By Paul Casey Gotham
No one can question Marcus Nidiffer’s resiliency. Just a few months after earning a late-season call-up, the 24-year old found himself a casualty of roster cut-downs.
Nidiffer took the bad news in stride and by the looks of it, the experience has made him stronger.
When his former organization, the Houston Astros, decided to go in a different direction, Nidiffer became the odd man out. He wasted little time packing his bags.
“It was a shock to me,” Nidiffer said about being cut.
In 48 games with the Greeneville Astros of the rookie Appalachian League, Nidiffer hit .303 with 24 RBI and a team-leading 11 home runs. He earned a promotion to the Tri-City Valley Cats of the New York-Penn League and started with two home runs and a double in his first appearance with the Valley Cats.
All that didn’t seem to matter when Nidiffer made his way to the practice field for some early morning hitting. “They told me it is a business,” Nidiffer commented. “Teams always come into spring training with too many guys. I could have stayed the rest of the day, but I decided to pack my jeep and head home.”
The Kentucky Wildcat alum wasted no time finding a new job.
With his bags in hand, Nidiffer said goodbye to teammates and coaches wondering what lay ahead. Little did he know that hitting instructor Ty Van Burkleo had contacts with other organizations.
“He told me I belonged in professional baseball, and he would make a couple of calls,” Nidiffer explained.
Van Burkleo made good on his word. Before Nidiffer reached the Interstate, his phone rang, and the Anaheim Angels were on the other end with an offer. He made a quick detour to Iowa. Once there the Bristol, Tennessee native found himself in familiar territory.
After a season playing first base, Nidiffer has returned to his usual spot behind the plate for the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Class A Midwest League.
“If I’m going to make it, it’s going to be behind the plate,” Nidiffer reflected. “It’s a grind, and you lose bat speed with the getting up and down, but I’m more confident back there.”
If he has lost any speed turning on pitches, it hasn’t shown yet. Nidiffer reached base each of his first ten games in uniform for Cedar Rapids. He leads the Kernels hitting .310 with three extra-base hits and and three RBI.
“You are always seeing pitches in flight,” Nidiffer explained about the advantages for a catcher. “I am always in on every pitch and from that standpoint it keeps me comfortable.”
While at UK, Nidiffer posted a .987 fielding percentage and earned a spot on the prestigious Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the top catcher in the nation.
Nidiffer spent one season playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League with the Webster Yankees. Nicknamed “KB” (short for Kentucky Blue) by then-assistant coach and current head coach, Dave Brust, Nidiffer made 28 starts with the 2007 Yankees. After a slow start, he finished with eight extra-base hits including three home runs and 12 RBI. This after a season in the SEC where the red-shirt freshman earned just six at-bats.
“KB” played in the Valley League in 2008 finishing as the league’s 14th best prospect of the summer. He culminated his summer collegiate career playing with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League.
With a record of 26-26, the Cedar Rapids sit in the fifth place in the ten and a half games behind the Mid-Western leading Burlington Bees.
NYCBL action opens Friday, June 3rd.
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