Call-ups—even the cocky ones—deserve a break

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 2004 by Todd Jones

When September approaches, players find themselves in one of two places. One place is good: Your team still is in it. The other place is not as good: You say you're still in it, but you're out of it. You've played as hard as you can, but things just didn't go your way.

So players and organizations in this mode try to find a way to build for next year. I think this is why September call-ups were introduced.

September call-ups are one of the unspoiled beauties of the big business of the major leagues. After a long season, the organization decides which minor league guys it wants to Promote. They usually fall in one of two categories: those in the team's long-term plans and those who have earned a shot in the show with their play.

The teams that are out of it can put a young guy out there, and if he struggles and the team loses, it's not the end of the world. This is one area in which the non-contenders have an advantage. When a team still is in the hunt, the call-up does a lot of watching. But that's important, too. The call-up might not be on the field, but he's around veteran big-leaguers. The veterans can show him how to carry himself on and off the field. When the game starts, the call-up has a front-row seat. Hopefully, he'll learn that this game is more intense than it was where he was at for the past five months.

For the most part, call-ups are about the same. They walk through those clubhouse doors humble yet proud. After all, they've waited their whole lives to come through those doors. They're typically 20 or 21, their bodies don't ache and they have electric fastballs or ungodly power. They don't have a portfolio, a strength guy and a chef. They never say it, but they're there to do things that never have been done. They have this wait-til-they-get-a-load-of-me attitude. Some older players can't handle that. They feel threatened, so they make it tough on the new guys. They abuse the call-ups because they can. The older guys will say they're just kidding or that it's good for the youngsters to not get too comfortable.

Well, excuse me. These poor kids are scared to death. They're having trouble dealing with the concept of an upper deck and the fact their parents don't have to come to the games because they can watch on TV. And someone thinks these guys are comfortable? Please.

As I get older, I really enjoy watching these guys. They don't care about their pension and their licensing program. They're fired up that they get their own baseball cards. When a guy the Phillies brought up last week introduced himself, he said, "Nice to meet you, sir." I'm now a "Sir" Not Sir in the Derek Jeter way, but Sir in the distant-uncle-who-I-meet-once-every-few-years-at-family-functions way. But hey, that's why I love this time of year.

E-mail Todd Jones, a reliever for the Phillies, at tjones@sportingnews.com.