Giants Q & A with Garrett Broshuis
Joe Ritzo: You had a whirlwind year that began with an extended stay in spring training before returning to San Jose in mid-April. How were you able to stay positive during those times?
Garrett Broshuis: It was a whirlwind, as you said. I didn't expect to be in San Jose and it was one of those weird situations where you aren't happy to be there from the standpoint of your career, but at the same time, San Jose is such a great place to play. It's a great city and it's always nice to be back there. As for staying positive, it wasn't easy at times, especially when one week turned into two weeks and then a month turned into two months. But I knew I was close to Fresno and I hoped I was going to be moved up there at some point. I had a little bit of an opportunity to play there (in Fresno), but unfortunately it didn't translate into anything long term. That was the biggest thing that allowed me to maintain hope - the fact San Jose was so close to Fresno. And just being on a great team with a good group of guys. When you're winning so many ballgames, it helps a lot.
JR: It seemed like you took on a leadership role in San Jose this season. In what ways do you think you were able to help other pitchers on the staff?
GB: A lot of those guys had only played a couple of years or with some of them, it was even just their first full year of professional baseball. In this game, you become a veteran pretty quickly. So even though I'm only 27 and I was just drafted five years ago, I'm already a minor league veteran. All of the struggles that they're going through and all of the pressure they're putting on themselves, I've been through that. I've experienced the ups and downs. I know the season is always a long one. As frustrating as this game can be sometimes, the biggest thing I stressed to everyone was to keep working day after day, no matter what happens the day before. Show up to the ballpark, go through your routine and keep working. At the end of the day, that's all you can do.
JR: Who were some of the San Jose pitchers that really impressed you this season?
GB: They had a really good starting staff, for sure. You start with Craig Clark as a guy who kind of came out of nowhere. To put up the kind of numbers he did for the entire season, it's a dream season to do that. To be locked in and put up 16 wins is an incredible year. Then another left-handed arm that I really like is Clayton Tanner. Tanner, in my opinion, he's someone that kind of gets lost in shuffle with all of the Giants pitching prospects. He's got really good stuff from the left side and pretty good command. I like him a lot as a pitcher. Then, of course, San Jose got the opportunity to see Bumgarner a little bit. Madison Bumgarner is going to be something special.
JR: You were promoted to Fresno in late-June, but only had a chance to make one start before moving down to Double-A. How frustrating was it to only get the one opportunity?
GB: Well, I really look at that as kind of a turning point. You look at coming out of spring training and not going to Fresno as a disappointment. But it was almost more disappointing, and I've said this before, to go back to Connecticut after only one start in Fresno. Just because when I was in San Jose, one of the things that really allowed me to maintain hope was that Fresno was right there and I thought I would get moved up there and hopefully succeed. Then for whatever reason, I only get the one chance and didn't exactly take advantage of it and I get sent across the country the next day. That was the most disappointing thing. Only getting one start in Fresno.
JR: From a numbers standpoint, you've done some really nice things at the Double-A level and when you look at where you are right now as a pitcher, what do you think you have to do to get noticed and make that next step in your career?
GB: I'm still trying to figure that out. You look at minor league baseball and I've heard other people say this and I agree with it, there are more players who could play in the major leagues than actually do play in the major leagues. You see a number of good players that come through who don't quite make it to the big leagues. You look at a guy like Chris Begg. He put up a good numbers year after year in the upper levels and now he's sitting at home in Toronto completely out of baseball. I put myself in the same classification as him right now. I've had some pretty good years in the minor leagues. Could they have been better? Yeah, they could have been better and maybe I wouldn't be having this conversation right now if they were a little better. But at the same time, they were some pretty good seasons, so I don't know what else I can really do. I've done everything I can from a work standpoint. I'll put my work ethic up against anybody. It's a tough thing to realize that even though you put up some good numbers that it may not be good enough to breakthrough.
JR: What do you feel your strengths are as a pitcher?
