"A View from the Cheap Seats," Scott Butherus' Spring Training Tour, Mar. 6:
“Number 131, you’re up!” yelled a grizzled coach in a Tigers hat. It was my turn to try and achieve my childhood dream of being a big league ballplayer. Although the chances of that happening were approximately the same as a snowstorm blowing through the Sunshine State, I found myself on a pitcher’s mound in Lakeland at the spring tryouts for the Detroit Tigers.

I wasn’t sure if it was a case of the butterflies or the Kobayashi impression I did at the Pirates game yesterday, but my stomach had the jitters. I guess that was why my first pitch sailed three feet over the catcher’s head, ricocheted off a pole and nearly drilled the handful of catchers waiting on the other end of the battery. I’ll chalk that one up to being rusty and spending the last five years

of my life in front of a computer screen. After that, the rest of my

bullpen session in front of the coaches went well; I spotted my

fastballs, my breaking balls were sharp,and thanks to a little extra   

wind my knuckleballs were dancing like a drunken mascot.I even got to

shakehands with Todd Jones, current closer for the American League

Champion Tigers, who had come over from the adjacent field to watch. At

age 26, I wasn’t the oldest among the over 200 players trying out today,

but I certainly was old by baseball standards. (Afterwards, my aching

back and shoulder reminded me that I wasn’t getting any younger,

either.)

The day started off with a drive out to Lakeland to one of Florida’s

most historic ballparks, Joker Marchant Stadium, along with fellow UCF

alumni Phil Risi. After signing in, we were all greeted by Detroit’s head of player development for a quick pep talk about how the odds were

against anyone being signed after today, and then were split into

groups based on our positions. The players trying out ranged in age

from 18 to 45 and came from numerous backgrounds. Most of them were wearing uniforms from obscure Division II or junior colleges, and

wanted to prove they could play at the next level. A few were players

who had previous professional experience but due to injury or

circumstance had to forego a career as a ballplayer. The

last group consisted of foreign players from Latin America and Asia who

never had a chance to play college in the United States. One Japanese

player flew all the way from Tokyo just to try out. For all the players

trying out today, the chance of getting a callback is slim. As one of

the coaches told me afterward, “Last year we brought in three players

from the tryouts…none of which broke camp with the organization at the

end of spring training.”

For me, today was a great opportunity to see what it is like in a major

league training camp. For Phil it was a way to uphold a four-year

tradition of being rejected by a big league team. “I think I’m retiring

from baseball for good,” he said afterward on the way home. “I’m

sticking with the fantasy baseball from now on.” I think I agree with

him. At least I can tell my grandkids that I once got cut from the

Detroit Tigers…and I’ve got the scouting report to prove it.