Playing in the Major Leagues is a dream many kids have but few ever realize.
Only 1 in 200 high school baseball players even get a minor league contract or get drafted by a Major League team.
At the St. Louis Cardinals caravan visit to Bloomington on Saturday, some aspiring big leaguers got to ask those who have made it to “The Show” how they could get there someday.
Outfielder Michael Siani encouraged youth to be as active in as many sports as possible. He rejects the current trend of specialization throughout youth sports.
“As many team sports as you can play helps you become a better teammate in a much different way,” Ciani said. “I enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend anyone to do it too.”
The 25-year-old Siani played baseball, basketball and soccer in his youth. He is set to begin his second season with the Cardinals.
Pitcher Ryan Loutos, a 25-year-old Barrington native, made his Major League debut last June. He agreed that playing multiple sports can do more for an athlete’s physical development, even if an athletes narrows their focus later in school.
“It’s a pretty uniform opinion (among) big leaguers and professional athletes that you need to play as many sports as possible as often as you can,” Loutos said, adding he played football, basketball and baseball growing up, then shifted to baseball and golf in high school.
Loutos noted another change as he transitioned to professional sports was the emphasis on analytics, which studies precise metrics to help players improve. He said he has a “funny” relationship with analytics, when it comes to assessing such factors as spin rate.
Pitchers seek higher spin rates, measured in revolutions per minute, because those pitches are generally harder to hit.
“I’m very fascinated by it, but I also have to make sure I use it in the right way at the right times, because when I compete best I just need to think about competing,” Loutos said.
Fans came from across the Midwest to see the Cardinals in advance of the 2025 season. Siani and Loutos were joined by catcher Pedro Pages and infielder Jose Fermin, along with former player Xavier Scruggs and broadcaster Ricky Horton.
Tiffany Allen and her 14-year-old son Coleton made the two-hour drive from Linden, Indiana, to see their favorite team.
Allen said her lifelong Cardinals fandom goes back to watching Ozzie Smith perform backflips on the field before each game back in the 1980s.
Another Cardinals memory that will always stick her was being at Busch Stadium on Oct. 27, 2011, for Game 6 of the World Series when David Freese hit a game-winning home run to force a deciding Game 7, which the Cardinals also won.
That day was also Coleton’s first birthday.
There is some uncertainly over the upcoming season following two straight disappointing years and the Cardinals’ plans to trade star third baseman Nolan Arenado to cut payroll.
That likely means more opportunities for younger players, including Siani, who said he’s eager for the opportunity.
“It’s going to be a lot of young guys playing. It will be exciting, it will be fun to watch,” Siani said.
Cardinals’ pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training on Feb. 12.
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