself labeling a good amount of 30-something men with this tag throughout the day. While I was dodging baseballs, each outfielder was given several balls to field, which they then had to throw to third base. I’m glad I didn’t try out for right field.
After outfield tryouts, the infielders were lined up by number for their groundballs. Like I said earlier, I signed up for second so I wouldn’t have to make as far of a throw. They lined us up between second and third base anyway. Isn’t that ironic, Alanis? Anyway, there was an order to the process, as each fielder was hit one or two regular grounders, then they were asked to backhand the second set, followed by a ball to the left side, and finally a slow roller. Nerves were ever-present among participants, as routine grounders were bobbled with much regularity. As I moved forward to take my place in the dirt, I was held back so Gene Roof could rake the dirt a little bit, which was much appreciated. I was then able to take my place, and Kevin Bradshaw smacked four or five sharp grounders my way. Surprisingly, I fielded all of them cleanly, despite the mediocre throws that would follow (even though all of them still made the base). A friend described my efforts, claiming that “While Kyle could use a stronger throwing arm, his defense was solid and aggressive.” That works for me, and my friends are too kind. I was proud of my performance up to this point – not bad for an inexperienced blogger.
The next step in the procedure was batting practice. Instructors Gene Roof and Glenn Ezell set up the pitching machine. I was really hoping that the pitches would be thrown by the instructors, but comparatively speaking, they were still pretty slow (I would say 50-55 MPH). Whatever groups were not assigned to hitting at the time had to shag balls in the outfield. This basically meant that a couple hundred people were standing in the outfield all at once. Most participants brought their own bats and helmets, but I was more than happy to use the equipment that was provided. I was all smiles as I grabbed a helmet with an old English “D” and began to swing a Lousiville Slugger Pro Stock bat.
While I was grabbing my gear, Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander stopped by for a little bit to watch some of the batters, chatting with instructors and checking his cell phone from time to time. As I was taking a few practice swings, contestant #414 had an impressive outing a couple of spots ahead of me. Regardless of his efforts, he seemed to be a little frustrated with himself. Sensing this, one of the instructors called him over and showed the participant his hand – various numbers were written on his palm, with one of them being 414. Within a few minutes, I found myself lining up in my left-handed batting position. I figured that was one thing I had going for me at least.
I stepped into the box as Glenn Ezell loaded pitches into the machine one by one. Not really knowing what to expect, I missed my first pitch horribly. Ezell looks at me and proclaims, “Like I told some of these other guys, if you can’t see the ball, you can’t hit it.” Oh, I saw it alright, as it flew right past me. I chipped a few pitches off after this, followed by a grounder to the second base side. My most impressive hit was a shot down the first base line. It was a good feeling, as I had to turn on it to get ahold of it. The stinging in my hands immediately following wasn’t as great of a feeling. But honestly, I wasn’t going to buy batting gloves to use for just one day of my life. And I wasn’t about to try on a pair of Moises Alou’s batting gloves (non baseball fans, Google “Alou batting gloves…”).
The rest of the tryout was spent shagging balls in the outfield, so naturally, I had to go back out there once again. The whole procedure was enjoyable, but I was tired, hungry, and ready to leave. All hopeful players were called into the infield around 2:30 PM for the standard, “Thanks for trying, your stats will be posted online” speech. My Tigers tryout was officially over at this point.
Many individuals made the journey to Lakeland for a shot at their dream. All I can say is that I am fortunate enough to live here. It was not uncommon to talk to people who had driven hours and taken time off from school or work. One individual I talked with described his passion for the game and how he flew from Arkansas for one day to try out. I asked him how long he had been training, and he claimed that he hadn’t played in six months. Its sad, but I think the ties connecting his passion to his brain had been severed.
I sincerely felt bad for the majority of the participants. I admire those who possess an intense passion for the game – it’s the same passion that fuels my desire to write about the sport. But I can honestly say that most of these individuals earnestly thought they could make the squad. As for me, I just wanted to write a story and obtain some bragging rights. Years down the road, I will tell my grandkids, “You know, there was once a time when grandpa tried out for the Detroit Tigers.” By that time, my memory will be shot - the details will be exaggerated and blown way out of proportion. But they don’t have to know.
As for the rest of my spring break, I have a real job interview to attend to in less than eight hours. Without a doubt, I’m telling my friends and family that its my second job interview of the week.
A huge thanks to Roger Dewitt for taking some great pictures and sharing them with me!
****UPDATE****
We have posted video and the results of the tryout!
http://www.lftblog.com/2008/03/the-results-and-video-from-my-tryout-are-in/
Topics: Off-topic |
March 5th, 2008 at 6:37 am
[…] A blogger takes a camera to an open Detroit Tigers’ tryout, and blogs the experience. Read here. […]
March 5th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Very entertaining read. I felt like I was out on the practice field with you. You think you’ll make the team? =P
March 5th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Fantastic story, Kyle. Well done.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:24 am
[…] “Oh yeah, I tried out for the Tigers.” | Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog A blogger attends open tryouts and chronicles the day. Great read! […]
March 5th, 2008 at 11:07 am
For a short while yesterday, Kyle did indeed live within a dream. Taking the field, his passions became reality. A solid professional performance and a thrill to share.
