The Life And Times Of Jordan Anderson, Random Draftee

[monkeyman576]

(Readers Note: The player was selected by taking a randomly drafted player in the 1st through 3rd round in my current league that was a fantasy draft that started in 2020.)

Dice Roll from D&D Dice Roller web site:


Draft Log from the 2020 Amateur Draft:


June 5th, 2020

I know y'all don't want to hear another standard story from a dumb Alabama jock. I can't promise ya this won't be that kinda story. I grew up on a farm in Madison, Alabama. Now, Madison isn't the smallest town in Alabama by far. About 50,000 people live there, which is bigger than a lot of towns in Alabama. We are a suburb of Huntsville, Alabama, which is a bigger city of about 200,000 people. Alabama A&M, what they call a "historically black college", is the biggest college close to us. I have gone to a lot of college games there growing up. Alabama A&M has only made the Division II basketball tournament once since I was born, in 2005. We lost in the opening round to Oakland by 10 points. So needless to say, the basketball team ain't that great. The baseball team is in a Division 1 conference, and sometimes I dreamt of playing there, before I had my sights on higher aspirations. The Alabama A&M baseball team went 16-35 in 2019.

Of course, Alabama football is everything in this state. Nick Saban is a god and all the newspapers are talking about is where Tua Tagovailoa is going to be drafted. I like the guy but I'm not sure he's going to have a great NFL career. Name me the last great quarterback that came from Alabama. Probably Joe Namath, and he retired in 1977.

Anyways, I'm rambling. I am the 3rd of 8 children and my family hardly ever left Alabama growing up. I was never that educated, and I passed most of my classes but just barely passed. I spent a lot more time of sports and girls than school, to be honest. I had a girlfriend from my sophmore year to my senior year in high school but she ended up going to college in Florida. I still love her but what can you do. I have promise but being a baseball players wife can be scary. One injury and you're done, and she's definately a lot smarter than me.

I go to church every Sunday, and I know that God is great and my personal savior. Ii am eternally grateful to Him and all that he has provided me and my family, even though we aren't rich or drive fancy cars or any of that stuff.

Anyhow, I had a pretty successful high school baseball career, mostly because sports was the only thing I was any good at, and I was drafted in the 40th round as a center fielder to the Texas Rangers. I thought about it long and hard, and decided that I should probably get a college degree since a lot of my brothers and sisters were probably not even going to graduate high school. I was offered a scholorship at Mississippi State, and I accepted.

[monkeyman576]

This is a picture of my high school by the way.


I had to say goodbye to my high school and I was onto college. Going to Mississippi State was a great experience and we made the College World Series my junior and senior years , so I even go to be on TV. I actually ended up doing pretty well, hitting a lot of home runs. I'm also considered very fast. In the College World Series, as a 6 seed we beat Auburn in the first round 5-4, then lost to Vanderbilt 6-3 in the 2nd round. I read some mock drafts and some people had me going as high as the mid first round, but I ended up being drafted 27th overall by the New York Yankees. I can't say I'm unhappy about being a Yankee, since they have more world series titles than any other team, although the 2010-2019 decade was the first decade they hadn't been to a world series in over 100 years. Living in the biggest city in the United States is definately going to be a long way from Alabama, but I'm going to do my best. I was able to sneak a look at one of my profiles online.



Right now, the New York Yankees aren't doing so hot, they are 23-33 to start the season. They do have Kris Bryant and Gerrit Cole as their top veterans, and first baseman Josh Ockimey is only 24 years old and is seecond on the team in home runs with 12 and 2nd on the team in batting average with .269. Maybe the fact that he is second on the team with .269 is one of the reasons the Yankees are of to a slow start. The Yankees are 8th in the conference in batting average and 7th in home runs even though they are in a hitter friendly park and they have the 15th starter ERA and 14th defensive efficiency. But who knows, maybe if I sign with them time will change that.

