Crosby, RockHounds look forward to playing baseball again
Sports // RockHounds
RockHounds' Chase Calabuig tries to beat the throw to first but Amarillo's Peter Van Gansen gets the out 09/07/19 as the RockHounds take on the Amarillo Sod Poodles in game 4 of the Texas League Division playoff. Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram
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Bobby Crosby
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The minor league baseball season may be starting a month later than usual, but first-year Midland RockHounds manager Bobby Crosby is just excited to get the season started.
After a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the RockHounds finally get to play again as they open the season with a six-game series at Frisco at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
RockHounds' fans should be familiar with Crosby as the eight-year major leaguer and 2004 American League Rookie of the Year with the Oakland A's, played with Midland in 2002 and returned to the club in 2019 as a coach under manager Scott Steinmann.
Last year, Crosby was picked for his first managerial job at Single-A Stockton but he never got the chance because of the pandemic canceling the season.
Crosby said not having a season last year was tough for both coaches and players.
"I was fortunate to go to the alternate site that we have in San Jose, working with the guys to get ready for the big leagues if they got called up or if anything happened," Crosby said. "We do this because as a coach and a player we love it. To not be able to do it for a full year and a lot of guys are sitting at home, not knowing what's going to happen, it was brutal. But the beautiful thing is that we've moved on and we get to play this year."
Crosby said being a manager is something he didn't start considering until he got into the coaching with the Athletics organization at the beginning of 2018.
"In '19 I loved everything that I did here with Scott Steinmann as manager and I took a liking to being on the manager side, so I went and managed in the instructional league and loved it," he said. "This is something I'm really looking forward to. I didn't foresee it I guess but I'm happy to get the opportunity to do it, for sure."
Crosby likes the roster to start the season and is particularly excited about the talented infield, which has Oakland's No. 3-ranked prospect Nick Allen. No. 5-ranked prospect Logan Davidson and No. 21-ranked prospect Jeremy Eierman, according to MLB.com. Crosby said both Allen and Davidson are dynamic fielders, who are both capable of playing shortstop. When one of them is not playing shortstop, they could be at second or third base.
"Both guys, I can see in the big leagues in the next few years. It's just a matter of time," Crosby said.
In the outfield, Chase Calabuig, Mickey McDonald and Tyler Ramirez return after spending some time in Midland in 2019.
"We've got a lot of talented guys," Crosby said. "What I really like is that they're not only talented but they know how to play baseball."
The pitching staff has a mixture of veterans to go with some younger players. Right-hander Kyle Friedrichs and righty Jesus Zambrano return from the 2019 squad, while some fans should also be familiar with lefty Ty Damron, who played at Texas Tech.
As of Saturday, Crosby wasn't sure of the rotation but said that right-hander and Texas native Zac Reininger was penciled in to start Tuesday's opener, while fellow righty Brady Feigl is probable for Wednesday.
"We've got guys with some good stuff," Crosby said. "I like where we're at at the start. If we get off to a hot start, that would be nice."
One of the biggest questions heading into the season is how having the year off from playing meaningful games going to hamper in the player development. Crosby estimates it will be 50-50 depending on who worked hard in the layoff and who didn't.
"I talked to a lot of guys and I know they have been working hard," he said. "Hopefully, with our guys, they'll be where they would have been if we would have had a normal season."
The schedule should also be challenging, playing a six-game series. The good news for minor leaguers is that they will get a day off in between, which should help in the travel. But also by playing the same team six straight times, could cause friction in between the clubs.
"It's going to be interesting facing a team six times in a row," Crosby said. "I'm sure there's going to be some heated moments where you're playing the same team and somebody does something to tick you off, I hope nothing gets out of hand. But it is going to be odd playing a team six times in a row."
oleroy@mrt.com | Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT
2021 RockHounds Roster
(subject to change)
Name B-T Ht. WT. Age Resides
Austin Briggs R-L 6-3 210 25 Willis, Texas
Aaron Brown L-L 6-2 223 28 West Hills, Calif.
