Brian Gump has gone on a long journey in his pursuit of baseball. The 23 year old has had to work hard for every opportunity and prove himself in many ways. Overcoming injury is always a good test. Though he struggled a lot this season between Clearwater, GCL, and Lakewood, he's done his best to get healthy, stay healthy, and show what he's made of. He also got to experience winning the South Atlantic League title with the Lakewood BlueClaws. He answered some questions via e-mail just days after the Claws victory.
Gump finished the season hitting .218 in 147 at-bats. He put up his best average at Lakewood hitting .255.
Movin' On Up, Not Entirely Deluxe
This year certainly threw a lot of curveballs at me. I really feel like all the level jumping allowed me to experience being in just about every role there is in professional baseball player, from being a bench/role player in High A, to being an every day starter bottom of the lineup guy in low A, to being a run producing middle to top of the lineup guy in the GCL while I was rehabbing, to being on the DL while I was injured. Although, this was definitely not the ideal year that I had in mind, the experience that it offered me is incredibly valuable. I really feel like I have a more complete perspective on minor league baseball as a result of being sandwiched between the lower and upper levels of minor league ball and seeing many of my teammates move up to AA and hear about their experiences. It certainly hasn't been all fun for me this year, but I think it has provided me with countless essential individual experiences and a wholistic experience that will serve me well as my career moves ahead.
Seeing The (High A) Ball
Well, statistically it appears that High A was the toughest and I think I would agree with the statistics although I believe I struggled so mightily for two altering reasons. The first was that after the first week of the season, I went from being a starter and putting up decent numbers to playing every 3rd or 4th day and then every 5th or 6th day. Obviously, hitting is one of the hardest jobs in sports, and hitting when you aren't playing every day is even tougher. It took me quite a while to begin learning the in's and out's of how to establish continuity at the plate when you are not in the lineup every day. A lot of this knowledge was passed down to be by older players like Keoni De Renne who have played all the way up at the AAA level and are truly professional hitters. The second reason was that my swing needed fixing, something I sensed but wasn't sure of until I got down to Low A and our hitting coach Greg Legg sat me down and told me what he saw. We worked hard on making 3 key adjustments and I instantly began seeing results. On top of these two explanations, the pitching at the high A level is slightly better than the low A level because most of the pitchers have slightly better command of their off-speed pitches. I wouldn't say its a big difference by any means, I would say its a slight step up.
Many people say that the GCL is actually one of the hardest leagues to hit in, but after playing in the GCL last year I think I figured out the key to that league. The challenges are many, mainly the pitchers command isn't very refined so they often times "don't know where the ball is going once it leaves their hand", the catchers are also no very experience in the art of calling a game so you will get pitch sequences that don't have much substance or thought behind them which is very effective and lastly, the umpires are rookies too so the strike zone can be a bit erratic at times. All this being said, I have found that if you just don't think and go out there with a certain zone in mind and be aggressive early in the count so you don't have to gamble with the umpires you can generally have success because the stuff and pinpoint control isn't nearly as good as it is once you move up a level or two.
So after that lengthy breakdown, I would say that it is a consensus that High A is the toughest pitching I saw all year, but I would like to note that it wasn't too much better than low A. The difference is small.
Tough Breaks:
My biggest challenge was that fact that I experienced almost no continuity this season. Once I got moved to Low A and was playing every day and started to hit really well and see some continuity, I got injured and missed the next 5 weeks or so. So I came back to the GCL for rehab and got some continuity there and then moved right back up to low A and spent some more time getting settled in and refining my swing even more up there for the last week plus playoffs and then the season was already over. Granted, I was not supposed to make it back on the field this year according the initially prognosis when I broke my arm, so making it back and winning a ring with the GCL AND with lakewood was quite a reward for the hard work I put in and the steps i took to heal fast which worked well.
Knowing Is Half The Battle
I feel like I have a much stronger mental approach to the game and anything it throws at me. I also feel like I have a clearer picture of what I need to do to take care of my body during the season and what I need to improve upon in my game and more importantly I feel like I know how to make improvements now.
Good Taste
I have always thrived on "pressure" situations and big time games. For me, there is nothing more rewarding in baseball and more enjoyable than playing in the playoffs and pivotal games that make or break seasons. It just demands a level of focus and attention to detail that elicits baseball at its purist form from both teams. I have had the privilege of contributing to 3 championship titles in my 2 seasons as a professional baseball player and Im not sure I can name a time when I had more fun playing baseball. Everything is better in the playoffs, the baseball is better, the food is better, the crowds are typically better, the time spent with your teammates and the experiences you make are all better because it is a collective reward for all the hard work you put in on the field together all year. It is tough to really put a finger on, but there is something about winning again and again and then getting sprayed with champagne and beer and smoking cigars and dog-piling that is incredibly special and bonds teammates for life. Oh yea, and then getting a huge ring(s) on top of all that
Lights, Stealing, Action:
Im very excited for this off-season because I have a better idea of what I need to do to prepare myself now that I have been through spring training once. I will be working harder than ever this off-season, fueled by the personal struggle of this season. Im moving up to the San Fran bay area with a very good friend of mine and equally hard worker who was also my college teammate before he transferred to V Tech and got drafted by the dodgers this year in the 10th round (Steve Domecus). I wanted to move so that I wouldn't have any distractions and could be on my own. Im very excited about it. I will focus mostly on my hitting and speed aside from building up strength which is always important. I did okay on the base paths this year, but I know I am capable of stealing a lot of bags and I want to turn some heads in that department. Hitting wise, I have a clear picture of what I need to work on mechanically and mentally, now I get to do the fun part of putting in all the hours of focused repetitions in the cage (I mean fun when I say that, I genuinely enjoy working at hitting).