Baseball | March 11, 2015
Lee Ridenhour is trying to take the next step.
The 2013 Austin Peay grad enters his second spring training looking to make the next progression in his professional career and third season with the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
"I played the whole season with High-A Clearwater last year," Ridenhour said during a recent visit to his old stomping grounds at Raymond C. Hand Park. "The goal this year is to break camp at Double-A (Reading), but it really depends on how other guys prepared and how I go in and perform."
Ridenhour was 2-8 a year ago, with a 4.72 ERA in 42 appearances. Ridenhour's walk rate spiked to 8.4 percent – he walked more than three batters per nine innings – but opponents hit just .258 off him and he added in a change-up during his offseason work in an attempt to make himself a more versatile option out of the back end of the bullpen. The burly righty from Overland Park, Kan., got plenty of late-inning duty a year ago, but knows his role can change depending on where he winds up in 2015 and being adaptable will be paramount for him no matter what clubhouse he finds himself in.
It's still a journeyman's existence, the minor-league life. You don't get to charter many flights. You know those scenes in Bull Durham where everybody is riding on the bus from town to town and people look bored out of their minds? It's a bit like that. But to Ridenhour, it beats the alternative.
"It's easy for me to stay focused," Ridenhour said. "I can play baseball, or I can go out and work an 8-5 job, so playing the game keeps me going."
The dream came to Clearwater at times during Ridenhour's year-plus with the Threshers. A-ball is a good spot for injured big-leaguers to come down for rehabilitation starts, and gives the young guys a chance to mix with the vets who have made it to the bigs. And occasionally, a probable future Hall of Famer will suit up across from you in the locker room.
"In 2013, (former Phillies ace) Roy Halladay came to (Class-A) Lakewood on a rehab assignment," said Ridenhour, who was with the BlueClaws at the time after advancing quickly from short-season Williamsport. "That was an experience that really was not so much 'Welcome to the pros' as it was just a neat experience. It gave me an idea of, 'Oh, this is what professional baseball is all about,', seeing the big-league mentality and how you should go about your business.
"And I always like when the big-league bullpen guys come down, because they sit out there with us and we can pick their brains – what clicked, what they learned going through the process and how things changed. Ken Giles, who is with the Phillies now who played with me at Clearwater a bit in 2013 – to see where he was in Clearwater and following his progression (through the minors), something clicked. It makes me wonder, 'What clicked, what's he doing, how's he going about working?' It's neat to see the transition as a player."
Ridenhour hopes the transition comes for him. A natural strike-thrower, his biggest adjustment has been reading the tendencies of hitters and learning the swings, "the chess match between the pitcher and the hitter." It's a leap that's harder than it sounds, because there is no room for mistakes.
"Pro hitters are going to hit mistakes," he said. "You can't fall behind 2-0, 3-1 because they're going to hit it. As I've gone up through the levels, the hitters have been more fine-tuned. (A player) may have a couple thousand at-bats under his belt, so he's seen the slider how many times? The 2-0 fastball? They crush mistakes."
Philadelphia's farm system ranked 20th in a recent Baseball America review; Ridenhour will have opportunities for advancement. But he knows he can't focus on that – he can only take the ball and do his job at every opportunity, and hope.
"Throw strikes, get guys out, whatever it takes – you have to get the job done," he said. "I'm sure a lot of people say that, but when the ball is handed to you, you have to go in and perform."
