Pitcher moves all the way to Class A Stockton
Former University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Pacelli High School baseball star Chris Simonson returned to Stevens Point Monday after a busy summer playing in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system.
After being drafted in the 43rd round of the Major League Baseball June draft, Simonson quickly moved up the minor league ladder, finishing with the Class A Stockton Ports of the California League. Simonson, who is back at UW-SP to complete his final semester of school, reported to Arizona. The organization then sent him to Helena, Mont. to play rookie ball in the Pioneer League.
Following a quick start with Helena, where he was 3-0 and led the league in earned run average at 1.95, he was promoted to Stockton. He continued to pitch well, not allowing an earned run in his first 19.2 innings while striking out 20. Simonson, who pitched mainly in relief, also had two saves.
Simonson sat down with The Gazette Sports Editor Mike Kemmeter to reflect on his first summer playing professional baseball.
Q: It looks like you had a pretty hectic time since you were drafted only three months ago by the Milwaukee Brewers, advancing all the way to the Class A level. Was it anything like you expected?
"Yes, it was to be expected, I guess. In Helena there were, with the Pioneer League, there were a lot of younger guys, a lot of guys fresh out of high school. When I made the jump to California, the main thing that was really evident was the physical maturity of the players. A lot of the guys there were a little bit older, 23 or 24 years old, a lot stronger. And basically if you made a mistake, they're going to hit it harder than the guys in the Pioneer League would, so it was more of a challenge out there."
Q: What things will you remember most about your first season in professional baseball?
"I would say the extreme amount of time spent on buses. They don't lie when they say minor league baseball is a lot of bus riding. It was pretty common to have bus rides of seven to eight hours on road trips. That part of it was tiring, I guess, and it kind of sticks out in your mind."
Q: What personal milestones will you remember most?
"I'll always remember my pro win for sure. Mainly because it wasn't in the (United States) - it was up in Canada. That's where I got my first win with Helena."
Q: The Brewers have two Class A teams in their minor league system, Stockton and the Beloit Snappers, who of course play in Wisconsin. Stockton is considered to be higher on the ladder than Beloit. Where you surprised to skip past Beloit, where some minor leaguers spend a whole season before moving up to Stockton?
"It wasn't too surprising. I knew some guys were going to get moved. I figured it would be one or the other. As it was, another one of the pitchers, Kevin Grader, he got moved up to Beloit and I went to Stockton.
"The competition is very similar, I guess. Stockton's in a league, the California League, that's considered to be an advanced (Class) A league. But from what I've heard the Midwest League and California League are very similar."
Q: At Stockton, you continued to pitch well and you finished with a 2-1 record with two saves and a 3.16 earned run average. How big of a jump was there in the level of competition and did you have to make any adjustments to the competition?
"A lot of it, I think, was mental. Like I said earlier, in California the guys were on- average, a lot bigger and stronger and they would hit your mistakes better. And a lot of it, I think, is the mental part behind it, as far as pitch selection and stuff like that goes. I was lucky that we had a veteran catcher out in Stockton who called good games and I didn't have to worry about that too much. A lot of the better hitters, you have to almost pitch backwards to them just to outsmart them."
Q: After starting at Helena, Stockton manager Bernie Moncallo and pitching coach Randy Kramer brought you out of the bullpen on 14 of your 15 appearances. At UW-SP and Pacelli, you were a starter the vast majority of the time. How did you like coming out of the bullpen and did it take some time to adjust?
"It was a little bit of an adjustment, but I had to make it in a hurry because the first day I got to California they threw me out there right away. So I guess they threw me into the fire.
"I guess it's a completely different mentality. You don't have quite as much preparation time, but on the other hand I like it because it seems you can be a little more aggressive and go right at guys. A lot of times when you come into games, the hitters haven't seen you before so you can almost go right at them and be more aggressive."
Q: Which do you prefer more, starting or relieving?
"I really don't know. It's something that, I imagine over the offseason, that we'll be talking and I'll probably find out then what they're plans are. For the most part, I think I've had a little success doing both. Whichever one it is, I can deal with one or the other."
Q: At Helena, you were able to start games and you obviously did well, leading the league in ERA while you were there. What things did you take from that level that helped you at Stockton?
"The confidence, I'd say. When I first got there, I started off as a fifth starter and I really didn't know what they expected out of me. There was a little bit of pressure and I got over that and I think I built some confidence as the season went on. And just by throwing well and getting a few wins there, I think when I finally made it to Stockton, I was confident enough that I could just go out there and go right at guys and not worry too much."
Q: During the month of July, you finished with a 3-0 record and a 1.10 ERA between Stockton and Helena. The Brewers named you their Minor League Pitcher of The Month. Although you were pitching well, that had to be a very pleasant surprise because it showed the organization was keeping a close eye on you.
"It was a big surprise. I really didn't even know of the award to begin with. It was a good thing to get. It gives you a little bit of satisfaction and you know that you put in a lot of hard work and somebody's recognizing you."
Q: The Brewers first round draft pick, Ben Sheets also pitched for Stockton while you were there. How do you think you compare with him? Do you think you are as far along as he is?
"I don't think I can compare because we're two different kinds of pitchers. He's a little more of a power pitcher. He throws the ball consistently in the low to mid 90's and he's got an excellent curveball. He relies on strikeouts. And I think, for the most part, I'm a pitcher that's going to try and hit my spots and I'm not going to strike out quite as many guys as he does. I'm going to rely more on getting groundballs. We were both fairly effective there."
Q: You are the first player in years from UW-SP to be drafted and play in the minors. What kind of backgrounds did your teammates come from?
"That was one of the real interesting things, too. Especially in Helena, (where) we had quite a few Latin guys, guys from the Dominican Republic. So that was interesting to kind of get a feeling for their culture and try to communicate with them - it was a learning experience.
"A lot of the guys are from all over the country. One of my roommates was from Maine and a lot of guys were from Florida. The guys really come from everywhere, so it was a good experience to meet a lot of people."
Q: Do you feel that playing at the Division 3 level and at a small high school helped or hurt you?
"I don't think it hurt at all. Obviously if I would've been at a Division 1 school, a bigger school, there would've been a little more exposure. I don't think it hurt me in any way at all. Here, even though it's Division 3, we play in a pretty competitive conference. And with the WIAC, there's a lot of scouts at those games anyway. If the talent's there, for the most part, I think the scouts are going to find it."
Q: You've been playing baseball most of your life, from tee ball through little league, high school, college and now the pros. Who has helped you most along the way to become the pitcher you are today?
"I really can't single it out to one person. Steve Foster helped me a lot. He was our pitching coach my sophomore and junior years. He helped a lot, a lot with the mental part of pitching. Other than that, it's a collection of my parents - they've always been supportive and have been there - and overall, all the coaches I've had have been really helpful."
Q: We talked about the promotion to Stockton earlier and Beloit is obviously closer to your family and friends, who likely would've traveled to see you play. Were you disappointed to skip Beloit for that reason?
"That's kind of funny. That's something I thought of right away. I guess it would've been nice to be able to be in Beloit and my family could've seen me play a little bit more.
"But just the fact that I did get moved to Stockton and I got moved up that fast, it's an excellent opportunity and I kind of got my foot in the door, so to speak. It was just a good opportunity."
Q: You weren't at the ballpark all-day, every-day while you were in Stockton and Helena. What were the bus rides on road trips like and what kind of things did you do when you weren't at the ballpark?
"To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot to do. The majority of the guys didn't have cars so transportation was a little bit of a problem.
"For the most part, you just kind of hang out at your apartment before the game and just relax a little bit. You just kind of get ready for the game. Normally you get to the park around three, four o'clock, something like that. Up until then, you just kind of relax and prepare yourself to go."
Q: You decided to come back to UW-SP and finish your degree this fall. Did the organization give the you opportunity to play in winter ball?
"It was really never discussed. They had known that my intent was to come back, I had one semester left. They knew I wanted to come back and finish school.
"They never extended the opportunity. I don't know if that could've been because they knew I wanted to go back to school or for other reasons. I'm not sure."
Q: What kind of things are you doing to get ready for next season? Did the Brewers give you a training schedule or anything?
"One of the last days, they handed out a training book with all the weightlifting stuff and the training program they want us on. I'm going to take a few weeks off for sure because the season was long and it was intense. So I need a little time off and then I'll hit it hard again."
Q: Now that the season is over, has the Brewers organization told you anything about next year? When do you have to report, and where do you hope to be sent once the 2000 season starts?
"I really don't know. I know we'll be in contact sometime over the offseason. As far as I know, I think February-March would be the time when I'd have to report in Arizona (for spring training). All I know about spring training is they place you with a team and I guess whether you stay with that level or not kind of depends on how you perform throughout spring training.
"Of course, I'd love to move up. And I realize I made a great jump this year just to move up there. I really don't know what to expect. I guess everything will be cleared up a little bit in March or April."