Local players looking to make up for lost time
Smith, Rooney, Whitley among those who missed a season of their careers
The resumption of the 2020 Major League Baseball season following a stoppage during spring training dealing with the coronavirus pandemic ultimately brought joy to players, organizations and fans. Another segment of professional baseball, however, was not nearly as fortunate.
Minor League Baseball was shut down throughout the country and did not contest any games by teams associated with MLB organizations last year. The MLB draft was also limited to five rounds of selections. After that, 40 minor league teams were terminated from having MLB affiliations — including the Tri-city Valleycats.
Watching, without the ability to play, proved extremely difficult for a trio of prominent area pro players yet to reach the pinnacle of their profession.
“It was definitely a shock for guys like us where their whole careers are (completed) in a short amount of time. Wow, one less year,” said Hoosic Valley graduate John Rooney, who helped the Indians win two Class C state titles, then played at Hofstra and was drafted in the third round of the 2018 draft by the Los Angeles
Dodgers. “Everyone in my spot are wondering what is going to happen. We’ve got spring training coming. Hopefully, something will happen.”
Garrett Whitley starred as an outfielder at Niskayuna and was selected in the first round (13th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. He found staying prepared without being able to go to a field or even a gym during the spring and summer months last year an unenviable position to be in.
“When everything got shut down last year and nobody knew the extent of COVID, we didn’t have any idea when we were going to come back,” Whitley said. “Everything was literally on hold. They told us to stay ready. It was a weird place to be mentally. You had to stay baseball-ready, even though you couldn’t get into a gym or find people to throw with. You were just doing stuff on your own.”
Columbia graduate Kevin Smith experienced a disappointing 2019 campaign as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays’ Double-a affiliate New Hampshire of the Eastern League.
The 24-year-old shortstop played his college baseball at Maryland and was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He was geared up and ready to produce a big bounce-back 2020 campaign. It never happened.
“I spent three to four months getting ready,” Smith said. “At least I was able to go to big-league camp and get some reps. I was feeling great down there, so getting shut down was tough. I really wanted to show things (in 2020), how much work I had put in to make me a better player.
“Guys that are in the minors and close to the big leagues, losing the last year was tough because you put in all that work during the season and did not play. We got shut down, so you didn’t get to show what you’ve got and what you worked on. Having a year with no games, no competition and no travel was definitely difficult.”
Rooney, 23, combined to produce a 10-4 record, a 2.88 earned-run average and 89 strikeouts over 1042⁄3 innings pitching at Class A affiliates Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga. The 6-foot-5 lefty admitted to initially not reacting favorably to being unable to play or practice.
“At first, I had sort of a whiny attitude — negative,” Rooney said. “I thought, ‘If I have this attitude for this long, I am going to go backwards and be a (crappy) person. I started working out with Mike Mcferran (the pitching coach at Skidmore College). He is a really good coach. I am a complete shift to positive vibes. Things are getting better. I think my work ethic doubled during this COVID -19
season.”
Whitley, 23, who batted .226 with 10 home runs, 40 RBIS and 16 stolen bases with Class A Charlotte in 2019, is gearing up and living in Philadelphia as he prepares for a return. He said the not-knowing aspect of an extended waiting game without competition has been hard to handle.
“I have really been trying to take it one day at a time,” Whitley said. “In baseball, professionally at least, you always know what to do: you take one month off, then get into a heavy- lifting program early, put on some weight and start running. Not being able to do that has been strange. You don’t know when you are going to get back to camp and start playing.”
“You wanted to be ready (in 2020), but didn’t know if anything would happen,” said Smith, who is currently in Nashville preparing. “I am hoping we have more of a normal year for guys to get to play and for guys coming off injuries to get back going again.”
Rooney and Whitley were able to spend time in the instructional league in the fall. Prior to that, Rooney said he put a hole in a wall at home throwing a weighted ball against a mattress trying to get work in.
“There wasn’t much for me to do. I kept in shape working out and throwing,” said Rooney, who added getting time working with Mcferran proved invaluable. “I have been grinding every day. It has been hard. This is my job. It is how I make my living and this is my dream.”
“Going into this season, I am more confident than ever,” Rooney said.
“I love being on the field,” Whitley said. “I can’t wait to get back. Right now, they are telling us the big camp will go and then minor-league camp. I am staying optimistic for that.”
Smith, who batted .209 in 2019 after combining to produce a .302 average, 25 home runs and 93 RBIS in
two stops in Class A during 2018, said he has tried to benefit from the time being quarantined to improve himself. He, along with Rooney and Whitley, agree that at times they found it hard coping without the game they love. The trio all agree they have a newfound appreciation for what they are able to do.
“It makes you absolutely grateful for what you are able to do every day and the goals that you do have,” Rooney said. “I have all the motivation in the world to do this every day. I keep thinking about being on that Dodger Stadium mound. All of that bliss has been taken away. … One of the things about the quarantine year has been a chance to discover yourself in a year without baseball.”
“I think there are a lot of people worse off than baseball players right now,” Smith said. “It hasn’t been great for a lot of guys and it hasn’t affected me as much as other guys. Mainly, just seeing how much energy and effort people put into the sport and how much fans want to see us come back and show their support and watch a game. The things that are happening with the minor leagues are eye-opening.”