Matt Fields | Indy Ball Island

Recently, a follower of this site sent me an email asking if I could provide an update about how some of the players I had previously covered are doing.

As the halfway mark of the season has approached, here are the updates of 18 players that I have covered on Indy Ball Island. (Clicking their names will take you to their original articles.)

John Holdzkom – In my very first blog post, I remarked that John Holdzkom’s story was the reason I wanted to start this website. John is currently on the DL for the second time this year. He has spent the entire season with the Pirates Triple A team, the Indianapolis Indians. After getting off to a rough start, he is 2-0 on the season with a 3.38 ERA and 27 Ks in 21.1 IP.

(Mark Dickhaus)

Matt Sergey – Another personal post I made early on was covering Matt Sergey’s perfect game for the Washington Wild Things. Matt is back with the Wild Things for the 2015 season. In 9 starts, he is 3-3 with a 2.33 ERA. He has already passed his career-high professionally for innings pitched (54) and has 59 Ks.

Chris Peacock – After being signed in the offseason by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Peacock was released and then returned to the American Association, this time with the St. Paul Saints. He has a 1.59 ERA with a 1-0 record in 11 games.

Three of the players that I covered from the Pecos League TV show are playing this season :

Tony Smith – Tony was traded right before the season started from the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League to the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association. He is 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 16 games (2 of which were starts). He has 33 K in 37 IP.

Sam DiMatteo – Sam is playing with the Old Orchard Beach Surge of the newly formed North Country Baseball League. He is batting .344 in 23 games (102 plate appearances). He also has 2 HR, 16 RBI and 9 stolen bases.

Jacob Fabry – Jacob is once again teammates with Sam and has been playing on the Surge as well. He is batting . 296 in 26 games (129 plate appearances). He has contributed 12 RBI and stolen 8 bases so far this season.

(Sam DiMatteo. Sam took a ball off his ankle.. he’ll be okay!)

Tim Henry – Another one of the Pecos League stories, Tim is back with the Alpine Cowboys in the Pecos League for the 2015 season. In 42 games (118 AB), he has a .246 average with 2 HR and 21 RBI.

Omar Artsen – Omar was signed by the Miami Marlins out of the Pecos League last year; However he was eventually released by the Marlins organization. He then went to the American Association and played 2 games with the Winnipeg Goldeyes going 1-7 at the plate. After being released from the Goldeyes, he played for the Garden State Grays in the Can-Am league for only 3 games with 1 H in 8 AB.

Brandon Cunniff – After earning his second chance at affiliated ball with the Braves, Brandon never looked back. This year, Brandon started the season in the bullpen for the Atlanta Braves. He set an Atlanta rookie record when he didn’t allowed a hit in four relief appearances (four innings) to start his major league career. Brandon has a 2-2 record, 4.23 ERA and 30 K in 30 games with the big league club. At one point in the season, he was sent to AAA Gwinnett where he has a 1-0 record in 3 games. He has since returned to the big league club but is currently on the major league 15 day DL for a groin strain.

(emspeedtraining.com)

Javy Marticorena – Javy achieved his dream of landing on Indy Ball Island when he signed a contract to play in the Mt Rainier League. Sadly, the MRPBL folded after just a few weeks, and Javy is back home working hard for another opportunity.

Nick Renault – Nick, like Javy, was caught up in the MRPBL drama, but he still made the most of his few weeks being back in his hometown in Oregon and enjoyed his short stay. He is now back home in Hawaii.

CJ Beatty – CJ used his never give up attitude to bounce back after being released from the White Sox organization at the beginning of the season. He came back to the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League and is batting .262 in 42 games with 2 HR and 21 RBI. CJ will have to use his positive attitude once more to get through another tough situation as he now finds himself on the DL with a quad injury.

(CJ Beatty)

Al Yevoli – Al was picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2015 Frontier League season, but was released during spring training. Instead of returning to the Wild Things, Al landed a spot with the Wichita Wingnuts in the American Association. He has a 3-0 record with a 3.67 ERA and 26 K in 26 games (27 IP).

Stewart Ijames – Stewart started the season with the High A Visalia Rawhide for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After batting .267 with 15 HR and 37 RBI in 60 games, he was promoted to the Double A Mobile BayBears. In 14 games (31 AB), he is batting .323 with 1 HR (his first hit in AA) and 7 RBI.

