Part 2 - Chris Smith Enters Yankees Affiliate Ball

Part 1 with Chris Smith can be heard Here & on Apple
Podcasts

230 innings

Spring Training & First Yankee bullpen

A crunch in his arm throwing bullpen & misses first year
with the Yankees

Yankees organization treatment is top-notch - great help from
Greg Spratt

Working out, side by side with other injured players at the
complex w/ Yankees  Kevin Youkilis, Alex Rodriguez, Derek
Jeter & Mark Teixeira & Mariano Rivera

Sharing a Cold Tub with Derek Jeter

Good teammates & leaders, It will motivate you

New York Yankees 2 Gulf Coast League (GCL) – very eye opening
experience 

Justin Pope – Yankees Pitching Coach helped Chris retake the
mound with a new mindset

Must be willing to work & have coaches who are willing to
invest their time & experience with you 

2014 Chris is now pitching for the Charleston River Dogs, an
Affiliate team. 

Feels the Monkey on his back

Gave up a home run to Mike Yastrzemski in Low A

Chris gets promoted to High A in Tampa

Playing in the minors with Aaron Judge, Mike Ford, Mason
Williams, Dante Bichette, Gary Sanchez & Aroldis Chapman

Pitching to Yankees catcher, Kyle Higashioka 

Aaron Judge “one of the nicest human beings, not just in
baseball but on the planet.” 

Grinding away with good friends in High A,  Sleeping on
air mattresses and paid very little

Good year in 2014 with Trenton Thunder

Off to Major Leagues as a back up in 2015 Yankees Spring
Training

Chris pitching speed 93 to 94. Gave up only 2 hits and 1 run
during Spring Training

Chris gets released by Yankees

Chris signs an independent contract & returns to
Louisville and plans to go to the Kentucky Derby

Yankees Pitching Coach, Danny Burrell gives Chris a call and
re-signs him 

Chris breaks into the Double A Yankees team

Future with The Blue Jays, Trades 

Vlad Jr. remarks on Yankees - "I would never sign with the
Yankees, not even dead."  - Weakens leverage

"You're not just playing for us, you're playing for 29 other
teams . . . "



Special Thanks to Chris Smith for sharing part of his baseball
journey with us. We look forward to having him back soon.
Chris is a Real Estate executive and can be reached at 
chris.smith@compass.com
Chris is also on Instagram

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about the show.
Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music "Rocking Forward"

Research sources included:
Wild Things Dream Team: : Chris Dugan,
Observer-Reporter.com

Chris Smith Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Smith_(pitcher,_born_1988)


Chris Smith on Baseball Reference
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=smith-011chr