Backfield Blog: New digs in Fort Myers
By jseiner24
By Jake Seiner / MiLB.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The last time I hung around the backfields at the Minnesota Twins’ Spring Training complex here, it was tough the hear balls cracking off bats over the sounds of hammers hitting nails one hundred feet or so beyond the outfield fence. This time around, it’s a little easier to hear the baseball, and the backdrop is both fantastic and immensely useful to the Twins.
Last June, Minnesota completed $48.5 million worth of renovations to Hammond Stadium and the surrounding CenturyLink Sports Complex, including the construction of a new dormitory for the team’s Minor League players.
The dorm has room to house 108 players, which is more than enough space for all the MiLBers who choose not to move off campus during Spring Training (usually 20 or so guys, estimates director of Minor League operations Brad Steil).
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The setup also includes a theater/meeting space that can house about 200 people, as well as classrooms used primarily for teaching English to international players. Players can get three meals a day in the cafeteria, too, meaning no more lunch runs to the local Chipotle (unless, of course, the guys just want to).
“It’s been a great thing for us,” Steil said. “It’s been a nice place to have our meetings this spring where we can fit everybody in there. We’re not jammed in the clubhouse or something. It’s been convenient for the players. Now they don’t have to take vans and busses back and forth.
“They have everything right there. It’s not like they have to run out on their own and get meals. It’s been a really good thing for them.”
On the field, the team’s Rookie-level players hosted the Division III University of St. Thomas (from Saint Paul, Minnesota, which I did not know before today). At least one notable Tommie alumni was also around the complex — Class A Cedar Rapids manager Jake Mauer. Joe’s big brother is a St. Thomas Hall of Famer and holds school records for hits (243), runs (181) and games (187) in a career.
Among the highlights today was a lengthy discussion with Twins right-hander Alex Meyer — some with the tape recorder on, some off. We talked about his changeup, new Minnesota pitching coach Neil Allen and learning how to think less on the bump.
After the interview, I asked him who Tuesday’s starter would be in the Minor League game on the field in front of us, and he said Taylor Rogers, then added that Rogers was his pick as a breakout performer for 2014. Meyer might be a bit biased here — he and the left-handed Rogers were college teammates at Kentucky and obviously share an organization now — along Logan Darnell, also a UK product. That said, I saw a bit of what Meyer saw — his fastball was in the low 90s and pretty well located, and his breaking ball induced a number of swings and misses.
Tuesday’s Minor League games featured Minnesota’s Double-A and Triple-A squads against Boston’s teams. This afforded me a look at Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Manuel Margot, Jorge Polanco and more. As I wrote on the site today, Buxton has had some trouble recreating his swing this spring, and he didn’t look especially sharp in the game, going 0-for-4 with a walk. I wouldn’t read much into that if I were a Twins fan — slumps happen, especially in the spring, and Buxton has a history of slow starts anyway. But perhaps expectations that he’ll rocket out of Double-A should be put on hold.
