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Hey Columbus Sports Fans!

While the major league season still has a couple weeks left, the long minor league season ended last week. Of course this starts another off-season of tough decisions for every team. Free agent signings, trades, firing, and hiring take effect in the off-season in every organization. The Toronto Blue Jays’ organization struggled this season as a whole. Not one team made the playoffs, which means one of two things: 1) Some executives and/or coordinators could face termination; or 2) Certain players will. There has to be some change within the organization so that this year doesn’t repeat itself.

There are many people who try to predict the outcome of a team’s sport season. Predictions, however, never take into account injuries, trades, or releases. I have been guilty of some bad predictions myself. I could not have predicted the season I had this year. I began this season’s roller coaster ride in Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers organization, thinking I would be in Grand Rapids, MI. Instead, I got released on the last day of Spring Training, leaving me with a tough situation concerning my baseball career in which I decided to continue playing for a few months more in an independent league in Winnipeg, Canada. Two days after driving 22 hours to Winnipeg, I was contacted by the Blue Jays. They told me they wanted to sign me as a free agent. I gladly accepted. Not having a passport at the time, I was forced to drive eight hours back to Minneapolis, where I flew off to Dunedin, FL. I played a month in Extended Spring Training and was moved up to the Florida State League, which was actually a higher level than where I would have been with the Tigers’ organization. Ironically my last outing was against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, in Lakeland, FL, where I began the year in Spring Training. In the end, things seemed to work out, and I feel I took advantage of my opportunities. I now tell myself not to try to predict things in my career or try to control things I cannot. I will just play, and I’m sure the rest will take care of itself!   

Five days after the end of the 2009 World Series, I am a free agent. I signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays back in May, and that contract will end upon the completion of the major league season. If the Blue Jays decide not to sign me before the deadline, I will of course be free to sign with any other organization. I am truly hoping that my success this year will enable me to either be resigned by the Jays, or some other organization. Either way, you can bet that I’m ready to continue playing!

Thanks a lot for all the support from everyone throughout the season. I will be posting articles here and there during the off-season. Feel free to contact me if anyone has questions or comments. You can find a total recap of all my stats from the year on: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=543097Thanks for reading!

Tags: blue jays, minor league baseball