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By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 06:32 p.m. EDT, Sep 27, 2009
CLEVELAND: At 27, Michael Aubrey finally has begun a major-league career that was stalled for years by injury.
Aubrey was the Indians' first-round draft pick in 2003 but spent most of his first five years as a professional rehabilitating injuries: a strained quad in 2003, hamstring strain in 2004, stress fracture in his back in 2005, strained knee in 2006 and hamstring and abdominal strains in 2007.
That didn't leave much time to play the game, and Aubrey didn't. Others in the Tribe organization began to pass him by, even though Aubrey hit at every level and was a solid defensive first baseman.
With Matt LaPorta and Beau Mills in the pipeline, the Indians traded Aubrey to the Orioles in June, and he was summoned to the big leagues in August. Since then, he has made the most of his promotion, batting .323 (20-for-59) with six doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 24 games.
In the weekend series against his old team, Aubrey also has shined, going 4-for-10 with one double, one homer and one RBI.
Standing in the visitors' clubhouse at Progressive Field, Aubrey recalled which locker he was assigned to during the Indians' winter instructional program in 2006.
''I think it snowed 25 of the 30 days,'' he said with a smile. ''The classroom stuff was good, but I probably would have gotten more out of it if we could have gotten outside.''
It's always an emotional jolt when a player is traded for the first time, no less so for Aubrey.
''I had mixed feelings when I was traded,'' he said. ''Cleveland was my first organization. I had so many friendships here. The coaches, the front office were all good to me.
''But I didn't think I would get much of an opportunity, so I was grateful to get a new start. Early in the season, when I was in Columbus, a couple of guys got called up. I was performing, too, and I realized it was not about performance.''
Aside from his years-long inability to avoid injuries, the knock on Aubrey was his relative lack of power for a player who plays a corner position.
''I don't see much power there, but he's a bat-to-ball guy and can handle himself at first base,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''His biggest issue by far is being able to stay healthy.''
Nobody knows that more than Aubrey.
''You don't realize how thankful you should be for staying healthy,'' he said. ''Guys who don't get hurt don't understand what it's like [to be injured often].''
Aubrey's transition to the majors has been relatively smooth.
''It's all about making adjustments on the fly,'' he said. ''Fortunately, I've been able to do that.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
CLEVELAND: At 27, Michael Aubrey finally has begun a major-league career that was stalled for years by injury.
Aubrey was the Indians' first-round draft pick in 2003 but spent most of his first five years as a professional rehabilitating injuries: a strained quad in 2003, hamstring strain in 2004, stress fracture in his back in 2005, strained knee in 2006 and hamstring and abdominal strains in 2007.
That didn't leave much time to play the game, and Aubrey didn't. Others in the Tribe organization began to pass him by, even though Aubrey hit at every level and was a solid defensive first baseman.
With Matt LaPorta and Beau Mills in the pipeline, the Indians traded Aubrey to the Orioles in June, and he was summoned to the big leagues in August. Since then, he has made the most of his promotion, batting .323 (20-for-59) with six doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 24 games.
In the weekend series against his old team, Aubrey also has shined, going 4-for-10 with one double, one homer and one RBI.
Standing in the visitors' clubhouse at Progressive Field, Aubrey recalled which locker he was assigned to during the Indians' winter instructional program in 2006.
''I think it snowed 25 of the 30 days,'' he said with a smile. ''The classroom stuff was good, but I probably would have gotten more out of it if we could have gotten outside.''
It's always an emotional jolt when a player is traded for the first time, no less so for Aubrey.
''I had mixed feelings when I was traded,'' he said. ''Cleveland was my first organization. I had so many friendships here. The coaches, the front office were all good to me.
''But I didn't think I would get much of an opportunity, so I was grateful to get a new start. Early in the season, when I was in Columbus, a couple of guys got called up. I was performing, too, and I realized it was not about performance.''
Aside from his years-long inability to avoid injuries, the knock on Aubrey was his relative lack of power for a player who plays a corner position.
''I don't see much power there, but he's a bat-to-ball guy and can handle himself at first base,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''His biggest issue by far is being able to stay healthy.''
Nobody knows that more than Aubrey.
''You don't realize how thankful you should be for staying healthy,'' he said. ''Guys who don't get hurt don't understand what it's like [to be injured often].''
Aubrey's transition to the majors has been relatively smooth.
''It's all about making adjustments on the fly,'' he said. ''Fortunately, I've been able to do that.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
Comments
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Cleveland, OH
Posted 09:44 AM, 09/28/2009
Man I wish we'd have given him a shot this year. Was having a great year in columbus before the trade. Is the only good fielding 1B option we had. I know they like Brown better.....but still, one last shot (ala, Marte) would have been the thing to do IMO....
Posted 10:23 AM, 09/28/2009
Maybe Balt is where Shapiro sends former number-one picks his organization denies opportunity. Aubrey joins Guthrie, both essentially without compensation. Brilliant. Who needs inexpensive starting pitching anyway?
