Part 2 - Chris Smith Enters Yankees Affiliate Ball

• Part 1 with Chris Smith can be heard Here & on Apple Podcasts
• 230 innings
• Spring Training & First Yankee bullpen
• A crunch in his arm throwing bullpen & misses first year with the Yankees
• Yankees organization treatment is top-notch - great help from Greg Spratt
• Working out, side by side with other injured players at the complex w/ Yankees Kevin Youkilis, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter & Mark Teixeira & Mariano Rivera
• Sharing a Cold Tub with Derek Jeter
• Good teammates & leaders, It will motivate you
• New York Yankees 2 Gulf Coast League (GCL) – very eye opening experience
• Justin Pope – Yankees Pitching Coach helped Chris retake the mound with a new mindset
• Must be willing to work & have coaches who are willing to invest their time & experience with you
• 2014 Chris is now pitching for the Charleston River Dogs, an Affiliate team.
• Feels the Monkey on his back
• Gave up a home run to Mike Yastrzemski in Low A
• Chris gets promoted to High A in Tampa
• Playing in the minors with Aaron Judge, Mike Ford, Mason Williams, Dante Bichette, Gary Sanchez & Aroldis Chapman
• Pitching to Yankees catcher, Kyle Higashioka
• Aaron Judge “one of the nicest human beings, not just in baseball but on the planet.”
• Grinding away with good friends in High A, Sleeping on air mattresses and paid very little
• Good year in 2014 with Trenton Thunder
• Off to Major Leagues as a back up in 2015 Yankees Spring Training
• Chris pitching speed 93 to 94. Gave up only 2 hits and 1 run during Spring Training
• Chris gets released by Yankees
• Chris signs an independent contract & returns to Louisville and plans to go to the Kentucky Derby
• Yankees Pitching Coach, Danny Burrell gives Chris a call and re-signs him
• Chris breaks into the Double A Yankees team
• Future with The Blue Jays, Trades
• Vlad Jr. remarks on Yankees - "I would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead." - Weakens leverage
• "You're not just playing for us, you're playing for 29 other teams . . . "

Special Thanks to Chris Smith for sharing part of his baseball journey with us. We look forward to having him back soon.
Chris is a Real Estate executive and can be reached at [email protected]
Chris is also on Instagram
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Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music "Rocking Forward"
Research sources included:
Wild Things Dream Team: : Chris Dugan, Observer-Reporter.com
Chris Smith Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Smith_(pitcher,_born_1988)
Chris Smith on Baseball Reference
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=smith-011chr