http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASA...=.jsp&c_id=sea
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Joe Borchard was so eager to start his career as a Mariner that as soon as he heard he'd been traded from the White Sox on Monday, he rounded up his wife and dog and they all piled into the family pickup.
The Borchards did the 125-mile desert dash from Tucson to Peoria and Joe put on his new uniform to begin what he hopes will be a rejuvenated career.
On Tuesday, standing by his Mariners locker with the new number 36, he said he's embracing the change of scenery.
"It's very exciting," Borchard said. "I'm happy to be part of this organization. I'm looking forward to the opportunity that's been presented to me here.
"It's a clean slate. It seems to be the best thing for me."
Borchard is a 27-year-old outfielder and former Stanford University quarterback best known for getting a record $5.3 million signing bonus when he was selected by Chicago with the 12th pick of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
The switch-hitting power prospect has been waiting for a chance to shine at the Major League level since.
Borchard spent most of the 2005 season at Triple-A Charlotte, where he led the International League with 29 home runs, but he's never gotten an extended big-league look. The most at-bats he's compiled in a Major League season was the 201 he got in 2004.
Borchard batted .174 that year but hit nine homers and drove in 20 runs. He also hit the longest homer in U.S. Cellular Field history, a 504-foot moonshot off Phillies righty Brett Myers on Aug. 30.
Last year he was the odd man out in Chicago's World Series championship outfield, with Aaron Rowand, Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik fixtures as starters and Pablo Ozuna, Ross Gload and Brian Anderson ahead of Borchard on the depth chart.
"I don't want to sit here and say anything negative about my time there," Borchard said Tuesday. "I think the best thing to say is that it did run its course. It was just a good time for everyone to move on."
Borchard moves into a good situation in Seattle. He is viewed as a reserve outfielder for the Major League club since he is out of Minor League options, and the fact that he's a switch-hitter could get him more at-bats.
"The only thing I can do is go out and work hard and play hard every day," Borchard said.
"That's what they're going to get out of me. We'll see what happens at the end of Spring Training."
|
I think Joe Borchard will be a good fit in Seattle.