Great way to relate your experience.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
[…] have found my long lost brother… This guy tried out for the Tigers… Continue reading “I have found my long lost brother…” Posted by Chris Gehringer at 12:49 | […]
March 5th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Fantastic read!
March 5th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
GREAT story and photos. What an experience! Thanks for the blog, Kyle.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
This was an awesome piece. You are very brave for even going and trying out, that’s so cool of you.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Cool idea and nice execution. This is a blog I’ll probably be revisiting.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Great story! I think writing might be your calling.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Very cool, dude. Nice job.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Great story. Very cool that you tried out and that you had someone there to take pictures for ya. I’m sure it was an awesome experience.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Great story. I found it entertaining and your insight about some of the people who tried out was very accurate. I agree with Tommy-writing could be your calling.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I envy you. I did not even know teams still had open tryouts, what with the huge rookie contracts screwing up the drafting process and the 600 rounds of the baseball draft itself. I wish the Braves would have an open tryout, or better yet the Marlins, they had open tryouts for manatees, who probably could hit better. Nice story dude. Kudos.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Funny story. I too tried out for a major league team, knowing of course I had no shot of making it. It was during the last baseball strike. I was in my late 20s, and I felt out of place going there because the add in the paper that the Toronto Blue Jays put was asking for players 18-22 years old. They were going to use scab players on major league teams and were probably looking for scabs to fill their minor league system. It was all probably just an owners negotiating ploy against the players. Nonetheless, it was a great experience. As it turned out, I was probably the average age of people who showed up. And unlike yourself I was a pretty good ball player up through high school (18 years of age). I hadn’t played organized ball since then though. The first thing they had us do was run a 40 yard dash in the rain soaked outfield of Pierce Junior College (L.A.). I happened to win my flight fairly easily, so I was happy about that. You could sign up for pitcher, catcher, infield or outfield. The decision was between P and Inf, and I choose infield. All they had us do was field three slow ground balls and throw to first. I fielded them all cleanly but sailed one of my throws well over the first baseman’s head, as I was trying to over impress. Outfielders were hit three fly balls and asked to throw to a cut off man. That’s it, try out was over. They picked 25 or so guys and they played a pickup game with live pitching and hitting. I wasn’t choosen and don’t see how they could choose based on what we did in the tryout. I think they already knew from the registration cards, which players would make the first cut. I read in the paper a day or two later that one player was signed to play in the minors. It was a great experience and some of the people trying out were pretty funny. There was one guy there, his hair grey and he said that he was 45 years old and this was probably his last chance to make it to the majors. haha!
vr, Xei
March 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I did the EXACT same thing a few years ago… I tried out for the Seattle Mariners, knowing i had no shot… I didn’t blog about it though, but even if i had, it probably wouldn’t have come out this well… Kudos.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Almost as good as The Paper Tiger…A fun and interesting read..Have you thought about writing for Sports Illusyrated???
March 6th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Great story!!!As a long suffering tigers fan,its great to know that regular guys {such as us }can still get a thrill out of this kind of thing. Very well written and great pix.I wish you the best,and who knows ?maybe a midseason call-up is in store for you.?Please keep writing!!!!!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
[…] yeah, I tried out for the Tigers.” Posted in March 4th, 2008 by in sport car Kyle always has something good to say. I like this one posted earlier today. Follow the link for the […]
March 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Great stuff, Gary, but one problem — unless you erase any trace of this, your grandkids will look up the blog and say, “Damn, Grandpa, you didn’t even have any sleeves!”
March 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Haha, that’s excellent. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and that sounds like a pretty cool experience.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:41 am
A great example of being honest about who you are and yet not letting anyone tell you that means you can’t do something.
Fantastic writing! Be sure to add this one to your resume.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
This is the best story ever! It makes me want to try it! Your going to have me cracking up out of the blue for a while with this!
March 7th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I thought the story, was very inspirational. It shows, that if you have a desire to do something, You can achieve it. I wish I could do something like that. My “Dream Team’s” Spring training, is located clear on the other side, of the U.S. Congratulations, Kyle
March 9th, 2008 at 9:23 am
[…] needs to have for the Dodgers and is worth checking out… also if you haven’t seen the Lakeland Flying Tigers blog on the Tigers first person account of the open tryout they held, also wo……give great insight into what goes into an open tryout, but also is a solid example of what […]
March 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I tried out for the Cincinnati Reds when they had a tryout in upstate New York many years ago. I also knew that I would not make it, but I thought if I didn’t try out I would never make it either, so what did I have to lose? My tryout was conducted the same way yours was, except there was no internet at the time. I didn’t see any Major Leaguers, either. I was a couple of years over the age limit they had set, but I would deal with that if the impossible happened. I had as good a time as you did, and I was glad to have read your story.
PS
What was weird was that I have just retired and went to my first spring training game… in Lakeland to see the Mets and Tigers!
March 24th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Just curious…the Kevin Bradshaw mentioned…I think he’s the North Shore Manager…is he originally from Joplin, MO? Played ball in Enid, Oklahoma and minors up in Michigan? Just an old friend and ran across this article. Thanks for any info!
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:01 am
Interesting post!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:09 am
[…] he’ll have to settle for effective.http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20080402/ca_pr_on_ba/amn_kc_det_2"Oh yeah, I tried out for the Tigers.???A blogger takes a camera to an open detroit Tigers?? tryout and blogs about his experience trying to […]
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