Brewers Call Up John Axford

[Baldkin]

He looked good last night.

 

Not sure what he throws, specifically, but his slider/curveball just looked nasty watching the bottom drop out of it.

[trwi7]

He looked good last night.

 

Not sure what he throws, specifically, but his slider/curveball just looked nasty watching the bottom drop out of it.

 

Yeah, he struggled with control, but he showed very good stuff. And to be fair to him, he should've gotten out of that inning with only one walk and no hits. Catalanotto has terrible range as a corner outfielder, why you would put him at 2B is baffling. That popup hung up for about 10 seconds and nobody caught it. A 2B with average range gets that ball easily.

[sheethead]

It was refreshing to see a Brewer come out of the bullpen and offer up some 95-96 mph fastballs with actual movement on them. Now if he can command that pitch, he will be awfully tough to hit, ala Marmol, where the only time he will get in trouble is when he is hitting and walking batters.

[TheCrew07]

I too liked what I saw, he throws hard with lots of movement. The command was shakey, but there's quite a bit to work with in that young man.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Axford pitches in first MLB game

Jacob Robinson

Simcoe (Ontario, Canada) Reformer

Brian and Vera Axford have watched their son John play a ton of baseball games.

 

From little league in their hometown of Port Dover, to college at Notre Dame and Canisius, to close to home in Brantford for the Red Sox and even at single-A Brevard County (Florida), double-A Huntsville and triple-A Nashville.

 

But nothing will top Tuesday night.

 

It was then that they watched their 26-year-old son accomplish his dream of playing Major League Baseball.

 

John -- a 6-foot-5, 195-pound relief pitcher -- had been added to the Milwaukee Brewers' 40 man roster last week, and it was anyone's guess as to when he would see action.

 

His family and friends convoyed to Miller Park as the Brewers took on the St. Louis Cardinals last week, and then watched with anticipation as the team traveled to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks. But Axford didn't see any action in either series.

 

Last night, at historic Wrigley Field in Chicago, it was finally time for number 59 to do what he had replayed in his backyard numerous times.

 

He threw one inning, striking out one, giving up a run and walking three batters in the Brewers 13-7 loss to the Cubs. For those in Port Dover, it was a victory.

 

"We were looking forward to it for a long time, and for it to finally come, it's hard to explain. You almost get choked up," said Brian. "When you look at where he's been and how hard he's worked -- he's been down a hard road. He was a late bloomer in terms of pitching and has worked very hard to get to where he is now."

 

Not only has Axford had to endure pain on the diamond -- a Tommy John surgery that took a year of rehab -- but he endured pain off it as well. The passing of John's grandfather John Koopman and former pitching coach Dave King -- two of his biggest fans -- made the moment a little bittersweet.

 

Through it all Axford's family never once stopped believing in him.

 

"We did go to Milwaukee and hoped to see him pitch there . . . but for him to make his debut at Wrigley Field is fantastic," said Vera. "I always believed he could do it and that he would be there. It was only a matter of time."

 

That time was last night; when the Axfords, along with their three daughters Michelle, Marsha and Theresa, could watch John do what he does best. Surprisingly, Axford was pretty calm while performing in front of 38,986 on the south side of the Windy City.

 

"He called about 12:30 a.m. (Tuesday night) and said that he was nervous in the bullpen, but when he got on the mound he was fine. He said he felt great," explained Vera.

 

He had support at the park too.

 

When friend, former roommate and fellow pitcher Josh Butler got the call from double-A and arrived with the team earlier in the week, Axford was able to give up the "candy bag," a rookie ritual that sees a player fetch gum for all the veterans in the bullpen. The two are also sharing a locker in the Milwaukee clubhouse for the time being.

 

Back in Port Dover, watching the game took the Axfords back a few years.

 

"Since he was a little boy he dreamed of playing in the major leagues, just like any young boy who plays the game," said Brian. "He was always playing in our back yard, throwing the ball off the wall or pretending to catch home runs just before they went over the fence."

 

The only difference is, now he's trying to prevent home runs in the world's best league.

 

AXFORD PITCHES AT WRIGLEY

 

Port Dover's John Axford is now officially in the record books as having played a major league game. Here's how his first major league outing went, batter-by-batter:

 

- Forced Bobby Scales to fly out to left field

- Gave up a hit to Jeff Baker, who singled to shallow right

- Baker stole second base

- Walked Ryan Theriot

- Baker and Theriot advanced on wild pitch

- Struck out Kosuke Fukudome

- Walked Derrek Lee

- Walked Micah Hoffpauir, which scored Baker

- Forced Geovany Soto to fly out to left centre field to end the inning.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Axford hits target with message for students

DARRYL G. SMART, Brantford (CN) Expositor

Students in Allison Batten's English classes at St. John's College discovered Monday that there are many sides to Milwaukee Brewers pitcher John Axford, which made for an interesting and very appropriate guest speaker.

