Hey everyone sorry for the huge lag since my last post. After I got done working for the Angels on March 2nd I really had no idea what I was gonna be doing next for work. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna have to get a non baseball job for a few months or what. With spring training starting in March and I didn’t have any jobs lined up for spring training I figured I would have the whole month off which ended up happening. It worked out great because I had a bunch of friends and family that came to visit me and to come see baseballs games so it made the month great. I think I saw about 15 games through out the month and I loved it. I had a friend of mine who signed a contract with the Rockies call me up one day before spring training started and asked me if he could stay at my place with me for the month. He was one of the pitchers I first caught back when I was working out with players in San Diego so I’ve known him for about 3 years now.

One day he comes home from practice and says hey the Rockies AAA teams bullpen catcher quit and they are looking to fill the job. If you remember from my other blogs I had done some work with the Rockies already and they offered me a job before but I couldn’t because I was working with the Angels already. I already knew a few front office people and a few players and when my roommate told me more details about the job I was pretty stoked and told him i’d take the job for sure. A few days later one of the front office guys I knew already called and asked me if I interested in the job. Of course I told him yes after he told me all of the details. I was actually headed to San Diego when he called me so I hurried back to Scottsdale and we set up an appointment for me to go in and interview.For the job description it is being the bullpen catcher/BP Pitcher/Video Coordinator.

After the interview they told me they would call me within 24 hours and let me know either way if I was getting the job or not. So as you can imagine I was waiting and waiting and waiting for them to call me back and to see what they would say. They finally called me around 1pm and told me they wanted me to come back in to go over the video portion of the job and if I understood it well enough that they would offer me the job. I was a little nervous because I’ve never used the program called BATS before and this was the last deciding factor for me getting this job.

I went back in at 3pm and went over the program with the minor league video coordinator and everything went well and they offered me the job. So now I officially work for the Colorado Springs Skysox which is the Colorado Rockies AAA team. My duties are to be the bullpen catcher, throw BP and to do all the video stuff. I get to travel with the team as well which will make it even more fun and I will goto new cities I’ve never been to. I can’t be any happier right now with this job and where I’m at.

Two days later my stuff is all packed up and we drove out to Colorado Springs and get to the stadium for our first team meeting and work out. I got all of my new gear and my locker all set up and it feels good to be back in the clubhouse again and to be around baseball everyday. The first day I caught 2 bullpens and threw a round of BP. The crazy part was the super cold and snowy weather we were having and when I left Scottsdale AZ it was 85 and sunny. Since always living in San Diego then Scottsdale and having great warm weather all the time this cold and snow was a bit of a shock to me. I have always loved snowboarding and being up in the mountains in the snow but never imagined it with baseball together haha.

Day 2 we wake up and it had snowed about 2-3 inches over night and the field had snow all over it. Later in the day when we finally got on the field I started catching bullpens with snow falling really fast. I had never experienced anything like that at all and it was pretty cool to do.This morning we flew out to Reno because our first series is on the road and we will be heading up to Tacoma Washington for 4 games as well before we head back to Colorado Springs. I’m writing this blog from my hotel room in Reno and just super excited for tomorrows game.

It will be my first opening day with me actually on the field working. Im excited because I don’t know what its going to be like but I know its going to be something I will never forget. I’m happy because all of the hard work I have put in on and off the field is slowly paying off and with all these words I’m writing can’t even begin to explain how I’m feeling about it all. Once I first got the job I thought I was dreaming and just kept thinking to my self when am I going to wake up from this. I have dreamt about this day for so long and its finally here and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.

For now I think this will be it because I need to go to bed and get a good nights sleep for tomorrows game. I will post another blog soon letting everyone know how opening week is going. Be sure to follow me on twitter @Bpcatchergener and tell your friends to follow me as well I really appreciate it. And if you come out to any of the games come stop by and say hi to me. Go Skysox

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Hey everyone its finally that time of the year again when spring training is here and everyone starts that long grind again. The first work outs for most teams started over the weekend. Im really excited about this year since I live here and I’m going to go to a lot of spring training games. I’m working on working for a team for spring training and beyond.

Once I moved out to Scottsdale I had no idea where I was going to live I just had a few apartments that I had checked out online. The first place I checked out is about 3-4 minutes from Salt River Fields the (Dbacks and Rockies spring training complex). I wanted to be close to the complex because I knew I would be doing work for the Dbacks and also had good connections with the team. So I end ed upgetting the place right by the complex and I love it here.

