Five years ago, Tampa Yankees designated hitter Jason Place was inking a deal with the other side. Place, one of the highest-ranked prep baseball players in 2006, was the Boston Red Sox’s first pick in the 2006 draft, when the team drafted the Piedmont, S.C. native with the No. 26 overall pick. Half a decade later, Place now finds himself on the New York Yankees’ Class-A Advanced Affiliate team.
“We’re talking about the biggest rivalry in sports,” Place said. “I get flack about it from my friends who are Boston fans, and I hear it from my family and friends on the Yankee side. But to me, baseball is baseball.”
Place, who signed with the Yankees in late April after being released by the Red Sox in March, said he was surprised to find that the rivalry was taken more seriously on the Yankees side.
“I think the culture here is bred more than it is over there, and I like that,” Place said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Place has been limited this season after bruising his knee while playing left field in a game on May 9. He was activated from the team’s disabled list last Thursday, and is hitting .209 with one home run and four RBI in 12 games.
“It was unfortunate for him,” Tampa manager Luis Sojo said. “When we got him, he was a guy who had a chance to go up to Double-A. Now he’s got to work hard to get stronger and stronger, because that’s a big issue to have a knee injury.”
Place said his knee is close to being fully recovered, and hopes to get the bump up to the Yankees' Double-A affiliate in Trenton, N.J., before the season’s end.
“I just have to take it day by day and take it at bat by at bat,” Place said. “I have to focus on improving and putting the numbers up, and hopefully I will get a promotion by the end of the year. But if not, I’ll just stay down here and keep working on my game, play baseball and have fun.”
The Red Sox cut Place despite handing the then 18-year old Place a contract worth $1.3 million in 2006.
Place originally gave his commitment to collegiate baseball for South Carolina, but decided instead to head to the MLB draft. And even though he has yet to get past the Double-A level of the minor leagues in five years, Place said he has no regrets about turning pro right away.
“If somebody would still ask me, I’d say that you should take the chance to play pro baseball in order to be the best player you can be,” Place said. “Obviously it hasn’t worked out as quickly as I thought it would and (the decision to turn pro early) is something everybody thinks back about, but to me, it still was a no-brainer to start my career out in the pros.”
“We’re talking about the biggest rivalry in sports,” Place said. “I get flack about it from my friends who are Boston fans, and I hear it from my family and friends on the Yankee side. But to me, baseball is baseball.”
Place, who signed with the Yankees in late April after being released by the Red Sox in March, said he was surprised to find that the rivalry was taken more seriously on the Yankees side.
“I think the culture here is bred more than it is over there, and I like that,” Place said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Place has been limited this season after bruising his knee while playing left field in a game on May 9. He was activated from the team’s disabled list last Thursday, and is hitting .209 with one home run and four RBI in 12 games.
“It was unfortunate for him,” Tampa manager Luis Sojo said. “When we got him, he was a guy who had a chance to go up to Double-A. Now he’s got to work hard to get stronger and stronger, because that’s a big issue to have a knee injury.”
Place said his knee is close to being fully recovered, and hopes to get the bump up to the Yankees' Double-A affiliate in Trenton, N.J., before the season’s end.
“I just have to take it day by day and take it at bat by at bat,” Place said. “I have to focus on improving and putting the numbers up, and hopefully I will get a promotion by the end of the year. But if not, I’ll just stay down here and keep working on my game, play baseball and have fun.”
The Red Sox cut Place despite handing the then 18-year old Place a contract worth $1.3 million in 2006.
Place originally gave his commitment to collegiate baseball for South Carolina, but decided instead to head to the MLB draft. And even though he has yet to get past the Double-A level of the minor leagues in five years, Place said he has no regrets about turning pro right away.
“If somebody would still ask me, I’d say that you should take the chance to play pro baseball in order to be the best player you can be,” Place said. “Obviously it hasn’t worked out as quickly as I thought it would and (the decision to turn pro early) is something everybody thinks back about, but to me, it still was a no-brainer to start my career out in the pros.”
No comments:
Post a Comment