By Paul Gotham
It’s easy to forget Chris Bostick is less than four years removed from high school. The 21-year old shares the wisdom and insights of a seasoned veteran as easily as he fields a Sunday hop before throwing to first.
Maybe that’s what happens when one packs a decade’s worth of experience into a few short years.
From Aquinas Institute to the New York Collegiate Baseball League to an MLB draft pick of the Oakland Athletics to Texas Rangers’ farm hand, Bostick has had success at every stop. He will take that experience to the Washington Nationals organization where he recently landed as part of a three-player trade.
“As a minor leaguer getting traded is almost always a good thing,” Bostick said recently. “It’s not anything to be sad about that’s for sure. For me to get traded in the first place it means I’m seen as having value. It’s definitely good.”
Almost one year to the day when he was sent to them, the Texas Rangers traded Bostick and a minor league pitcher to the Nationals in exchange for major league veteran, Ross Detwiler. Bostick leaves behind a Rangers farm system full of top prospects at the middle infield positions for an organization perhaps in need of help at second base and shortstop.
“It seems as though the deal was made for me if that makes any sense. When I went to the Rangers, it was a minor league guy for a minor league guy. In the end it was a four-player trade – two big leaguers switching. Two minor leaguers switching. This year it’s more of like I was a bigger part of the deal. A big league player and two minor leaguers, but not a lot has been said of the other guy that was part of the deal. I think this one is better.”
With the Rangers, Bostick battled for a spot with the likes of Jurickson Profar, Rougned Odor, Luis Sardinas and Hanser Alberto. He started 2014 in the Advanced-A Carolina League with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and ended there. The possibility existed he would return to South Carolina to start 2015.
A fresh start has its positives.
“I don’t know the whole situation with the Nationals. I do know with the Rangers they have a lot of depth in the middle infield. Regardless of who’s in front of you or who’s behind you, you have to perform no matter what. [Washington] might sign three or four more shortstops tomorrow, but I just knew in Texas there were a few guys that were in front of me, a few kind of high profile people. Guys that were actually younger than me and in front of me. Not that I’m going to go to Washington and be the first guy up, but it’s nice knowing that, and I don’t have to think about being in a logjam.”
Bostick and his family found humor in the timing of the trade – one year and eight days to the date.
“It was kinda funny because December 3rd was the day I got traded from the A’s to the Rangers. I remember that day waking up, and I made it a point to everyone that I saw. ‘Hey this was the day last year.’ At the dinner table that night my mom said: ‘So you made it through the day. No trades? I’m like yeah I think I’m good this year.’ Just barely more than a week later and I had to go home and tell my parents that I’m no longer a Texas Ranger.”
Until he leaves for spring training, Bostick is spending the winter working at Diamond Pro Baseball in East Rochester. He is one of several minor leaguers on the staff giving individual and group lessons.
“I learned that things kinda don’t make sense until you have to explain it to someone else. A lot of things that different coaches or different players have told me in the past and all of sudden now I’m reiterating it. It makes sense now.”
“Teaching is something that I look forward to. The things that you hear and then you implement them with someone else – it helps you understand it in a different way… You take a little bit from this source. You take a little from that source. In the end, you just become the sum of what everybody tells you.”
Barely their senior, Bostick has no trouble instructing a group of high school student-athletes.
“It took a while,” Bostick said of coaching 20-30 high school student-athletes at the same time. “Everyone’s kinda shy when they start. It took a little bit for me to get out in front and learn how to project my voice and to reach a big group of people at the same time.”
Oakland chose Bostick out of high school in the 44th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. The Rochester native considered his options – one of which was a scholarship to attend St. John’s University. He spent that summer playing for the Webster Yankees and garnered NYCBL Player of the Year honors hitting .413 with 17 extra-base hits including five home runs and 32 RBI. He led Dave Brust’s Webster Yankees to a league-record 14 consecutive wins and an eventual spot in the league championship series.
Bostick signed with the A’s in late July, 2011. He started his professional career with the Arizona League A’s and hit safely in his first 13 games. He played 2012 with the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League and earned a spot in the league’s All Star Game. During the 2013 campaign, Bostick, with the Beloit Snappers, grabbed Midwest League (Class A) Player of the Week. He was named to a spot on MiLB.com organization All Stars as one of the top 25 players in the A’s system. In 130 games last season he reached career highs with 81 runs and 31 doubles.
Video courtesy of MiLB.com
Currently, he trains between giving lessons.
“I’m not a player you would consider who has one or two tools that are really good and then a couple tools that aren’t so good,” he explained. “I’m pretty much a balanced player. I don’t do anything great, but I do everything kind of well enough.”
“I really need to work on my defense because my hitting is fine. My defense is sub-par. If I can get everything to get a little bit better, then that’s what’s going to help me in my career. I don’t have one particular tool that sticks out above anything else.”
Washington’s Double-A team, Harrisburg (Pa.), competes in the Eastern League. The Rochester Red Wings’ thruway rival, Syracuse Chiefs, are Washington’s Triple-A affiliate. The chance to play in front of his hometown is not lost upon the 21-year old.
“It’s weird because just a couple of years ago I was in high school. It’s kind of surreal. Every step of the ladder that I’ve gone to it’s like man I can’t believe that I’m here. I played how many ever baseball games when I was in high school at Geneva. Just the feeling of going there when I was in the NYCBL and playing and being on the field and thinking this is what this field is for. It’s not just a tournament field, a neutral field. This is what this field was built for. I always thought that was cool. I still have that feeling. Hopefully, Frontier Field will be the next place that’s like that. I’m not just playing here because it’s high school sectional game. This is the real deal.”
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a contributor and correspondent with USA Today and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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