The first few weeks were terrifying because I didn’t know a lot of people and I had no work exactly lined up. I had money in the bank that I had saved up from my job I had before I moved so I knew I had some time to get situated. With all of this being new to me I went out for the first few weeks to check things out and see where everything was. Ive been here just over 6 months now and I’ve met so many people and have done so many amazing things with baseball.

I first started working with the Dbacks Scout team with Rodney Davis and I met a lot of great coaches. It was a great experience to meet these great coaches that had ties all through out baseball and thats the name of the game. I helped the scout team for the summer catching bullpens/throwing BP and coaching one of the teams.

One of the coaches from the scout team teaches a bunch of pre school kids baseball twice a week and asked me if I would help him out. At first I really didn’t want to because I was thinking man this is going to be so boring and having the kids not knowing what they were doing. But after the first week or so I was stoked looking forward to going and helping teach these young kids the best sport. I enjoy it a lot because these kids have so much energy and I love helping people get better.

During one of the practices I met a guy who was the baseball operations for the Arizona Fall League and I told him what I was trying to do. One day he called me and told me the Salt River Rafters needed a bullpen catcher/BP pitcher for a few practices before the season started. I had a great experience with that and met a lot of great players who will be in the big leagues this year or next at some point. About 6 weeks later I got a call from the same guy and he said the Scottsdale Scorpions team needed a bullpen catcher for the last week of the season because they were down a catcher. For the last week of the reason I really got my first experience of what its like to be around a professional baseball team during games. It was amazing being around the stadium everyday and it was the first time I ever got asked to sign an autograph. I was shocked when people started asking me and I only signed for some young kid.

After the Arizona Fall League was over I got a call from the Dbacks asking me to catch bullpens for the guys they had rehabbing. I was catching bullpens with minor league and big league guys 2 days a week and that all came about from some people I know with the team.

After that ended right around thanksgiving I did nothing with baseball till about the second week of January. I got a call from  a guy from the Angels that I was told to give a call and see if he could help me out at all. A week later he called me and told me he had a job for me to help the Angels pitchers who were rehabbing and getting ready for spring training. An hour later a guy from the Rockies called me offering me a job doing the exact same thing and unfortunately it was the same days and same time as the Angels. I had to decline the Rockies since I had already told the Angels I would work for them.

I’m still working for the Angels and it was has been by far the best experience I have had out here so far with baseball. All the coaches/players/front office people I have met have all been super nice and its a great organization to be working with. Everyday I show up change at my locker into my Angels gear go out to the field then stretch, play catch then go catch a few bullpens. My last day with the Angels will be March 2nd right before spring training starts for the minor leaguers.

I currently don’t have anything lined up for spring training or after but I know something will work out for me because something has every time I get done working with some team. And everything happens for a reason and when one door closes another one will open up for me. After all this its just another foot in the door and more people knowing who I am and what I’m trying to do. All of the hard work will pay off eventually and I can’t wait till it does.

Its funny how when you have nothing going all of a sudden I get two teams calling me the same day an hour apart offering me a job. Thats why I know something will come up for a job after I’m done with the Angels.

Since Ive moved out here I’ve had some of the best experiences and the best decision of my life. Its the happiest I have ever been even tho I miss all of my friends and family everyday. But they aren’t that far from AZ and I will be seeing a lot of them soon for spring training.

When I moved out here I started hanging out with a family friend and his wife who are part owners of the Dbacks. Jim is a baseball junky like me so we went to pretty much every Dbacks home game. I was at the game the night the Dbacks clinched the division and that was a crazy time because I got to go on the field and in the club house to celebrate with the team. That was an experience I will never forget and its something millions of people will never be able to see first hand. But I’m very fortunate for the things I have done and have been able to do since moving out here and I never take it for granted.

For now thats about it and the next chapter I will write will probably be once I get my new job with a new team. I look forward to what will happen next for me and I’m excited to share the experience with everyone who reads my blog. If you come out to spring training in AZ let me know and maybe we can go to a game together.

Remember to work hard and enjoy life and always be happy it makes a difference. And spread the word to your friends and family to check out my blog. If you have twitter follow me @bpcatchergener. Thanks hope you guys are enjoying my blog and leave me comments on here.

