Tag Archives: American Association

Independent Ball

Cause I Play Indy Ball – The New Hit Single By Tycen PoVey?

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Indy ball life can be rough for players.  It is not only physically exhausting, but it can be mentally exhausting and frustrating as well.

Sometimes, all a player can do is look back on that part of his career and laugh about the experiences that he had. That’s exactly what former indy ball player, Tycen PoVey, is doing with the help of some funny, but truthful lyrics and his old guitar.

PoVey put together a nice college career that led him to be signed as a free agent by the Dodgers in 2007, but he was released after the season ended.

“Baseball has always been good to me. I was fortunate enough to play it for a long time. I followed my dream out of high school into college and was able to play well enough to get to the professional level. After some injuries, I soon found myself trying to get into indy ball.”

PoVey spent four up and down seasons in indy ball with the Evansville Otters and Traverse City Beach Bums (Frontier League) and the Lincoln Saltdogs (American Association.)

“Even when I got another shot in indy ball, I was injured again and again. I was forced to change positions: from catching, to the outfield and back. Then, I finally found myself on the mound and ended up pitching for a couple seasons. That was soon ended by, you guessed it, another injury and my 8th surgery overall.

“During that time I found out a lot about myself and made a ton of friends in the process, most of whom I still stay in touch with today. We all like to joke about indy ball, but the fact is, I wouldn’t have traded anything I went through.  With a mix of a lot of traveling, amazing fans, and having different cultures and personalities all together in a small clubhouse, I was bound to come out with some stories.”

He has been out of baseball for over two years now and wanted to create a humorous way to remember his time there while helping current independent players laugh a little about their situation.

Used to racking up hits on the field, PoVey is now trying to create some musically on his YouTube page as well.The first song he posted, “Indy Ball”, was a general view on living the indy ball lifestyle.

“I like to goof around on the guitar. I’m not great, but I’ve always liked to write songs to make people laugh.

“When I wrote ‘Indy Ball’, I just tried to take experiences from each place I played that every player could relate to – from peanut butter spreads to bad clubbies and wondering what we are doing here.  We have all had similar experiences. After playing both songs to some close friends and family, they begged me to put it online to show their friends.”

*Warning* lyrics and content may not be suitable for children.

His second song features a well known (and often joked about) topic in the indy ball world, Slumpbusters – the “larger” girls who help players out of their slumps.

“When I wrote ‘The Slumpbuster Song’ it was actually after an amazing weekend I had. The details of that weekend are locked away in a vault, but I will just say that one day I was 0-8 in a double header. Then the rest of the weekend, I went 10-12 with 3 home runs and 6 doubles (laughs). She deserved a ballad.”

*Warning* lyrics and content may not be suitable for children.

“After hearing the song and my stories, some people thought I was crazy.  Getting paid 800 dollars a month, living out of a suitcase and traveling the country in a bus that seemed to only break down in the most remote places… They wondered why I did it.

“But honestly, I’m very thankful for having coaches that believed in me enough to let me play as long as I did. I’m also very thankful for my experiences and the friends that I made.  Indy ball is amazing. A lot of talent is found in indy ball, and I got to see future big league talent and even play against former big league players. It was a great experience that I’ll always cherish.

“I hope my songs make those who have been there or are there smile. And for those who haven’t played, I hope it gives them a little insight of the funny things that we have to deal with.

“I hope everyone enjoys it! There should be more to come. And I’m sorry if those from Sioux City take my words to heart. Hey, at least you’re not Amarillo (laughs).”

You can subscribe to Tycen’s YouTube channel to hear more songs as they are released: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrW_PBNJwJwbC2Ks5vC6Bsw

Independent Ball

Pirates Sign Chris Peacock from the American Association

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The Pirates recently signed pitcher Chris Peacock from the American Association. This league just so happens to be the same one that John Holdzkom was found in during the season.  So… a pitcher from the independent American Association signed by the Pirates? Sounds like the beginnings of a familiar story, but that is where the similarities stop.

John Holdzkom was in the independent ranks to REVIVE his career after a few chances in affiliated ball. On the other hand, Chris Peacock was in the independent ranks to HAVE a career.  He has never been drafted or played in any level of affiliated ball.  That is what makes the signing of Peacock so interesting. It is a signing that may be surprising to most, but it is very low risk with high potential. This is exactly what teams are trying to accomplish when scouting independent leagues.

Chris Peacock’s baseball resume takes a trip through four different independent leagues with six different teams in a span of only three seasons. If this blog had a poster boy for Independent League travels, Chris would be it.
He started his college career at Faulkner State CC then transferred to the University of Mobile. After graduating from the University of Mobile in 2011, he started his professional baseball career in 2012 with the now defunct North American Baseball League. His first stop was with the Abilene Prairie Dogs. After only two appearances, he was traded to the San Angelo Colts. But after two shaky performances with the Colts, he was released.

After his short stint in the North American Baseball League, Chris turned to the Pecos League where he landed with the Las Cruces Vaqueros to finish out the 2012 season. He made 10 appearances (9 Starts including 1 Complete Game) for the Vaqueros while compiling a 4.31 ERA. Next season, he stayed in the Pecos league for the entire season, but this time with the White Sands Pupfish. He appeared in 19 games, 9 of them starts, with a record of 4-2 and a 7.65 ERA.

Chris started 2014 in the United League with the Rio Grande Valley White Wings. Here he turned his career around while working strictly out of the bullpen on his way to two championship rings. In 30 appearances, he compiled a 5-2 record and a 2.27 ERA for the ULB champions. This was enough to get him noticed by the American Association. Chris joined the Wichita Wingnuts at the height of their post season push in August. He finished out the regular season with 6 appearances in relief and a 2-0 record. In the post season, he pitched in four of the six playoff games with a 2.70 ERA for the AA Championship winning team.

On October 11th, Chris finally left Indy Ball Island when the Pittsburgh Pirates purchased his contract. He is the third pitcher that the Pirates have signed from the American Association this year. John Holdzkom (who finished the season with the big league team) and Matt Nevarez (who finished in AA Altoona) also had their contracts purchased.

Will Chris build off his 2014 season and make the most of his first shot at affiliated ball? Can he pitch well enough to stay off of Indy Ball Island? Only time will tell, but it should be an interesting story to follow!