Looking at MLB in general this season, the top 5 teams in the current power rankings on ESPN are Cincinatti, Boston, Atlanta, the LA Angels, and Cleveland. The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series last year, with the Yankees and Padres losing in the LCS. There have been no no-hitters or cycles so far in 2020.

June 11th, 2020
One week since the draft and I still don't have a contract. I know it's a process but it's a little bit frustrating. I want to play pro baseball! In MLB news, Arizona's Juan Soto is the leading vote getter for the all star game so far in the NL, and Cleveland's Mike Trout is the leading vote getter in the AL.

June 17th, 2020
Still no contract after two weeks of waiting. I've gone back to Alabama to spend time with my family and work out. I've seen a lot of other first rounders already sign contracts so hopefully this will all be over soon. It's not about the money for me at all and I've relayed that to my agent. My ex girlfriend texted me and was all flirty again. But you have to be careful about who you associate with once you have money. I don't want to be involved with someone because they know I am famous, but I might need some female companionship. If this doesn't get settled soon maybe I'll go to Florida in a week or so. Two of the three Yankees rookie league teams are in Florida anyways, so it might work out.

June 24th, 2020
Still waiting. I need to concentrate on baseball more and head to Florida. My ex is letting me live with her and her roommate. I told her I'm not interested in a relationship anymore but we'll see how it goes. I don't want any trouble, and I know the Lord doesn't approve of sex before marraige. I don't think she appreciated that as much as I did. Sitting in my hotel room on the way to Tampa as I write this journal entry. Just finished watching ESPN and the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 27-6 in one game! I know Colorado has that high altitude but really? The Mets hit 7 homers and the game lasted 5 hours, 2 minutes, which broke the old record of 4 hours, 45 minutes for a 9 inning game from a Yankees/Red Sox game in 2006.

[progen]

Will be interesting to see how a "late" first round pick turns out. Sure there will be ups & downs along the way.

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by progen

Will be interesting to see how a "late" first round pick turns out. Sure there will be ups & downs along the way.

Yep, that's why I wanted to make it random, if I did the #1 pick it would be a lot more likely to be a sure fire hit, but I didn't want it so low that there'd be a high chance of failure. Plus a random team with random fantasy draft players makes it equally interesting.

[monkeyman576]

July 23rd, 2020
I finally got a contract! I got a signing bonus of 1.4M but it's definately not about the money, although the money doesn't hurt. I took myself out for a nice steak dinner. I've been assigned to the Yankees rookie league team in the Gulf Coast Rookie League, so a good thing that's where I am anyways. The Rookie League is mid season so I should start playing right away. I'll keep you updated for sure.

In the All Star Game, the AL beat the NL 1-0, the AL's lone run came in the 5th inning. Juan Soto won game MVP going 2-2 even though his team lost. 24 year old Chris Paddack pitched 3 innings of scoreless ball for the AL. Indians' LF Andrew Bendintendi got the games only RBI.

July 24th, 2020
Minor League Game #1
Well, there was good news and bad news. The good news is, I played in my first professional game and it was awesome. The bad news is, I went 0-2 and didn't get a hit. I did catch one fly ball and I didn't miss it, thank goodness. The Yankees lost 14-2 to Minnesota.

July 27th, 2020
Minor League Game #2
My first game was the first game of a doubleheader and they didn't play me in the nightcap. They also didn't play me in the 3rd game of the Twins series the next day. We got a day off before our next series against the Red Sox and I was given my first pro start. We lost 9-1 against the Red Sox and I went 0-3 for the game and I'm now 0-5 so far to start my career. Not the start that I wanted but it's still early. I did make 5 catches in the field and I am 6/6 defensively so far.

July 28th, 2020
Minor League Game #3
Third game, still no hits. I did get my first offensive stat as I reached base on an error and got a stolen base as well. But the team lost 9-6 and I am 0-10 to start the season. I'm really hoping I break out of this soon. I'm glad the team has the confidence to start me though.

