Published: July 02, 2009 05:14 pm      

Minor leaguers balance development, winning

By Scott McNeish

Herald Assistant Sports Editor

CLINTON — The minor-league baseball player performs a unique balancing act.

On one hand, he wants his team to win. He does whatever it takes for the team to achieve a winning record, a playoff spot, a league championship — similar to every other level at which he has played.

On the other hand, though, he also carries a personal agenda.

He wants to climb lickety-split up his organization's developmental ladder; he wants to reach the big leagues. He plays amid the surveillance of scouts, radar guns and stopwatches.

A cerebral tug-of-war occurs under his sweaty ballcap. Team vs. Me.

How do minor-leaguers find balance?

“If you do stuff for the team, they'll take care of you,” Clinton LumberKings utility man Scott Savastano said. “Coaches are always writing reports. They say average doesn't mean anything. If you have situations where you have to drive a guy in or move a guy over, sac bunts, all those help out the team.

“If you're doing stuff for the team, that's going to move you up the ladder just as fast.”

Minor-leaguers learn early in their careers they play at the mercy of the organization's decision-makers. Questions flood their thoughts. What does the organization think of me? When am I going to move up? Are they going to move me down?

“There's definitely a lot of stuff that goes on,” Quad Cities River Bandits catcher Charlie Cutler said. “It's a lot different than college. You can move down.”

Players find relief in fixating on what they can control.

“You can only control how you play,” LumberKings designated hitter Kris Sanchez said. “That's what you have to focus on. Your play speaks for itself.”

They try to keep the team's success in their sights. But that can prove difficult because some major-league clubs claim to place more emphasis on player development than an affiliate's win-loss record.

A debate arises: Does player development reign supreme in the minors?

“One of the great secrets of minor-league baseball is wins are least important,” Baseball Prospectus writer Kevin Goldstein said. “They're not there to win games. They're there to prepare to win games at a more important level.

“If a leadoff man is hitting .180, he gets benched in the majors. But if you think he's going to be your future leadoff man and he's hitting .180, he's going to keep hitting leadoff, because that's what they think he's going to do in the big leagues. Winning has become almost secondary.”

But not totally irrelevant.

Some organizations, like Seattle, Clinton's parent club, believe winning plays an important role in player development.

“I'm 100-percent positive they go hand-in-hand,” said John Boles, Mariners special assistant to the general manager. “I've never seen a player develop as well as he possibly can develop if he goes in every day and the team is just getting shellacked.

“You want these guys to be in a winning environment because that's the building blocks to playing in the playoffs at the major-league level.”

Boles spent 13 combined seasons as director of player development for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins. He also managed six years in the minors.

“I've heard these people say winning doesn't matter and it's all player development,” Boles said. “But wait a minute. We live in a capitalistic society. Winning is everything. After all these years, I never once had to go up to a minor-league manager and say, 'Try to win the game tonight.'

“The teams that are usually successful are the ones who take winning and player development and find the right balance.”

The same harmony for which the minor-leaguer strives. He hopes his ability to balance team and personal goals will quicken his ascent to the bright lights of the major leagues.

“You always hope that if you help your team win,” Sanchez said, “the guys higher up in the organization are going to see that and give you a shot.”