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I was browsing cards this morning and started looking at 2011 Topps Chrome gold refs for no particular reason. Among the listings was Jerry Sands, and I was curious because I hadn't heard that name in a long time. When I was exiting the prospecting game around 2010-11, he was a big name that came out of almost nowhere compared to other guys I'd been watching. I seem to recall he was one of the few names that stood out under the shadows of Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg that year. And he seems to have faded just as quickly. He once seemed to be on his way to stardom, or at least a solid Major League role, but nothing's gone to plan. Some real nice years in AA-AAA at 22-23, but never seemed to have adjusted to Major League pitching. The Dodgers traded him to the Red Sox as part of the big Adrian Gonzalez trade, but he was then flipped to Pittsburgh. After a year in their system, he moved on to Tampa, Cleveland, and ChiSox, reaching the Majors again with all 3. There's nothing in his bio about injuries or being a problem teammate or anything. But his stats each year are barely more than half a season's worth of games. He's still going, having fallen as far as independent ball before getting into the Giants' organization last year, where he apparently continued to consume AA pitching nicely.
All this is by way of saying that baseball is such a hard game, exponentially harder at each level, it seems. No one can absolutely predict future performance based on the past, or whatever tools one might have, or really anything. And like anything else in life, the now is fleeting and the future always, at best, uncertain. It's probably just the mood I woke up with on this chilly late-winter morning, but all of a sudden I feel for him. I am feeling how time is passing for my own self's expectations.
At 30, and a spring training invitee, he's probably not done yet. I hope he finds his way to the majors, and sticks around for a while. SFO is making some big changes this year, and maybe the former hot prospect turned journeyman can contribute something. I might have to buy that gold ref, too.
All this is by way of saying that baseball is such a hard game, exponentially harder at each level, it seems. No one can absolutely predict future performance based on the past, or whatever tools one might have, or really anything. And like anything else in life, the now is fleeting and the future always, at best, uncertain. It's probably just the mood I woke up with on this chilly late-winter morning, but all of a sudden I feel for him. I am feeling how time is passing for my own self's expectations.
At 30, and a spring training invitee, he's probably not done yet. I hope he finds his way to the majors, and sticks around for a while. SFO is making some big changes this year, and maybe the former hot prospect turned journeyman can contribute something. I might have to buy that gold ref, too.