Longview's Alexander gets life-changing e-mail from Braves scout
Sunday, July 2, 2006 12:01 AM PDT
By Ben Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleAt 7 a.m. Central European Standard time last Friday, John Alexander rolled out of bed in Therwil, Switzerland.
Alexander, 22, graduated from R.A. Long in 2002 and Chapman University in Orange, Calif., this summer, then headed to play baseball in the Swiss Professional League.
He checked his e-mail, a daily morning ritual for the ex-Lumberjack living nine time zones away from home.
There was one from Alexander's girl friend, Emily Dubinsky.
Another from his brother, Ryan, a pastor near Los Angeles.
Hot stock tips.
Yahoo! Sports newsletters.
As Alexander scanned his in-box, he froze at a vaguely familiar name in the "from" column: Tom Battista, Atlanta Braves scout in charge of Southern California.
Alexander had been on the Braves' radar since 2005, his junior season at Chapman. That was the year Alexander switched from first base to catcher. During a workout for the Braves, Alexander impressed Battista with his size, durability and tools.
Battista recalls noting Alexander's "higher ceiling" ---- more potential ---- at catcher, being new to the position.
But Alexander was not drafted.
Senior year came and went. Chapman finished third at the NCAA Division II baseball national championships. Alexander was a pillar, leading the Panthers in RBIs (38) and on-base percentage (.502) while batting .382. He handled a staff that included the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association West Region pitcher of the year and a 46th-round draft pick of the New York Mets.
Still not drafted.
"I accepted it," said Alexander. "I said, 'That's it.'"
But he had harbored big-league baseball dreams since he was old enough to grip a whiffle bat and hack at Ryan's curveballs in the back yard of his parents' home on Terry Avenue. During his first two seasons at Chapman, he pressed during slumps, agonized over strikeouts and stranded baserunners. Alexander's desire to prove himself major-league caliber was suffocating his love of the game.
"I wasn't having any fun," he said. "I was putting too much pressure on myself to perform. As soon as I accepted that, hey, I can play and have fun, at that exact moment, I started getting some (scout) attention. I let go and opportunities were presented."
Alexander was rejuvenated. He slowly said goodbye to his big-league dreams by embracing each game, every at-bat, for its own sake. The gradual farewell softened the blow when his college career ended and the Major League draft passed without a phone call.
"I got some attention this year, but I knew how hard it was to get drafted as a graduating senior from a small school," he said.
In May, Alexander signed a deal to play for the Therwil Flyers. In a guest column for The Daily News, he wrote: "We'll play on a soccer-turned-baseball field in Basel, Switzerland, with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop. They'll pay me $1,600 a month, plus rent expenses, to compete against teams in France, Italy and other Swiss cities."
The decision was based on a desire to see the world as much as a yearning to prolong his baseball journey.
Swiss experiences
It didn't take long to adjust ---- for Alexander to carve out a niche, acquire a sense of place, of home.
Jet-lag and homesickness passed. He hit a three-run home run in his second at-bat as a Swiss League pro. The Flyers let him pitch in a doubleheader against a team from Lausanne, comprised of Dominicans who argued incessantly in Spanish and French.
The quality of play was sub-par. He wrote on his blog (johnswiss.blogspot.com) that each fly ball to the outfield had "a "50/50 shot that someone will catch it."
Some in the Swiss League could "legitimately hit, but pretty much all ... look 10 or 11 years old throwing and catching the ball," wrote Alexander.
A field in Lausanne "sort of had a fence and sort of ---- no, actually, it didn't ---- have a mound."
Yet Alexander appreciated his teammates' enthusiasm. Although they were paying to play and he was getting paid, his teammates played with the joy and innocence of Little Leaguers.
"When the coach announced the lineup to the team, everyone would clap really loudly after each name," he said. "They love baseball as much as I do, but when they lost, or something bad happened, it was followed by an immediate pat on the back. They just loved playing. They had as much fun failing as they did succeeding. I was really starting to appreciate that."
