ON THE COUGARS: Sleep secondary for Cougars' newcomers
Mike Spina and Steve Parker aren’t even a month into their professional baseball careers, and each recent addition to the Cougars’ roster has already experienced the nomadic ways of a minor leaguer.
Both signed within a week of the draft, and in less than two days were on flights to Arizona for their first tastes of their new jobs. After a combined five games in rookie ball, they were already due for their first promotions.
Back to the airport and off to some place called Kane County.
“I’ve just been on the road,” said Spina, Oakland’s 11th-round choice out of the University of Cincinnati. “I feel like I’ve been living on a plane or at a hotel.”
The pair arrived just in time for the start of the second half of the Midwest League season, but unpacking wasn’t an option quite yet. Once they joined the team, they boarded a bus full of strangers who they would soon take the field with for a four-game series at Quad Cities.
After the weekend trip, a day off Monday and their first game in front of a home crowd Tuesday, things are finally beginning to settle down slightly, aside from the fact that neither as of Tuesday night had figured out where they will reside and are, at the moment, sharing a hotel room.
“I headed down to Arizona for a few days to work out and make sure I was game-ready, and then they sent me straight up here, so it’s been pretty hectic,” said Parker, a fifth-round choice out of BYU. “I haven’t even got a host family yet.”
All things considered, it’s easy to see how their job on the field could suffer, but Cougars manager Steve Scarsone recalls his first weeks in an organization and said he doesn’t remember letting adjustments to the drifting lifestyle throw a hitch into his play.
“You’re young; you’re excited,” Scarsone said. “You take those things in stride. I think it’s more difficult for a guy that’s been around for a while who is more settled in his ways and his family and all that type of stuff to be bounced all over the place. Young guy, right out of school, this is probably about the most exciting thing he’s ever had.”
Getting settled in has also taken a backseat for the newest Cougars. Spina and Parker, both third basemen, have been more concerned with making the right first impression on the field first and worrying about where they’ll sleep that night second.
Spina, in particular, has looked right at home. Originally from Florida, the former Bearcat with southern roots describes his Midwest experience as having “never been farther up than Cincinnati,” but went 3-for-4 in his home debut at Kane County. He also clubbed a pair of home runs in his third game with the team over the weekend at Quad Cities.
“It’s going pretty well,” Spina said. “I’m swinging the bat and just getting hits, so hopefully I can keep going.”
Both fresh faces expect to be in Kane County for the foreseeable future, but the organization doesn’t exactly come to them with a mapped out itinerary for the summer.
“They kind of keep it a mystery,” Parker said.
So for now at least, they’ll gladly learn a new address and get clothes in closets.
“It’s going to be nice to hang the clothes up and know you’re here for at least a couple days,” Spina said.
• Kevin Chroust is a sportswriter for The Chronicle. He can be reached at editorial@kcchronicle.com.
