By W Kolditz
With over 1,400 players drafted by 30 teams each year, minor leaguers must produce quickly or face being released.
'It''s a difficult road,' BYU baseball coach Vance Law said. 'You have to be patient; but you also have to produce. You can''t afford to have two bad years in a row. They are continuously looking for talent to replace guys.'
For a few former Cougars, the struggles of the minors and the dream of becoming a major league baseball player are being realized.
Five Cougars were taken in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. First baseman Dave Jensen (third round), outfielder Matt Carson (fifth round) and infielder Cameron Coughlan (18th round) signed professional contracts, while third baseman Kainoa Obrey (11th round) and outfielder Brock Jacobsen (44th round) decided to play another year at the college level.
'It''s been a dream for my brother and a dream for all the kids in my family to be drafted and go on to play at the professional level,' BYU freshman infielder Clayton Carson said.
Many minor leaguers don''t even last more than two or three seasons in the minor leagues. With so many people seeking the same dream of making the big leagues, competition is tough in the minors.
'It takes persistence. It takes a lucky break. It takes talent, and it takes being at the right place at the right time (to make it to the majors),' Law said. 'There are very fine players who never make it to the major leagues. It doesn''t mean they are less of a player than the guys who are playing there. It just means that sometimes they weren''t in the right organization at the right time.'
Jensen was the first Cougar picked in the 2002 MLB Draft, taken by the Kansas City Royals in the third round, 78th pick overall.
After hitting .411 with 10 home runs and 69 RBIs for BYU in 2002, Jensen finished the year playing for the Spokane Indians, the Kansas City''s short-season single-A team in the Northwest League. Jensen hit .256 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games for the Indians.
Knowing the difficulty of making it to the majors, Jensen said he sometimes thinks about not making it to the 'big show.'
'I have the hope that I''m going to make it,' Jensen said. 'Baseball is not the only thing I have going in life, but right now I''m going to try to give everything I can to try to live my dream.'
In a recent Beckett Baseball Card magazine, Jensen was compared to former Cougar first baseman and Kansas City star, Wally Joyner.
'I think it''s flattering,' Jensen said. 'Wally Joyner is possibly the best hitter to come out of BYU. To be compared to someone of that caliber is a huge honor to me.'
The New York Yankees picked Carson as their fifth pick in the 2002 draft.
As a junior for BYU last year, Carson hit .343 with nine home runs and 60 RBIs. After being drafted, Carson joined the 2002 New York-Penn League champions, the Staten Island Yankees, New York''s short-season single-A team. Carson joined the team in July, hitting .203 with 11 RBIs in 48 games with the Yankees.
One significant difference between college and minor league baseball is the number of games the players play. In college baseball, teams don''t play more than four games a week. In the minors, teams play nearly every day.
Carson said motivation is sometimes difficult when players are only getting a couple days off in the season.
'Some days you drag yourself out,' Carson said. 'Some days it''s tough, and other days you can''t wait to get on the field.'
Carson said Law and his program at BYU helped the former Cougars in their transition to the minor leagues.
'Coach Law played in the big leagues,' Carson said. 'He knew how it was. He ran BYU baseball similar to how a minor league team would be run. I didn''t see a lot of changes. He respects the players. He was a real players'' coach and treated us as if we were equals.'
Part of becoming a professional baseball player is having your own baseball cards. Sports card companies produced cards of both Carson and Jensen in 2002.
'I used to send cards to players, and now I have had people send my cards to be signed,' Carson said. 'It''s strange that people are doing that, and I''m the one signing them now.'
The Texas Rangers used their 18th pick to select former Cougar speedster Coughlan. Coughlan hit .374, with four home runs and 46 RBIs for the Cougars in 2002. He is tied for ninth place on BYU''s all-time steals list with 45 steals in three years at BYU.
Coughlan led the Gulf Coast Rangers, Texas''s rookie level team and the same level as the Provo Angels, with 34 stolen bases. He accomplished the feat in only two months.
'One thing I do really well is reading the pitcher, reading the catcher and stealing the bag,' Coughlan said. 'I know I can do it if given the opportunity. The level of play is just going to be that much better.'
All three of the former Cougars and Coach Law believe making it to the majors requires much more than pure talent. How a player presents himself off the field and how he handles himself mentally is also equally important to a player''s success.
'If you can make an error and lose the game one day, and come back and win one the next day, that''s what it takes,' Coughlan said. 'Some guys who have all the talent in the world can''t do that. They make an error, and it''s in their head for days or weeks.'
The three former Cougars will most likely begin the 2003 season in their organization''s long-season single-A team.