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Just reports for spring training
(by Megan Burrow - February 20, 2008)
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE JUST
Woodcliff Lake resident Mike Just is preparing to join the Houston Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., for spring training.
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Twenty-four-year old Woodcliff Lake resident Mike Just has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember. “My mom was tossing me balloons when I was 2. At 3, I was hitting Nerf balls, and at 4, I started playing in the minors with kids as old as 7 and 8.”
In a few days, Just will be playing alongside major leaguers in Kissimmee, Fla., home of the Houston Astros’ spring training camp.
His journey to professional baseball has followed a slightly unorthodox path. After playing third base for St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, where he earned all-county and all-state honors, Just attended Liberty University, a Big South Conference Division I school in Virginia with a strong baseball program. Former major leaguers Sid Bream and Randy Tomlin both played for Liberty’s baseball program. While at Liberty, Just majored in business marketing and played second base for the Liberty Flames, committing only 10 errors at second during his entire college career.
When, after four years of college he was not drafted, Just faced a choice: he could give up on his dream of playing professional baseball or try out for an independent league team. Although disappointed, Just decided to stick it out and try and prove the skeptics wrong. At 5’11’’ and 185 pounds, Just has been hearing for years that he is “too small” to play major league baseball.
If it were not for the support of his family and friends who believed in him and encouraged him not to give up, Just said he “probably would’ve quit years ago.” His mother and father coached Mike and his sister Danielle in Little League, and his mother still regularly throws him batting practice. “She comes in and throws gas,” joked Just. During his college career, his father would routinely wake at 3 a.m. and drive eight hours to see him play in a 2 p.m. game.
Just’s sister Danielle is also an accomplished athlete. The 20-year-old junior at Manhattan College was named second team all-American in high school and last season led her team in batting average. “She’s a natural,” said Mike. He coached Danielle’s Little League team when he was in eighth grade and claims they have always been supportive of each other. “I’m really excited for him,” Danielle said. “He has worked so hard, he really deserves it. Growing up, I would always look up to him. That’s why I started playing baseball.”
With this solid support behind him, Just signed a contract with the River City (Mo.) Rascals of the Frontier League in 2006. He put together an impressive first season, batting .317 with 12 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 18 RBIs, and 26 runs scored in 52 games. He was planning on playing a second year with the Rascals when Jeff Bittiger, an Oakland Athletics scout and a coach for the Fargo-Moorhead (N.D.) RedHawks, an independent team in the Northern League, called Just personally and asked if he would be interested in joining his team. Bittiger explained that if he produced similar numbers in the more competitive Northern League, he would have a very good chance of being signed by a major league team. “I’ll try and make sure of that,” Bittiger promised. Many players from the majors play in the league to rehabilitate from injuries or finish out their careers. Rascal’s coach Toby Rumfield encouraged Just to pursue the opportunity.
In his first year with the RedHawks, Just was named Northern League rookie of the year. He batted a team high .336, with 24 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs, 55 RBIs, a .420 on base percentage, and 56 runs scored in 94 games. Just was the leading defensive second baseman in the league and stole a team high 20 bases. Just said after his 2007 season, a few MLB teams approached him, but ultimately it was the Astros who offered him a contract.
Ironically, Just was in the same city he will report to for spring training when he heard the good news. He was in Kissimme, Fla. on vacation in mid-December with his sister, his sister’s friend, and his girlfriend Britney. They were at dinner when he heard his phone ring. It was Ricky Bennet, the Astros farming director welcoming Just to the team.
“At first I thought it was a joke,” Just said. “Then I just told him ‘you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this phone call. I really appreciate it and I promise I won’t let you down.” Just said he was “ecstatic” upon hearing the news and described it as “an awesome moment I’ll never forget. We ordered champagne and we even took pictures with the waiter.”
“Mike has progressed up the ladder from the Frontier League to the Northern League, and this is the next step for him,” said RedHawks Manager Doug Simunic in a press release. “He did a great job for us in 2007 and was a major part of our success. The Astros are getting a good, hard-nosed ballplayer who can do a lot of positive things on the field.”
Just plans to report to Astros’ camp the first week in March, and although he knows it will be a challenge, he believes he is up for it. “When I first got to the RedHawks, I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can hang with these guys.’ Then after a couple games, I thought, ‘Hey, why not?’ I went from hitting .150 the first week to .300 the next. At every level there’s a learning curve, and you’re only as good as your last at-bat. I’m sure it will be an adjustment in spring training, but change is a part of your life if you’re a baseball player.”
For the past few years, Just has been working at the Academy of Pro-Players, a training facility in Garfield where he gives private fielding, hitting, and running lessons to children ages 7 to 18. He recently stopped working there to focus on preparing for spring training, but will return in September. To get ready, he has been training at St. Joe’s, working out a few times a week at a gym in Pearl River, and taking batting practice from his favorite pitcher, mom. On his way to Florida, Just will stop in Virginia, to visit his girlfriend who is a senior at Liberty, and see some live fastballs from players on his former team.
To help him prepare the Astros sent a booklet outlining training techniques and nutritional guidelines to follow before spring training. His coach from the RedHawks told Just the Astros are hoping to put him into “high A” ball. “Most guys who get signed are put into rookie ball. If I can start midway, that would be incredible. I’m just shooting for the highest level possible,” Just explained. Because scouts compare the Northern League to AA level of competition, Just is hoping to have little problem reaching that height. Some of the competition he will see in spring training will likely be pitchers he faced in college who were drafted. “I hit them in college, and now I’ll hit them again at the pro-level.”
About the current steroid controversy, Just commented, “I’ll take protein shakes, but that’s about the extent of it. Some people say, ‘Let them do what they want to do, if they want to hurt their bodies, that’s their decision,’ but it’s not fair to guys like me who are trying to do it the right way. I’m glad that they are cracking down on it.”
Just describes his hitting style as similar to Duston Pedroia and David Eckstein, a scrappy player who will get on base and “be a pain to the pitchers.” One of the hardest things about playing in the independent league, according to Just, was the constant traveling. “We played three teams in . Sometimes we would be on the bus for 12 hours and we wouldn’t arrive until three in the morning and then have to play the next day. I just tried to stay focused.”
Simply grateful for the opportunity, when the Astros asked Just for his uniform size he said, “I don’t even know. Whatever you got. If it’s got holes in it, I don’t care.” While at times the training and traveling been trying, Just said, “All the effort has been worth it. It’s been a unique journey and I’m just thankful for it.”
Megan Burrow's e-mail address is burrow@northjersey.com.
| Comments (1) |
On February 22, 2008 JoAnn said:
This article was factual,well written and consise.You should be commended for your writing skills. You are an asset to this newspaper. Well done. |
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