Last year's Single-A Short Season seemed more like an eternity for many of the players on the State College Spikes' roster.
After enduring the worst record in the New York-Penn League (18-56), the team saw changes in its management and front office. With new manager Gary Robinson at the helm, the 2009 Spikes believe the experience of their returning players will make a difference on the field and help new players adjust to professional baseball.
Jason Dambach, the team's new General Manager, didn't turn a blind eye to the issues that plagued the Spikes last season.
"The kind of season we had last year, there were a lot of folks around town that would make comments about the team on the field," Dambach said. "Our win-loss record wasn't that good, obviously. And it was hard for us to try and explain that things would be different, but they have become different on the field."
Part of the difference Dambach and Robinson spoke of was the experience that the 11 returnees had with the team. With eight of the players currently in the 2009 starting lineup, the Spikes believe the veterans learned from last year's struggles.
Robinson said while he is new to the team, he understands the difficulty and importance of making a smooth transition to professional baseball.
"We're fortunate to have some returning guys," Robinson said. "Last year it wasn't that way because there were a lot of new faces. There were a lot of people playing under the lights for the first time and the lights and the crowd speed up the game a little bit."
One of the returnees, third baseman Matt Payne, said he expects his second season to be easier because he knows what to expect. Payne said making the jump last season from college baseball, where he played at North Carolina State, to the professional level was a challenging experience.
As a veteran, Payne hopes to help serve as a mentor to a lot of the recently drafted players and he understands the growing pains that come with the transition.
"Just finished your college season and you get sent up here and meet new people," Payne said. "It's just different and it's a new experience. It's a great experience, but a lot of us have done that before so that should help."
While the Spikes will have many new faces to go along with the veterans, they all want to accomplish the same thing. Regardless of player's age or status with the team, the focus is on overcoming the issues that plagued the team last season, returning starting pitcher Tyler Cox said.
As the veterans help mentor younger players, the team believes wins will come with experience.
"I think we're really not worried about what happened last year as much as what's happening now in the present," Cox said.
