Catching Up with Petrick
July 2, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Odds and Ends, Personalities
Nice story today in the Rocky Mountain News about former big-league catcher Ben Petrick. Now age 30 and a few years removed from his playing days, Petrick talks about his battle with Parkinson’s disease:
You cherish the moment when your meds are working and you can get dressed or shower within five, 10 minutes instead of a half-hour, 40 minutes.
Petrick first came to my attention thanks to John Sickels. In his 1998 Minor League Scouting Notebook, Sickels said of Petrick:
He is quite patient and very strong for his size, but his swing still needs some refinement. A running back in high school, Petrick is a fine athlete with outstanding speed for a catcher and good baserunning technique. Petrick has improved greatly as a defensive catcher, and does everything well behind the plate.
Sickels rated Petrick a B-plus prospect in his book. Ironically, Sickels profiled another A-ball catcher on the next page and gave him a much less favorable review. The name of the kid who received a C-plus grade? A.J. Pierzynski.
Life is strange. Good to see Petrick making the most of his…
