The Wandering Disciple

Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Chris Carden looks in for the signs during a 2017 Gulf Coast League game.  The communication between catcher and pitcher is one of the most critical links in the game.  From behind the plate, the catcher gives signs to the pitcher of what pitch to throw and moves the infielders into position to hopefully set-up the play and record an out.  (Photo: July 21, 2017)

Orioles minor league pitcher Stefan Crichton brings the heat during a summer Gulf Coast League game at Ed Smith Stadium in 2017. Crichton is currently a reliever for the Arizona Diamonbacks. He was drafted by the Orioles in 2013 draft from TCU. He spent a few years in the Orioles farm system before making his major league debut on April 17, 2017 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles eventually traded Crichton to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018 where he remains today. (Photo: July 17, 2017)

Orioles minor leaguer Bryndan Arredondo gets hit by a pitch during an afternoon Gulf Coast League game in 2017. There is a saying in youth baseball "Hit or be hit", well at this level of professional baseball I wouldn't want to be hit by a fastball or any pitch for that matter. The Gulf Coast League is an entry level league in professional baseball with teams consisting of newly drafted players and international signees playing their first season in the states. The batter here Arredondo was the Orioles 23rd round draft pick in the 2017 draft, playing in just his second professional game. (Photo: June 29, 2017)

North Port, Florida:  Friday night lights, Minor League Baseball style, swept over the West Villages at the Atlanta Braves opened their spring training home for some Gulf Coast League baseball.  A large crowd, uncharacteristic for a GCL game, filed into the newly built stadium for an evening of baseball action. The home team Braves jumped out to big lead in the second inning.  They collected four runs in the frame by the way of six hits to take a lead.  Joel Reyes drove in a run, Wiston Cerrato collected two, and Madson Berne plated another to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. The Brave picked up two more runs in thee bottom of the seventh by the way of a two run homer by Michael Harris, his first professional home run to make it 6-0. Braves pitching kept the Rays off the board until the eighth inning when the Rays scored a run on an RBI single by Johan Lopez for their first run of the night.  They got two more in the ninth by pushing across two runs on an er...

Rays minor leaguer Jeremy Hadley congratulates teammate Thomas Milone after scoring during a Gulf Coast League game in 2013.  Both players were drafted by the Rays in the 2013 draft.  Milone is currently with the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Hadley was released by the organization after two seasons.  (Photo: August 16, 2013)

Riley Unroe rounds second and digs for third during a Gulf Coast League game in 2013 during his first season of professional baseball.  Unroe was drafted by Rays in the second round of the 2013 draft out of Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona.  He is currently still in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, playing for Advanced-A Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League.  (Photo: July 19, 2013)

Sarasota, Florida: The home team came out swinging as the GCL Orioles defeated the GCL Rays 9-0 on Friday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. The Orioles broke the scoreless tie in the third inning. A two run double by Carlos Baez gave them a 2-0 lead. The Orioles extended their lead an inning later with a five run fourth inning. Two runs came on an RBI single by Robbie Thorburn and three more came via a double by Willy Yahn to extend the lead to 7-0. The Orioles picked up another pair of runs in the sixth inning. An RBI single by JC Escarra and an RBI single by Yahn gave the Orioles the 9-0 win. Click on the photo above to view my Orioles/Rays photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The Gulf Coast League season kicked off this week and the Orioles and Twin met for a four game series to start the campaign. Thursday afternoon's game was played at Ed Smith Stadium and those in attendance were treated to a pitcher duel that saw the Twins pick up a 1-0 win. The only run of the afternoon game in the top of the first inning. Akil Baddoo doubled to left and later scored on a ground ball by Alex Robles to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. From that point on, pitching and defense highlighted the afternoon. Pedro Garcia tossed 6 2/3 shut-out innings to pick up the win. Vadim Balan closed out the game with 2 1/3 scoreless innings to secure the win for the Twins. Click on the photo above to view my Orioles/Twins photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays offense came to life on Friday afternoon as they defeated the GCL Orioles 16-5 at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays used four four-run innings to cruise to victory. The Rays took the lead in the second inning. An RBI double by Kevin Santiago, a sac fly by Alexander Alvarez and a two-run homer by Jose Tonton gave the Rays a 4-0 lead. The Orioles answered by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. An RBI double by Garrett Copeland, a sac fly by Branden Becker and an RBI double by Jean Carillo made it 4-3. But the Rays extended their lead by scoring four more runs in the third. An RBI double by Jonathon Arrrowood, a two run double by Juan Carlos Arias and an RBI single by Santiago increased the lead to 8-3. The Rays continued to push across more runs with back to back four run frames in the fifth and sixth. In the fifth it was three run triple by Tonton and an RBI single by Vidal Brujan to make it 12-3. Then in the sixth it was a solo home...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Orioles continue to struggle against the divison leading GCL Red Sox as they lost their third straight game against the Red Sox by the score of 5-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. Despite an early lead and outhitting their opponent, the Orioles bullpen collapsed in the late innings to suffer the loss. The Orioles looked to have the upper hand as they jumped out to an early four run lead in the opening frame. An RBI single by Carlos Diaz followed by a two run homer by Seamus Curran and a solo shot by Ronald Soto put the O’s in front 4-0. The Red Sox score their first run of the afternoon in the third inning. Lorenzo Cedrola was hit by a pitch and later scored on a sac fly by Stanley Espinal to make it 4-1. The Red Sox cut the lead in half by scoring in the fifth inning. Chad Hardy opened the frame with a single to left. Hardy stole second and later scored on a ground ball by Rafael Oliveras to make it 4-2. But the Red Sox showed why...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Orioles and GCL Red Sox opened up the month of August with a four game series with game one in Sarasota on Monday afternoon. The Orioles jumped out to an early lead but it wasn’t enough as the Red Sox picked up the win 9-2. The Orioles grabbed the lead in the first inning. Jake Ring led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Ring stole second and later scored on a wild pitch to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox tied the game in the third inning when Chad Hardy connected for his first professional home run to tie the game 1-1. The Red Sox manufactured a run in the fourth to take the lead. Stanley Espinal was hit by a pitch deep in the count to lead off the frame. He moved into scoring position following a single by Imeldo Diaz. A sac bunt move both runners closer to home. Espinal would then score on a sac fly by Yomar Valentin to put the Red Sox in front 2-1. The Red Sox would put up three runs in the sixth and four more in the seve...