GB: I think one of the biggest things that I bring is consistency. I think that you know every time I take the ball, I'm probably going to give you around six innings, no matter what level it's at. I'm going to get deeper into ballgames. I'm going to eat innings and throw strikes. I'm going to put the ball in play and I'm not going to walk people. I think those are things that are valuable attributes. Am I going to strike a lot of people out? No, I'm not going to strike a lot of people out and that's one thing that hurts me. I'm not an overpowering pitcher and the Giants have a lot of power arms right now. I kind of get lost in the mix. I think those are some qualities that I have - the ability to pitch deep into games and to pitch to contact. Then you look at my win totals over the last two years and I've won 25 ballgames in the minor leagues. There's only one guy in the Giants minor league system that's won more ballgames and that's Madison Bumgarner.
JR: Do you ever think considering how the last few years have gone for you, in that you've pitched well but not broken through, that pitching in a different organization down the road may work better? Is that something that crosses your mind?
GB: It definitely crosses your mind everyday. I'd be lying to you if I told you it didn't. Obviously I like the Giants organization. I have a lot of great teammates here and I have a lot of respect for the people in management, but at the same time, you do see the number of pitching prospects that the Giants have and it is more difficult in an organization like this than maybe some other organizations. I do have another year under contract with the Giants and that's one of the frustrating things about this game is that the contracts are so long. Sometimes players get locked into a situation that might not be the most ideal situation for them and their individual career.
JR: What have you been up to this offseason?
GB: Trying to find a job is the biggest thing. Like a lot of minor league guys, it's tough coming home. All of a sudden, you have a few months of the offseason and you didn't make much money during the season and so you need to find a job quickly. One of my teammates said that the last $500 paycheck goes pretty quickly and I'm kind of in that same boat. Luckily, I have a wife that has a decent job, but if I don't find some way to bring in some money before too long, she's probably going to start yelling at me.
JR: You've become well known throughout the baseball community in recent years from the articles that you've written, first for The Sporting News and now Baseball America. How did this originally come about?
GB: It started a couple of years back when I ran into a writer at The Sporting News. At the time, they were a St. Louis based company and I basically pitched the idea to him. You run into a lot of people in the offseason that are general baseball fans who seem interested in the minor leagues, but they really have no clue as to what the life of a minor league player entails. I was talking to the writer about it and he said to send him a couple of writing samples. I sent it to them and they liked them, so The Sporting News decided to go from there. Since, I've moved over to Baseball America and that's been a really great partnership. I've had a couple of things published in the print edition and actually should have a longer article on minor league salaries in one of the upcoming print editions. Kind of giving the history of minor league salaries and comparing them to salaries from 1975 and how little they've increased since then. It's probably going to be 3 or 4 pages in it, so I'm really looking forward to seeing that in print.
JR: Do you have a favorite article/topic from your writing experiences?
GB: Not one favorite article, probably. I like mixing in humor with some serious topics. That way they're both entertaining and educational at the same time. One thing that I am going to make a goal of over the next year or two is bringing more exposure to the salaries that minor league players have just because I think it is time for an increase. Minor league players, we're grateful for the opportunity. We are just whining, spoiled athletes and we're just happy to play this game, but at the same time, we need enough to live on and enough to eat. That's all we're really asking for and unfortunately it's really tough to do that sometimes on the salaries that we're provided. That's kind of my pet project for the future. To bring a little more exposure to that.
JR: You played on two of the greatest San Jose Giants teams of all-time in the 2005 and 2009 championship squads. So, which team would you pick?
GB: Gosh, that's a tough one to pick. I guess I would have to pick the 2005 team. The reason I'm going to do it is because we had Matt Kinney for awhile and Seung Song for awhile. And Matt Kinney definitely had the best mustache in the league. I think the mustache trumps everything.
JR: Finally, what are going to be your lasting memories of playing in San Jose?
GB: Well, my first memory of San Jose was in 2004 when I was moved up for the last month of that season. I was a homesick, lost little boy. So my first impression of San Jose was kind of tainted by that. But then I went back the following year and had grown up a little bit. I was accustomed to minor league culture and I loved it there. My most memorable memory will probably be standing on that field after winning the championship in 2005 and talking with the fans and being around my teammates who I had grown so close to over the course of the season. Just bring completely happy there. It was one of those rare moments that you find in sports where the season has ended and you came out on top in the league that you were in and were overcome by happiness.