 

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Hey everyone sorry for the delay on chapter 3. I have been busy with work and I went back home over the weekend for my dads 60th birthday/Valentines day with Nicole. I surprised him and just showed up at the house and he had no idea.

In this chapter I’m going to write all about the baseball stuff and how I got started to where I’m at today.

So once I realized they had jobs for BP pitchers in the big leagues I started calling people I know. One of the guys I called was a friend who I had played baseball with and he was the JV coach at Mt Carmel high school in San Diego. I called him and told him what I’m trying to do and asked him if I could come out to help him out and throw some BP. He was stoked for the help and I knew it wasn’t going to pay me anything but it wasn’t about the money. It was all about the first sentence to put on my baseball resume as a BP pitcher and the passion I have for the game.

I went to the field for the first time and I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know any of the kids or other coaches but I threw well and he asked me to come back and throw again a few days later. I ended up throwing for the winter ball team as well and thats when I met the Asst Varsity coach at Mt Carmel. While throwing BP during the winter ball season the coaches uncle who a MLB coach  saw me throw BP a few times and told me I threw really well. I told him what I was trying to do and he asked me if I have ever caught before. I told him when I was younger I was a catcher but it had been awhile. He told me I should be a bullpen  catcher because teams would be more willing to hire me then they would for just a BP pitcher.

The asst coach is best friends with a guy who used to play for the Padres and he told me a bunch of minor league and MLB guys from the Padres and other teams all hit together during the off season. So he set things up for me to go down and start throwing BP to a bunch of these guys and it was a great experience. A few weeks later a few pitchers started coming out to throw some bullpens and they needed a catcher so since I was going to try and be a bullpen catcher it was a perfect fit for me.

I threw BP and caught bullpens for these guys until spring training started and didn’t do anything else until the next off season. I went to the field with pretty much all the same guys again the next off season and just kept building my resume. I went on and helped do some baseball camps through out the year as well.

A friend of the family is a part owner for the Dbacks and he set me up with a friend of his who is a scout for the Dbacks and I told him what I’m trying to do. He was putting on a camp/tryout for the Dbacks and invited me to come out to AZ to help out with it and it was my first experience helping an organization out like that. He introduced me to plenty of coaches/scouts and told them what I’m trying to do and thats when I met Rodney Davis. We kept in contact and one day he came out to San Diego and we sat down and talked about my career path and how they could help me out.

Rodney suggested that I move to AZ since baseball goes on year round and I would have a better opportunity getting a job. I thought about it for about a week or so and it was hard because I was working a good full time job making pretty decent money but just wasn’t to happy at the job. Im always a very happy guy and have a good outlook on life so I knew it was something I needed to do to be happy and do something I really wanted to do. My dream was still being a bullpen catcher/being in the big leagues and this is the big opportunity I needed.

I finally made the decision that I was going to take that step forward and move out to Scottsdale AZ and I moved out here August 20th 2011. I was pretty nervous because I didn’t have a job set up but I had money in the bank from my previous job. So I put in my two week notice packed my stuff up and my brother helped me move out to Scottsdale. I moved into a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment just minutes away from Salt River Fields the (Dbacks and Rockies new spring training complex). It would be the first time I have lived on my own and I was nervous at the beginning to be leaving all of my friends and family in San Diego.

Chapter 3 is now in the books and thats all my past life in San Diego. I will be writing more soon about my new life in AZ and all the new baseball stuff I have done since I’ve moved out here. I hope everyone is enjoying this blog so far. Please pass this blog on to others and follow me on twitter @bpcatchergener.

Remember work hard, have fun and do what makes you happy.

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So here is the part everyone has been waiting for and wanting to read about.

Its funny every time I meet someone new and I tell them that I’m trying to get a job as a bullpen catcher they ask me where I played baseball at. I always kind of give it a good laugh and say well thats the funny thing. I go on to tell them that I never even played baseball in high school, college or any pro ball. No one believes me in the beginning and just ask how I’m catching bullpens for minor league and big league guys.

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Alright everyone so I just started this blog today and I’m pretty excited about it. First and foremost  thanks for reading and supporting me on my journey. Second I’m going to say this is the time I’ve ever done something like this and I’m not a very good writer so please bare with me on it haha.

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