![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RC-Alice-Hewitt-100-1017x1024.jpg\")
Former Quincy University All-American infielder Dayson Croes hit .349 in the September after being called up to join the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. | Photo courtesy Sacramento River Cats<\/p>\nQUINCY \u2014 The pressure is off, but Dayson Croes knows he can\u2019t relax.<\/p>\n
The dream of playing Major League Baseball hasn\u2019t been realized yet, but now he\u2019s on a legitimate path to get there as long as he sticks to what he knows and continues to improve.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why he left last week to play winter baseball in the Mexican Pacific League, following through on the contract he signed before his professional career received a lightning bolt of a boost. Croes signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants last April and skyrocketed from the rookie league to Triple-A in five months, ensuring he gets another chance at his dream next spring.<\/p>\n
So, he can go to Mexico, put money in the bank, and work on his craft without worrying if a Major League Baseball franchise might eventually give him a shot.<\/p>\n
The pressure to perform is off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives me the freedom to work on things and not be afraid of it,\u201d Croes said. \u201cIt\u2019s not do or die down there. Work on some things and not be afraid to fail. Not stress out and enjoy the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
One phone call and his ability to hit pitching at every level changed his outlook..<\/p>\n
Having signed to play a third season for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association \u2014 he was an all-star infielder his first two seasons there \u2014 Croes had his bags packed, his plane ticket purchased and his plans made when fate stepped in.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a random Saturday night, they called me and said, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re not going to Winnipeg. You\u2019re going to Arizona,\u2019\u201d Croes said. \u201cIt was unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
That call came from a scout within the Giants organization and they wanted him to report to their training facility immediately..<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what I dreamed about,\u201d Croes said..<\/p>\n
He signed a minor league contract with the Giants on April 30, was promoted to the Single-A Eugene Emeralds on May 25, got called up to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels on August 5 and bumped again on September 2 to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.<\/p>\n
One season, five months, three promotions and success every step of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always told everyone all I need is one chance to prove myself,\u201d Croes said. \u201cIt was nice to be able to prove to everyone it wasn\u2019t just me talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Quincy University All-American infielder Dayson Croes hit .349 in the September after being called up to join the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. | Photo courtesy Sacramento River Cats<\/p>\n
He proved he is a professional hitter.<\/p>\n
In 317 at-bats spanning 90 games, Croes hit .300 with 24 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 41 RBIs. He enjoyed a seven-game hit streak at Eugene, an eight-game hit streak at Richmond and a six-game hit streak at Sacramento.<\/p>\n
In September, after his call-up to Triple-A, Croes enjoyed the best month of the season, hitting .349 with a .417 on-base percentage and .475 slugging percentage. He had hits in nine of his games and ended the season with a 2-for-4 performance against the Round Rock Express.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not where he expected to end the season, but is grateful for the opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf all of the promotions, (being called up to Triple-A) was the one that caught me by surprise, especially how quickly that happened,\u201d Croes said. \u201cI knew because of my age, if I did well, I\u2019d probably end up in Double-A. I always had that in the back of my mind. So when I got to Double-A, I felt, \u2018Hey, this is going to be it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The way things were playing out at Richmond suggested he was there to stay, too.<\/p>\n
The Flying Squirrels were in the midst of a playoff push when he arrived, and they proceeded to win three series in his first three weeks there. They were headed on the road for a series at the Altoona Curve, which happened to be in first place, when he was promoted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a surprise,\u201d Croes said. \u201cAnd it was a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no looking back now.<\/p>\n
Playing in Mexico is part of an offseason plan to continue to hone his craft and become stronger and more athletic. In fact, during Croes\u2019 exit meeting with the Giants, the suggestions on how to improve were subtle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing from them was don\u2019t change anything,\u201d Croes said. \u201c(San Francisco director of baseball operations) Buster Posey\u2019s philosophy is don\u2019t strike out, gap-to-gap, put the ball in play. So that\u2019s perfect for me because that\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said it wouldn\u2019t hurt to get my bat speed up a little bit. They didn\u2019t say, \u2018You need to work on this.\u2019 The biggest thing is mobility, getting more athletic. They said being a little more mobile would open up more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where that lands him next season is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay where my feet are,\u201d Croes said. \u201cWhatever happens, wherever I start, that\u2019s where I will pick up where I left off. Now going into next year, I know what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of his veteran teammates expect big things from him, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few of them said, \u2018I\u2019ll see you in big league camp next year,\u2019\u201d Croes said.<\/p>\n
If that\u2019s the case, the dream moves a step closer to becoming reality.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RC-Alice-Hewitt-26-843x1024.jpg\")
Former Quincy University All-American infielder Dayson Croes is heading to the Mexican Pacific League this winter to prepare himself for next season, where he hopes to be invited to the San Francisco Giants\u2019 training camp. | Photo courtesy Sacramento River Cats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"QUINCY \u2014 The pressure is off, but Dayson Croes knows he can\u2019t relax. The dream of playing Major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[124708,363,2329,99],"class_list":["post-221695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-dayson-croes","tag-mlb","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}