TROY — On the morning of July 6, outfielder John Mead found out he was being released by the Empire State Greys, the worst team in the Frontier League. Several hours later, he was a member of the Tri-City ValleyCats, battling for a playoff spot.
All it took was self-confidence and a short walk from the visiting locker room at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium to the office of ValleyCats manager Pete Incaviglia.
“Oh, man, it’s a completely different atmosphere,” Mead said before the ValleyCats (30-21) played Friday’s home game against the Evansville Otters. “It’s fun, I really look forward to coming to the ballpark every day. Great group of guys we’ve got here. We’ve got some serious talent.”
Mead, a New Jersey native, played his first 31 games of the season on the road with the Greys, a travel team. The Greys were in Troy to play the ValleyCats when Empire State manager Mark Mason notified Mead at the team hotel that he was being released.
Though Mead was batting a respectable .264 with six homers, the Greys were letting him go to make room for more pitching, Mason told him. Empire State dropped to a 10-36 record the night before with an 18-4 loss to Tri-City.
“I hate to sound cocky here, but guys were shocked that I was released and I literally had a smile on my face,” Mead said. “I was kind of relieved because, honestly, the travel is tough. It beats you down and not ever having someone cheer for you, too, is another tough thing. I just had a feeling someone else was going to pick me up.”
Mead went to Bruno Stadium to get his gear out of his visiting locker. He was going to get a ride back to Tupper Lake, where the Greys have a practice field, to get his car.
But before he left Bruno, Mead went over to the Tri-City bullpen to say goodbye to ValleyCats pitcher Dwayne Marshall, a travel teammate in New Jersey when they were 14 years old.
…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply