PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 Brendan Donovan arrived early to spring training a week before the required reporting date for position players because, well, why wouldn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n
Sure, joining a new organization, which included a move from training in the Grapefruit League in Florida, where he makes his home, to the Cactus League was a reason to get a head start. But until 10 days ago when he was traded from St. Louis to Seattle, he was preparing for another year with the Cardinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my first time being traded, so I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect,\u201d he said early Wednesday morning before heading out for voluntary workouts. \u201cI thought it went smooth. For me, it was important for me to meet a lot of people. I\u2019m good with names, not good with faces, so I\u2019m kind of putting those both together.\u201d<\/p>\n
But if he was still playing with the Cardinals, he still would have arrived to camp a week early.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in getting to spring training early and getting settled in,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I try to lead by example. So, to just be here and just try to earn some respect from the guys, that\u2019s just kind of how I work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps it stems from being the son of a soldier. His father, Jim, was a decorated combat aviator, retired as a colonel in the U.S. Army. The military has been part of Donovan\u2019s life, including being born in Germany while his father was stationed in W\u00fcrzburg. As the saying goes, \u201cearly is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the military, which is why I think I was attracted to baseball so much, there\u2019s a sense of community and culture and teamwork,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cThere\u2019s all those things that the military, I feel like, did a pretty good job of instilling in me as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
But really Donovan shows up to spring training early because it\u2019s what he\u2019s always done as a professional. It\u2019s what he needs to do to get himself ready for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n
Asked to describe himself as a player, he replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in preparation. I try to be the most prepared player on the field. I think that may come with being able to play all over the field. You kind of have to be the most prepared. And I play really hard. Your effort, your mentality \u2013 those are things that you can control in this crazy game. I try to play like my hair is on fire, and that\u2019s something that I think makes the game more fun, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sound like a few players on the Mariners?<\/p>\n
While he wouldn\u2019t allow himself to follow the trade rumors this offseason, he knew the Mariners had interest in him dating back to even last season. During the MLB GM meetings in November and the winter meetings in December, it was impossible to ignore. But the Mariners\u2019 lengthy pursuit of Donovan wasn\u2019t realized until a few weeks before spring training. Once he got the call from Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners\u2019 president of baseball operations, and the deal was announced, Donovan started checking with people he trusted around the game for info on his new club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were all like, \u2018Great people. You\u2019re going to love the people in this organization,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cTo me, the character of the organization, that\u2019s extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he arrived this week and started working his way around the clubhouse, he felt at home. He asked about any team rules or requirements he needed to learn.<\/p>\n
The response pleased him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was, \u2018We\u2019re going to prepare. We\u2019re going to be great people,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cI liked that. When you have a group of guys that hold themselves to a higher standard, and there\u2019s that aspect of accountability and preparation and guys that genuinely care, and there is talk of winning a World Series, you don\u2019t really need (rules).\u201d<\/p>\n
Donovan noticed it with Cal Raleigh immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cCal\u2019s the first one in the door, and I think he\u2019s the last one here,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw that yesterday. I was like, \u2018Wow, he\u2019s here early.\u2019 And then when I left, I was like, \u2018Wow, he\u2019s still here.\u2019 It\u2019s just a testament to him and why he\u2019s able to set the foundation for this culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raleigh received plenty of calls from players around the league when Donovan was traded to Seattle.<\/p>\n
\u201cA bunch of guys have reached out and have been like, \u2018Oh, you got a good one. He\u2019s a great dude, great teammate, great player, somebody you\u2019re going to like to come to work with every day,\u2019 \u201d Raleigh said.<\/p>\n
Raleigh knew about what Donovan can do at the plate \u2013 a .361 on-base percentage, a low strikeout rate and a mature approach \u2013 along with positional versatility in the field that fits the M\u2019s needs. Manager Dan Wilson is expected to slot Donovan into the leadoff spot in the lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he complements our lineup really well,\u201d Raleigh said. \u201cHe\u2019s what we needed to add to this team, that type of player. It\u2019s sad seeing some of the other guys walk out, but knowing what we needed, and having to add while making our lineup deeper with different types of hitters, he\u2019s a big add. It\u2019s always good to be a little more diverse and less one-dimensional as an offense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donovan worked at third base during the infield ground ball sessions the past two days. While he played mostly second base the past three seasons, including earning a spot on the National League All-Star team last season, the Mariners will likely start Donovan at third base. It\u2019s a position he played more early in his career. His preparation to return to the spot is simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo find Bone and have him tell me what to do,\u201d Donovan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBone\u201d is the nickname of infield coach Perry Hill. Of the slew of phone calls he received the night he was traded, Donovan made sure to answer when Hill called.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we talked the night I got traded,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cYou hear about reputations and things throughout the game of baseball, and everyone talks about, \u2018If you get a chance to work with Bone, he\u2019s gonna make you a better defender.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Donovan first heard about Hill and his Six F\u2019s of Fielding \u2013 Feet, Field, Funnel, Footwork, Fire, Follow \u2013 in college at South Alabama.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had an infield coach who was big on his Six F\u2019s,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cThat was my first introduction to that. And then you start meeting infield coaches, a lot of their stuff comes from him. You can see the lineage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with Hill on Monday for the first time, all those teachings from different coaches started to resonate in a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny. It\u2019s just like a simple brilliance when he\u2019s talking,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was like, \u2018That makes complete sense.\u2019 It\u2019s not something that\u2019s crazy. Yesterday, it was just, \u2018field it, funnel it, replace your feet.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018OK, I can do that.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 Brendan Donovan arrived early to spring training a week before the required reporting date for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-476312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}