Away from the field, Alexander began to absorb his new world. He loved the view from the patio off his second-floor bedroom, which offered glimpses of the Alps, smoke-purple in the distance. The nightlife in Basel, 15 minutes from Therwil on the Rhine River, was groovy. He took a weekend trip to Geneva, where he was one of 10 Americans at a local soccer stadium watching the United States' World Cup match against Italy on a big-screen ---- with 5,000 Italians.
"I hid in the corner, of course," Alexander wrote on his blog. "Plus, it's not even the best football ---- GO HAWKS!"
He was close to securing a Eurorail pass and confirming trips to France, Italy and Amsterdam.
"I was figuring out exactly which weekends to go where," said Alexander.
Then, the e-mail from Battista. It asked Alexander to come in for a workout, which suggested immediately that the Braves didn't know he was thousands of miles away.
"He doesn't know what I'm doing," thought Alexander, who framed his response accordingly.
"I said that I was ready and wanting to do this, but that I couldn't come for a workout," he said.
Alexander clicked "send" and waited. Almost instantly, Battista e-mailed back.
Baseball in his blood
"(Forget) the workout," was the gist of the scout's reply. Battista liked that Alexander was still playing baseball ---- and had journeyed all the way to Switzerland to stay connected with the game.
"I loved that about John," said Battista in a phone call. "When you are scouting players, everybody gives answers you want to hear, but you can never know if the real passion is there. John answered every question I needed, because actions speak louder than words."
Battista had to wait for approval from the Braves' scouting director. The wait consumed Alexander's entire day. He sat around, nervous, waiting for word. Around midnight, Longview time, her called his parents, Elden and Pam Alexander of Longview.
Finally, Battista e-mailed back.
"Get on a flight," the e-mail said.
John immediately called Elden.
"He said, 'Dad, it's for sure,'" said Elden. "I wasn't exactly awake at the time, but I know I didn't sleep the rest of the night. It didn't sink in for a while, but it has now. This is his dream."
There was hardly any time for goodbyes. Alexander flew out of Basil Melhouse Airport on Saturday to Heathrow Airport in London, then to Orlando early Sunday morning. A clubhouse manager picked him up and took him to a hotel.
By 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Alexander was catching bullpen workouts for the Gulf Coast League Braves, the organization's rookie team based in Kissimmee, Fla. The GCL Braves compete against the rookie clubs for the Phillies, Indians, Tigers and Yankees.
"I didn't have a name or number on my jersey," he said.
Instead of rolling through France, Italy and Amsterdam, Alexander will pass his summer bussing Interstate 4 in West-Central Florida, from Clearwater to Lakeland to Tampa, back and forth, four days on, one day off, for the duration of the Braves' season.
"Even though I was somewhat disappointed, Europe will always be there," said Alexander. "Even playing baseball there. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
He sees a pattern on his baseball pilgrimage. Each time Alexander begins to accept that his big-league dreams are fading, they spark back to life.
"I kind of view myself as 'Mr. Irrelevant,' which is what they call the last guy drafted," Alexander said. "I'm probably the last guy signed, barring injury, other than holdouts. I'm the last guy. I don't use that as motivation. But it gives me a confidence that I can only succeed. When you are the last guy, expectations are lowered.
"My story isn't any more special than anyone else's," he added, "but I hope it gives hope to people that think the door is closed. I thought I was done. All of a sudden, my dream is realized when I thought it was over."
There Alexander was in his bedroom in Therwil. Finished dreaming for the night. Wide awake, checking his e-mail. Who'd have thought he was in the perfect place at the perfect time?
"You have the tools. That will get you drafted," said Battista. "Pitchers, the radar gun will get you drafted. (But) make-up and character are what get you to the big leagues. You can't overlook that stuff."
Even when you find that it's peacefully letting go of dreams in the shadows of the Alps.
Ben Zimmerman is a sportswriter for The Daily News. He can be reached at 577-2528 or zim@tdn.com.
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