Matt Fields – After being released from the KC Royals organization, Matt was signed by the Diamondbacks and was sent to Double A Mobile BayBears. In 3 games (11AB) so far, he is batting .364 with 1 HR.

(Matt Fields)

Sean Conroy – After making news as baseball’s first openly gay active player, Sean is still doing well with the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association. He has a 2-1 record with a 0.69 ERA including 24 K in 26 IP in 10 games (2 starts).

Aussie in America updates

Luke Wilkins – Luke is currently 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA starting in 10 games for the Washington Wild Things. He has struck out 35 in 61 IP. His 61 innings pitched are the most on the Wild Things team.

Ben Lodge – In 37 games (130 AB) with the Frontier Greys, Ben is batting .208 with 8 RBI.

Stay tuned and subscribe for more updates as the season progresses!

*UPDATE* Matt has announced that the Arizona Diamondbacks have offered him a contract! Congratulations Matt and best of luck in the next chapter of your baseball story!

Back when I first started Indy Ball Island around 9 months ago, I was really worried about how I would be perceived by players when I asked for an interview.

One of the first players I wanted to write a blog post about was Matt Fields. I had seen him play in the Frontier League a couple years ago, and I knew Matt had an interesting journey that I really wanted to capture. His story of perseverance is what Indy Ball Island is all about.

Through a connection I had with his manager in the Frontier League, I was able to get in touch with Matt in November and hear him tell his story. (I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven’t already. You can see that post HERE.)

Matt was awesome to work with. He gladly agreed to help with my post and encouraged me to stick with the writing. We’ve kept in touch, and I was really enjoying following him with the AAA Storm Chasers this season.

Despite having a decent year so far – batting .244 with 4 HRS this season – the Royals organization decided to release Matt after the game on July 3rd.

I just wanted to write a post on here to personally thank Matt and all that he has done for me. He will never know how much he helped me out in a time when I wasn’t too sure of what I wanted to be doing with this blog. That’s the thing with baseball… It really is a small, close-knit community. Through baseball and an awesome mutual friend, I was blessed to have Matt come into my life in a time when I needed it the most.

Thank you, Matt. I wish you nothing but the best in whatever is next!

Below is his own blog post on his “Next Steps”:

On Friday, July 3rd, I played what will likely be my last game of professional baseball.

After the game, we were auctioning off our special jerseys before the fireworks started. I signed my jersey for the winners, then made my way up to the clubhouse. The bus was leaving for the 8 hour trip to OKC shortly, so I was getting ready to shower before the trip.

As I started to get undressed, the clubbie came in and told me my manager wanted to speak with me. There are really only two reasons your manager calls you in after the game. You’re either getting called up, or you’re getting released.

So many feelings flashed into my mind all at once. I haven’t been performing like myself. Baseball is a business, and I’ve seen the moves being made. Though this is how it’s been my entire career, I’ve never really been on this side of the mirror. But even before I walked into my manager’s office, I knew what was likely coming.

I braved myself and stepped inside. He asked me to close the door. He explained it simply, that these were some of the toughest days he has, that there were moves that needed to be made, and that the club just didn’t have room for me any more.

With that, I was officially released by the Kansas City Royals.

I thanked my manager and went out to say goodbye to my coaches and teammates. I’ve built amazing bonds with these people over the last few years. Truthfully, they’re all family. Just like in any family, there are ones you like and don’t like, but I love them all.

I packed up my bags, walked out the clubhouse, turned around and said “thank you” before driving off.

Every player knows that there will be a day when they have to hang it up. I expected to be filled with sadness when it came. Certainly, I had many emotions running through in the moment. Truly, I feel a profound sense of excitement. I am grateful for all the chances I had to play the game I love. Now, I will allow God to continue to lead the way. Only He truly knows why we are here and what comes next, but I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.

I intend to work hard, stay open, and move forward with the next chapter of my experience. I’ll be sharing it here as well, and I hope you’ll stay with me.

(http://www.mattlfields.com/next-steps/)

You can also check out his other posts about baseball and life on his website. You won’t be disappointed.

Writing and sharing stories about Independent Baseball.

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Where Are They Now? Player Updates

Royals Organization Releases Matt Fields

Writing and sharing stories about Independent Baseball.