Tami Soderstrom teared up when she walked into Hohokam Stadium on Sunday afternoon with her family. It had just hit her that her son, A’s first-round pick Tyler Soderstrom, would be participating in a big league camp.
“He’s learning so much. It’s been an amazing experience for him,” Tami said.
She and her husband, Steve, have been calling with questions — wanting to know who he’s met, what he’s learned. Finally able to watch their son live from a pod of seats on the first-base side, they couldn’t keep their eyes off their 19-year-old son as he warmed up with the pros.
“Such a huge transition from a year ago playing high school baseball to this,” Steve, a former big leaguer himself said. “Pretty amazing how fast it goes.”
The Soderstroms weren’t the only fans in seats, of course. Though, they were some of only a few A’s fans spotted in a sea of Los Angeles Dodgers blue spattered across Hohokam’s seats in Mesa, Arizona. The Dodgers won 2-1.
For the players, even the harsh sting of a heckle was music to their ears.
“I don’t think we realized how much we missed it,” Daulton Jefferies, the A’s starter said.
Buddy Reed, an A’s prospect who started in right field, said a Dodgers fan was chirping all game — clearly anxious to let the pent-up fan energy out.
“Some guy from the Dodgers (a fan) was saying some stuff, it was like wow, you couldn’t wait how many days to chirp at us,” Reed said. “It was good to hear, all that stuff gets you hyped up. I was never as nervous as I was in the past. Today I was nervous, but it was a lot of fun hearing people talk smack.”
The A’s spring home stadium is allowing fans at 20% capacity and, Sunday, sold out with 1,998 in attendance.
“What was it, 20%? IT felt like there was more than 20%,” manager Bob Melvin said.
For some A’s fans in attendance, coming to spring training during a pandemic was a no-brainer.
Matt Simeone, an A’s fan Roseville who moved to Arizona six months ago, checked the ticket site every day hoping to land tickets for a spring training game. He picked up tickets to watch four games with his son, Sean. This is the first spring training he’s been to since he was 12 years old — he hopes this year will start a tradition.
“I’ve been sending pictures and texts to my friends,” Simeone said. “They’re all so mad at me.”
The anger stemmed from jealousy, to be clear.
Franie Homen, a lifelong A’s fan, flew from Dublin, Calif. to Spokane, Wash., to pick up and bring her grandsons Ezekiel and Malachi, to Arizona for their annual spring training trip. Her husband, Mark Homen met them at the Phoenix airport.
The family spans different fandoms — her husband, Mark, is a Giants fan, as are their grandsons. Even though they had to buy tickets in different pods in different rows, they relish the opportunity to continue a family tradition.
“It’s been over a year since we’ve watched baseball,” Mark said. “We’re just so excited we’re able to be here.”
Notes from the Cactus League opener vs. Dodgers
Daulton Jefferies gave up five runs in the first inning of his big league debut last season. No player puts too much stock in spring outings, but Jefferies couldn’t help giving himself a little fist pump after pitching a clean first inning Sunday against some Los Angeles starters.
The 25-year-old struck out Mookie Betts on three pitches, then got Corey Seager to pop out and Austin Barnes on a groundout.
First spring action: Daulton Jefferies strikes out Mookie Betts on three pitches. #wow pic.twitter.com/wszq8KxypC
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) February 28, 2021
“I was breathing really well. That’s something I was focusing on,” Jefferies said. “I put more emphasis on knowing how to slow the game down. When you’re facing big name guys like that it makes you feel like it doesn’t matter who is in the box. You’re in control of the game. You’re the one who delivers the ball. Breathing just allows you to go back to taking one step at a time.”
Jefferies threw a changeup, had good velocity on his fastball and threw a cutter and slider against Betts.
“You have three very good hitters coming up from the Dodgers. I know even though it’s a spring training game, that felt pretty good for him,” Melvin said.
Though the bats were silent — the A’s scored one run on two hits — some young players showed out defensively.
Reed, a tall, skilled outfield prospect, rifled two impressive throws from right field. The first nabbed Matt Beaty at home to save a run, the second almost got an out at third. Reed said he’s improved his offense hitting from both sides of the plate at the alternate side. Even if he felt some nerves today, he’s more himself than ever.
Buddy Reed has an absolute cannon pic.twitter.com/JnxY2YJUSz
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) February 28, 2021
“For the longest time I had someone tell me it has to be this or that way in order to do things,” Reed said after the game. “When I got in the box, a couple guys helped me be more loose. Being yourself. Knowing who you are as a hitter. Even defensively, working on my jumps and not being too low, because I’m a tall guy. All these things can make a difference.”
High prospect Nick Allen played three innings on Sunday with one at bat. He was every bit as smooth at shortstop that was expected from the 22-year-old. He covers ground fast — he swiped a ground ball up the middle that looked cleared for base hit territory for a 6-3 putout, turned a double play and chased down a pop foul on a particularly windy afternoon in Mesa.
Soderstrom struck out looking in his first at bat.
Frankie Montas is not far behind
After a bout with COVID-19, Montas is on a normal throwing program but “just a little behind” other A’s starters, manager Bob Melvin said. The 27-year-old cleared protocols and arrived at camp last week, but his progress is also mostly determined on how Montas’ body reacts post-COVID. He said he’s still feeling something in his chest, but that he’s feeling much better.
“Every day I feel better,” Montas said. “I still like feel something in my chest, but besides that I’m fine, I’m doing my running and everything and feel good.”
Montas isn’t quite sure how he contracted the virus. His wife testing positive, too — and was asymptomatic — but his two small children did not. Montas said he dealt with congestion at night with body aches and a headache.
“I was quarantined at my house for like 14 days,” Montas said. “I feel like the worst part was just being in my own house and not being able to hold my daughter and my son. But we’re good now, I’m feeling good, trying to get my body back in shape from COVID and just trying to get ready to go.”
Montas hasn’t had a smooth few years. His 2019 season — in which he’d carried a 2.70 ERA through 15 starts — was disrupted by an 80-game PED suspension that made him ineligible for the postseason. Montas had a 1.57 ERA through his first four starts in 2020, only to be dragged down by a neck injury that messed with his confidence and rhythm.
Even in his solid starts, Montas moved away from his splitter — the key pitch that helped launch him in 2019. Instead, he fell into a fastball-slider combination that limited his impact against hitters.
“I feel like in ’19 that was one of the keys. I was using all my pitches,” Montas said. “Last year I was more fastball-slider than anything and kind of forgot about the splitter when that’s one of my best pitches.”
The A’s need Montas to be that pitcher he was in 2019; he’s a linchpin that bridges the rotation from good to potentially great. For Montas, he just wants to have fun again — he sure wasn’t last year or when hew was dealing with Covid.
“When you don’t do good, that’s not fun,” Montas said, smiling. “When the game is not going how you want it, that’s not fun. It’s a lot of stuff that I had to deal with, but that’s in the past, that was last year. This is a new year so we can move forward and show what we’re capable of.”
