Tagged: blog 1

Arizona Fall League Kicks Off

Greetings everyone from Peoria, Ariz.! I’m Drew Stubbs, and I’ll be leading this blog for the Cincinnati Reds. Before I get into our brief time so far out here, I’ll tell you a little about myself. I grew up in the small town of Atlanta, Texas.  That’s right, Texas and not Georgia.  It is located in extreme northeast Texas, just south of Texarkana, and I wouldn’t expect you to have heard of it unless you’ve been through the area. I was drafted by the Reds out of the University of Texas in the first round of the 2006 Draft. Prior to joining the Reds, I helped the Longhorns win a national championship in 2005.  I think my college teammates and I agree that that was the greatest experience of our lives .l. truly amazing. Since being in pro ball, I have two and a half seasons under my belt that have spanned places from Billings, Mont., to Louisville, Ky. You definitely get to experience a whole lot of different scenery while climbing through the Minor Leagues. Joining me here on the Peoria Javelinas from the Reds are infielders Chris Valaika and Justin Turner, pitchers Carlos Fisher, Robert Manuel, Sean Watson, and Pedro Viola, and infielder/outfielder Sean Henry. I’m sure at some point you will hear from all of these great guys.

I have been in Arizona only a handful of days now, since Oct. 1, and I’ve already experienced the heat that it is known for. Thankfully, we’ve had a few days that have offered a break in temperature, but for the most part it has been pretty steamy. We just played our first game of the Fall League today, Oct. 7, but we have been working out as a team for the past five days. The workouts have been efficient and brief as we’ve gotten our work done by around lunch time each day. I think we prepared ourselves well because we were able to get a win against the Surprise Rafters in the league opener. Our pitching was sharp, and our offense put up plenty of runs to supply a nice lead for us. Hopefully, we’ll be able to continue our success during the next month and a half.
Outside the field, it’s been really laidback for my Reds teammates and I.  We all live together in a large house about five minutes from the Peoria complex. It’s been a little hectic at times trying to get everyone on the same page most of the time, but things have been great overall. Since games have now started, our days should be filled a little more and won’t leave us with as much down time.
Well guys, this concludes my first week blog, but I’ll be back next week to continue.  Please feel free to ask any questions or drop a line or two. Until next time, have a great week!
Drew Stubbs