So, Austin Gauthier and the Dodgers, eh? Been seeing that name pop up a bit more lately. Always interesting to see who the Dodgers are cooking up in their system.
They’ve got a way of finding guys, that’s for sure. But you know, for every big name that comes out, there’s a hundred others you hear whispers about, and then poof, they’re gone. It’s a tough racket, this baseball prospect thing. Really tough.
My “Hands-On” with Prospect Chasing
This whole thing with Gauthier, it actually takes me back. Wasn’t him specifically, but it was one of those other “can’t miss” guys in the Dodgers’ minors a few years back. I got it in my head I was gonna be the guy who saw him before he was big. You know, get that “I told you so” moment.
So, I started tracking this player. Obsessively, I tell ya. Reading every little update, checking box scores like they were the winning lottery numbers. Then I heard his team was playing a few hours’ drive from me. “This is it,” I thought. “My chance to see baseball history in the making!” What a laugh.
First off, getting to that minor league park was a pain. Traffic, then parking was a mile away, cost an arm and a leg for a hot dog. Typical. I finally get to my seat, scorecard in hand, ready to make notes. And guess what?
- The guy wasn’t even in the starting lineup. Okay, okay, maybe he’s coming in later.
- Sat through six innings. Cold wind, bad coffee. Still no sign of him.
- Then, seventh inning, they announce a pitching change. Nope, not him. He was a hitter.
Turns out, he’d gotten some minor ding in practice, day before. Nothing serious, but they were resting him. Nobody bothered to update the team news feed I was glued to. I drove all that way, spent all that time and money, for absolutely nothing. Just to watch a perfectly average minor league game. I was fuming, I tell ya. Felt like a complete fool.
I remember thinking, “All this hype, all this effort to follow these guys… for this?” It really put a damper on my whole “amateur scout” ambition. It’s not like TV, where they show you all the highlights. It’s a lot of waiting, a lot of nothing, and a lot of players who just don’t pan out, no matter how much you root for them.
So yeah, when I see a name like Austin Gauthier linked with the Dodgers, I get it. There’s potential. There’s hope. But I also remember that trip, and the cold coffee, and the star player who never played. It’s a long road for these kids. And for us folks trying to follow along? Well, sometimes you just gotta enjoy the game that’s in front of you, whoever’s playing. That’s my bit of “practice” with these things, anyway. Good luck to the kid, though. Sincerely.
