By BILLY HEYEN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Baseball players don’t dream of walking, especially when they’re back home and get to play in front of friends and family for one of a few times all season. Chris Bostick was playing in Rochester on Tuesday, back home in front of his supporters who were seated in the second level just behind home plate at Frontier Field.
He didn’t walk just once. He walked his first two times at the plate.
“I can’t remember the last time I got two walks,” Bostick said, laughing. It was April 13, almost two months ago.
While walks may be unexciting, Bostick scored the game’s first run, which turned out to be the winning run, in Indianapolis’ 5-0 win over the Red Wings. The Rochester-native and Aquinas graduate reached base three times in the game, his two walks and a single, and made three putouts in center field. After the night’s results, Bostick ranks second in the International League in batting average.
He’s played at Frontier Field in three separate seasons, as a member of Syracuse in 2016 and Indianapolis the past two seasons. Bostick has only gone 7-for-42 in his career playing on the road against the Red Wings, well below his career Triple-A average of .276. But he’s happy to be home for a bit, he said.
“Always nice to come back to Rochester,” Bostick said. “Always nice to see some friendly faces and everything. And always good to get a win, too.”
He did add the seventh hit to that tally on Tuesday night. He worked the count to 2-0 in the seventh against Trevor May, a tall righthander who has spent time in the big leagues with Minnesota. Then he got a ball right down the heart of the plate and turned on it to ground it hard between the shortstop and third baseman and into left for a hit.
Bostick’s first time playing at Frontier Field, he may have pressed and expanded the zone to avoid walking in a game back at home, he said. But now he said he just tries to treat it like any other game. It’s not exactly like any other one, though. He makes it a point to notice when his family arrives at the ballpark and to note where they’re sitting.
“It’s nice for these guys to be able to come home and play in front of the fans and the family that’s here,” Rochester manager Joel Skinner said.
In the grouping of his family and friends on Tuesday, there were multiple script ‘P’ logos in support of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Indians’ major league affiliate that Bostick played in 20 games for last year. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Bostick spoke about how he’s “hoping and scratching and clawing” for any chance to make it back to the big leagues.
That chance includes playing a new position. Bostick starred as a shortstop wearing number 42 when he played at Aquinas. This season, he’s spent the majority of his time in center field, with the remainder of his starts coming in left field. His speed has always been one of his calling cards — he’s had five separate minor league seasons with double-digit steals — and anything to increase his shot of making the majors is a plus for him.
“Just trying to be versatile, get a little better everyday at something,” Bostick said. “Versatility is good, versatility is something that a lot of major league teams need.”
Bostick’s mind was less on what major league teams need, though, and more on getting home after speaking with his family postgame and walking down toward his clubhouse following the Indians’ win. Because of a late flight, he’d been unable to get over to his childhood house yet. He’d be heading there after cleaning up and would be “staying in the bed (he) grew up in.”
The eighth-year pro was looking forward to the “home cooking” he might get tomorrow, although he had no idea what it might be.
“Whatever’s in the fridge,” Bostick said, laughing.
He’ll have two more to play at Frontier Field before Indianapolis heads out of town. Maybe a few home-cooked meals in there. But then it’ll be on to the next step on the journey of making it back to the major leagues for Bostick. There’s no major league club in Rochester, but Bostick and his family probably wouldn’t mind having to go a little farther to see him play.
Leave a Reply