- 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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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