The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Bierfeldt looking for another shot while bangin’ with Bees
NEW BRITAIN » It only took a couple of weeks into the New Britain Bees’ season for manager Stan Cliburn to make a bold comparison between his starting left fielder and one of Cliburn’s favorite players growing up.
“Conor Bierfeldt played left field, man, like Carl Yastrzemski,” Cliburn said recently. “He made some plays out there that remind me of what he did.”
If comparing Bierfeldt, a Torrington product who hasn’t made it above Double-A yet, to a first-ballot Hall of Famer seems a bit of hyperbole, Cliburn backs it up rather convincingly.
“He played a ball off the top of the wall (a few weeks ago) in York — a guy was trying to stretch it into a double,” the second-year Bees’ skipper said. “He’s made some outstanding plays at (New Britain) Stadium. He’s just a complete player. He hustles, he’s a gamer, and he’s got an enthusiastic passion for the game.”
Oh, and Bierfeldt can hit a little bit, too. The former Western Connecticut State star currently leads the Bees with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 57 games. A year ago, Bierfeldt was in the midst of perhaps his best stretch as a pro, hitting eight homers and 25 RBIs in June for Frederick, the Baltimore Orioles’ ClassA affiliate, and, ultimately, earning Carolina League player of the month honors.
Bierfeldt wound up earning a promotion to Double-A later in the season and finished with 20 homers and 57 RBIs in just 83 total games between the two stops.
So why is he now, a year later, out of affiliated ball and playing in the independent Atlantic League? Good question.
Bierfeldt was cut from Orioles’ camp towards the end of spring training in March.
“No matter who you are, what kind of season you had the year before, you don’t really expect it,” said Bierfeldt, 26. “You spend four months working your tail off in the offseason to get ready for it, you kind of just assume you’re gonna be playing a six-month season. Yeah, it’s surprising.”
Bierfeldt spent all of spring training on Baltimore’s Double-A roster, but started to see the writing on the wall as camp neared its end when his name wasn’t on the lineup card very frequently.
After being cut, he returned to his parents’ home in Torrington and started fielding offers from independent teams in New York and Minnesota. He was about 24 hours away from signing with the latter team when Bierfeldt heard from Cliburn.
“I had to go through a quick pros and cons list with my parents and people around me,” he said. “But this was the best fit, both for being at home and for having the best league and competition, with the ultimate goal of getting back to affiliated.”
When Bierfeldt joined the Bees, they were already in the midst of their own version of spring training in mid-April. He made the 45-minute drive from Torrington the following night to play an exhibition game, and a few days later the season began. He immediately made a big impact, slamming a pair of homers in New Britain’s opening-night loss to York on April 21.
“It’s always good to get off to a good start,” he said. “You’d rather see .300 after a week than .150. It’s easier to work down than work up.”
Cliburn made sure Bierfeldt’s job was even easier by assuring him he’d be in the lineup every day, playing left field.
“I told him, ‘Left field’s yours, you don’t have to look over your shoulder,’” Cliburn said.
Added Bierfeldt: “The guys were super-easy to play with. They were very welcoming, considering half the team was here last year and they were together. They were very good to the new guys.”
Cliburn said Bierfeldt’s only drawback is that he can get “a little over-amped sometimes.” But mostly, it’s all positive energy.
“He comes off the field trying to cheer the boys up in the dugout,” Cliburn said. “He’s gonna be a guy that can put up some big numbers if he stays healthy, which I think he will because of his work ethic.”
Several Bees players (and players from around the Atlantic League) have signed with affiliated teams over the past two years. Most of them (including New Haven’s Josh Zeid, who’s currently in the Cardinals’ system) have been pitchers.
But Bierfedlt knows that major league scouts are always watching teams in the league, and hopes he gets another crack with a major-league organization.
“You go about your business, you do what you do on the field, you take care of things you can control and hope it works out for itself.”