Chase Cohen L-R 6-1 195 24 Alpharetta, Ga.
Bryce Conley R-R 6-3 206 26 Alpharetta, Ga.
Ty Damron L-L 6-0 202 26 Gordonville, Texas
Zack Erwin L-L 6-5 205 27 Duluth, Ga.
Brady Feigl R-R 6-4 235 25 Naperville, Ill.
Kyle Friedrichs R-R 6-1 203 29 San Clemente, Calif.
Brett Graves R-R 6-1 195 28 Wentzville, Mo.
Nick Highberger R-R 5-11 200 27 Rye, Colo.
Zach Jackson R-R 6-4 235 26 Sand Springs, Okla.
Jared Koenig R-L 6-5 235 27 Aptos, Calif.
Eric Marinez S-R 6-2 201 28 Palenque, D.R.
Zac Reininger S-R 6-3 185 28 Spring Branch, Texas
Jesus Zambrano R-R 5-9 204 24 Valencia, Venezuela
Kyle McCann L-R 6-2 210 23 Suwanee, Ga.
JJ Schwarz R-R 6-1 205 25 Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Colin Theroux R-R 6-2 225 26 Sam Mateo, Calif.
Nick Allen R-R 5-8 166 22 San Diego, Calif.
Jonah Bride R-R 5-10 200 25 Owasso, Okla.
Logan Davidson S-R 6-3 210 23 Seneca, S.C.
Jeremy Eierman R-R 6-0 205 24 Warsaw, Mo.
Marty Bechina R-R 6-0 195 24 Chicago
Chase Calabuig L-L 5-10 185 25 Misson Viejo, Calif.
Devin Foyle S-L 6-2 185 24 Fountain Hills, Ariz.
Mickey McDonald S-R 6-2 180 25 San Mateo, Calif.
Tyler Ramirez L-L 5-9 185 26 Suffolk, Va.
Jhonny Santos R-R 6-0 180 24 Puerto Armuelies, Panama
Bobby Crosby, Manager
Steve Connelly, Pitching Coach
Kevin Kouzmanoff, Hitting Coach
Juan Dilone, Coach
Nick Voelker, Athletic Trainer
Matt Mosiman, Sport Performance Coach
2021 RockHounds Schedule
May 4 at Frisco 7:05 p.m.
May 11 San Antonio 6:30 p.m.
May 13 San Antonio 7 p.m.
May 18 at Amarillo 7:05 p.m.
May 25 Frisco 6:30 p.m.
May 27 Frisco 7 p.m.
June 1 Corpus Christi 6:30 p.m.
June 3 Corpus Christi 7 p.m.
June 8 at San Antonio 7:05 p.m.
June 10 at San Antonio 7:05 p.m.
June 15 at Amarillo 7:05 p.m.
June 22 Wichita 6:30 p.m.
June 24 Wichita 7 p.m.
June 29 at Frisco 7:05 p.m.
July 1 at Frisco 7:05 p.m.
July 6 at Corpus Christi 6:35 p.m.
July 10 at Corpus Christi 7:05 p.m.
July 13 Amarillo 6:30 p.m.
July 15 Amarillo 7 p.m.
July 20 Corpus Christi 6:30 p.m.
July 22 Corpus Christi 7 p.m.
July 27 at Tulsa 7:05 p.m.
Aug. 1 at Tulsa 1:05 p.m.
Aug. 3 at Wichita 7:05 p.m.
Aug. 10 San Antonio 6:30 p.m.
Aug. 12 San Antonio 7 p.m.
Aug. 17 Amarillo 6:30 p.m.
Aug. 19 Amarillo 7 p.m.
Aug. 24 at San Antonio 7:05 p.m.
Aug. 31 Frisco 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 1 Frisco 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 2 Frisco 7 p.m.
Sept. 7 at Corpus Christi 6:35 p.m.
Sept. 10 at Corpus Christi 7:05 p.m.
Sept. 14 Tulsa 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 Tulsa 7 p.m.