Minnesota Twins minor leaguer Joe Cronin kicks up some clay as he slides into second during a Gulf Coast League game against the Orioles.  (Photo: June 27, 2016)

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Orioles hosted the GCL Twins for some Monday afternoon baseball under sunny skies as Ed Smith Stadium. The 2016 season just got underway on Friday and has already featured some amazing baseball as the young minor leaguers make their first step in their journey to the show. The Orioles jumped out to an early lead by scoring in the second inning. Seamus Curran led off the inning with an infield single. He later scored on an RBI single by Irving Ortega to make it 1-0. The Orioles added three more runs in the seventh inning. Gui Yuan Xu drove home a run and Daniel Franco knocked home two more to make it 4-0. The Orioles pitching staff combined for 9 innings of scoreless ball while compiling 15 strikeouts to win the game and improve to 3-0 on the season. Click the photo above to view my Orioles/Twins photo gallery or enjoy the slideshow below.  

Sarasota, Florida: As the 2015 season winds down, the GCL Orioles hosted the league leading GCL Red Sox for an afternoon game at Ed Smith Stadium. The Red Sox took the lead in the first inning. Andy Perez delivered an RBI single to score Jerry Downs and give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox added to their lead in the fourth. Yoan Aybar scored on an error to increase the lead to 2-0. But with the stellar pitching from the Red Sox, those two runs were all that was needed as the Red Sox shut-out the Orioles 2-0. Click on the photo above to view my Orioles/Red Sox photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Orioles overcame an early deficit to defeat the GCL Twins 5-3 in Gulf Coast League action at Ed Smith Stadium. The Twins took the lead in the first inning on a two run single by Blake Schmit to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. The Orioles cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. An RBI single by Jason Heinrich scored Kirvin Mosequit to make it 2-1. The Orioles tied the game in the fourth on a solo homer by Gerrion Grim. The Orioles took the lead in the fifth as Frank Crinella scored on a wild pitch to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead. The Orioles added a run to their lead an inning later. Carlos Diaz doubled home Stuart Levy to make it 4-2. The Twins inched closer by scoring in the seventh. A sac fly by Ariel Montesino scored Roberto Gonzalez to pull within a run of the lead. But the Orioles picked up an insurance run in the eighth as Heinrich scored on wild pitch to give the Orioles the 5-3 margin of victory. David Richardson was the winni...

The bat slips out of the hands of Gilbert Marrero in the fourth inning of a Gulf Coast League game at Ed Smith Stadium. (Photo: August 7, 2015)

Sarasota, Florida: After exchanging the lead several times in a closely contested see-saw battle, it was the GCL Rays who would hold on for a 4-3 win in Friday’s afternoon contest at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays capitalized on a pair of errors to take an early lead in the first inning. Joseph Astacio reached on a fielding error to give the Rays their first baserunner of the afternoon. He later scored on another fielding error to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the third inning. Kirvin Moesquit singled to right with two outs to get the rally started. He stole second and advanced to third on the throwdown. Ryan Mountcastle drove him home with an RBI single to tie the game. The game didn’t stayed tied long as the Rays struck for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead. Gilbert Marrero drew a walk to open up the frame. He moved into scoring position following a double by Ryan Caldwell. Then both baserunners would score on...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Twins and GCL Orioles dueled for twelve innings before the visiting Twins squeezed out a 2-1 win over the Orioles. The Twins broke the scoreless tie by scoring in the second inning. Robert Molina delivered a line drive single to center to give the Twins a baserunner with two outs. Molina later scored on an error to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. The Orioles tied the game in the fifth inning. Carlos Diaz led off the inning with a single to right. He moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Diaz then advanced to third following a single by Stuart Levy. Gerrion Grim would drive home Diaz with a line drive to center to tie the game. The game would stay tied until the top of the twelfth inning. Kolton Kendrick drew a two-out walk to put the go-ahead run on the bases. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then was removed from the game and replaced with Jorge Andrade as a pinch runner. After an intentional walk put Molina on the bases, a series...

GCL Twins left fielder Rowan Ebersohn makes a leaping catch against the GCL Orioles during a sunny afternoon Gulf Coast League baseball game. (Photo: July 28, 2015)

Sarasota Florida: The GCL Orioles squeezed by the division leading GCL Red Sox by the score of 1-0 at Ed Smith Stadium. The lone run of the game came in the second inning. Orioles top draft pick Ryan Mountcastle drove home Alejandro Juvier with an RBI single to center to give them a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox threatened several times during the game, putting runners in scoring position several times, but the Orioles kept them of the board as they won 1-0. Click on the photo to view photos from the Orioles/Red Sox game .