GOODYEAR, Ariz. — At Indians spring training, all levels of the Tribe's organization (Major and Minor Leagues) are getting ready for the season. It's an odd hierarchy of talent, skill, grit, and timing.
"It's tough at first, coming in," pitcher Rob Kaminsky told us. "Then, it's like, you see all these good guys working just as hard as you, if not harder. It kind of lights something under your butt a little bit.
"[You] get in, do work work, get out, ask questions to the right people, and just try to follow some of the guys in the clubhouse."
A shot at the bigs only comes by invitation. For guys like Kaminsky, it's a chance to keep chasing dreams.
"This is my first year in big league camp, so it's a step in the right direction," he said. "But everyone knows how this works. It's not final or anything, so you've just go to work your butt off and try to pick people's brains [who] have been doing what you want to do for the last 15 years."
Despite setbacks, this will be Kaminsky's sixth season in professional baseball. After an impressive comeback last year from an elbow injury in 2017, he got the call to come to Goodyear.
"Just got to fight through cam for the next...five, six weeks and see where the cards are handed to me."
When asked about the biggest difference between Minor and Major League camp?
"The food's definitely different," he said. "Everything's first class. The Indians do a really good job of treating minor leaguers well, and the big league side's just...the big leagues."