July 29th, 2020
Minor League Game #4
Moving on to play against Baltimore, I finally got my first big game offensively. I went 3-5 with 2 runs and an RBI. This boosted my AVG up from .000 to .200. Still no errors yet and I haven't gotten an outfield assist. The team won 9-6.

July 31st, 2020
Minor League Game #5
Back to being bad. I went 0-3 in a 10-3 loss to Minnesota, and my average has dipped to .167. I have gone 2/2 on "unlikely" catches in the outfield, so I hope that says something about my defense.

August 1st, 2020
Minor League Game #6
1-3 tonight. Team lost to MIN 3-4. AVG up to .190.

August 3rd, 2020
Minor League Game #7
0-2. 1 BB. AVG down to .174. Luckily I'm still in the starting lineup.

August 5th, 2020
Minor League Game #8
1 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 runs, and 2 SB in an 8-6 win vs. Tampa Bay. Overall not a bad day. I need more days like these. AVG up to .192 and my first 2 SB game.

August 6th, 2020
Minor League Game #9
0-3 in a 10-0 loss to Tampa Bay. I need to learn to start having multiple good games.

August 7th, 2020
Minor League Game #10
0-4 with 2 K's.

August 8th, 2020
Minor League Game #11
1 for 4 with a walk.

August 10th, 2020
Minor League Game #12
Finally got my first extra base hit, a double. 3 for 5 on the day with a run scored.
Also my first day with hits in consecutive games. Average is up above .200 to .214.

August 14th, 2020
Minor League Game #13
Now I'm starting to feel it a little bit. I was 3 for 4 today with an RBI. Average up to .261.

August 15th, 2020
Minor League Game #14
After 3 pretty good games I regressed a little bit. 0 for 4.

August 17th, 2020
Minor League Game #15
1 for 3 with a walk. Average up 5 points to .245.

August 18th, 2020
Minor League Game #16
1 for 4. Had my first pro error.

August 19th, 2020
Minor League Game #17
0-4. 1 walk.

August 20th, 2020
Minor League Game #18
0-5.

August 21st, 2020
Minor League Game #19
1 for 5, 2 SB

August 22nd, 2020
Minor League Game #20
2 for 5, 2 2B, 1 R, AVG up 13 points to .224.

August 24th, 2020
Minor League Game #21
2 for 5, 2 runs scored, AVG up 11 points to .235

August 26th, 2020
Minor League Game #22
0-4. Team's 4 game winning streak is snapped.

[monkeyman576]

So this is the end of my first pro baseball season. I can't say it was a great success, but there is room for improvement, hopefully. I expect to stay at rookie league in 2021, but there is a small chance I get promoted. I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or not. My stat line was .224/.297/.267/.564, with 0 HR, 6 RBI and 8 SB with 4 CS. 2 Errors and 1 assist in the outfield, I played 29 games in CF and 1 game in RF.

In the 2020 MLB season, there have still been no no hitters and no cycles. Mike Trout has banged out 57 HR and there is still 2 and a half weeks to go in the season. Milas Moukas is leading the way for pitchers with a 17-8 record and a 3.60 ERA.

So, here's hoping for a better year #2! I'll keep you updated.

[progen]

Blame it on going from those wretched aluminum bats to wood bats! That's why scouts love to go to the Cape Cod league in the summer, and to here in Savannah to watch players in the Coastal Plain League. In that league, at last count, there were 126 players who played or are playing at the major league level, including Ty Wigginton, Kevin Youkalis, Justin Verlander, and Ryan Zimmerman.

And countless more who played in the minors.

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by progen

Blame it on going from those wretched aluminum bats to wood bats! That's why scouts love to go to the Cape Cod league in the summer, and to hear in Savannah to watch players in the Coastal Plain League. In that league, at last count, there were 126 players who played or are playing at the major league level, including Ty Wigginton, Kevin Youkalis, Justin Verlander, and Ryan Zimmerman.

And countless more who played in the minors.

Well, that's an excuse for one year, but there's no excuse for year #2.

[monkeyman576]

Overheard on sports talk radio: An analyst called me "one of the fastest players in baseball."