 

"I took a Shakespeare class at university (Notre Dame)," Axford said to the class. "I think we had to learn all of his plays and sonnets. It was pretty intense."

 

And then it clicked in with the students: they actually have a lot more in common with a Major League Baseball player than they thought, seeing that they were about to embark on reading Romeo and Juliet.

 

There were the regular questions most want to ask a big leaguer, like wanting to know about players do away from the field. But Axford's message of hard work, the importance of a good education and focus were things that began to sink in as the students began to ask more questions.

 

Axford's message was a simple one.

 

"Make sure you get a good education. It'll be one of the most important things you will do," Axford said.

 

"I wouldn't have traded the opportunity for anything. Besides getting a great education, a large majority of my best friends are guys I went to school with. A lot of them were in my wedding party."

 

Although the temptation of MLB money came early in Axford's career, he stuck to what he believed in, knowing it would all pay off in the long run.

 

"I had the chance to sign with Seattle (Mariners) for a good amount of money," Axford said. "But we decided at the time that the best decision was to stay in school."

 

Axford knew that the hard work ethic that was instilled in him by his parents and coaches would eventually pay off. And it did when he finally got the call to the Brewers last season.

 

Once Axford fielded a barrage of questions like he would a ground ball hit to him, much of the class was devoted to focus, which came as a result of a question about his favorite music.

 

"What many people may not know about me is that I really enjoy reading," Axford said. "I actually do a lot of reading while I'm listening to music. When I do that, I get a different focus. I can really visualize the story, especially when I'm listening to music."

 

And focus is one of the main reasons Axford has got to the majors and is something he is working on to stay there.

 

"At this level, a lot of it is about being able to focus in," Axford said. "It's your job to go out there and pitch and to get out there and perform, you need to be in the right frame of mind. Focus is a large majority of it."

 

After Axford's session, Batten was thrilled with the end result.

 

"Axford's down-to-earth demeanour and stories of real-life experiences are useful to young students who can sometimes feel defeated or hopeless," Batten said. "The students identified with him as a local person, whose positive attitude and ability to persevere lead to great success."

 

She said the visit was both enjoyable and educational for the students.

 

"He spoke about the importance of his own education and how it served as a vehicle for his baseball career," Batten said. "The students learned how crucial it is to always have a plan B, as he stressed the importance of having a backup plan. He explained how his degree in film and television will provide him with various career options once baseball comes to an end."

[Mass Haas]

In addition to linking to articles like the one in the prior post, one of the fun things we do here is document as best we can all the minor league signings -- these should be heating up again soon.

 

This was the March 2008 post on Axford, along with the one that follows it at that link.

 

It just goes to show that what may be an insignificant signing (Joe Thatcher comes to mind, undrafted) can lead to a future big league match, and is part of why we do what we do here.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

Axford set to prove himself
DARRYL G. SMART, Brantford (CN) Expositor

Now that he's got a taste of Major League Baseball, Port Dover's John Axford will be doing everything possible to stay there.

Despite a busy off season, which included getting married to St. John's College teacher Nicole Burroughs recently, Axford is now honing in on spring training.

"I'm really excited about getting there in February," Axford said after being the guest speaker in a St. John's English class Monday.

"Showing them (Milwaukee Brewers) that I belong is something I've always known. I had to be patient, work hard and get my chance. Now it's time to show them that I am here to stay."

In seven appearances last season with the Brewers, the right-handed pitcher struck out nine batters, while giving up five hits.

"The first game in Chicago was a bit shaky, but, all in all, it went well," Axford said. "They told me that I would get a lot of jitters in that first game and, after that, everything would be all right and it was. I think I did a good job and proved I belong."

Usually focused on the task at hand, there was one moment prior to throwing that first pitch, where he thought about everyone that was involved in his journey to Major League Baseball.

"I usually don't do that but right before I toed the rubber I thought about my parents, Nicole and my old pitching coach (the late Doug King)," Axford said. "It popped in my head and I was very thankful."

He then delivered that memorable first pitch and hasn't looked back.

"It's been a great experience. It's what I've worked towards all of these years and now I just want to keep it going," Axford said.

"I proved that I belong and now I want to make sure I keep doing that. I feel like I have a very good opportunity and I want to take advantage of it."

To do that, Axford said he's working on getting stronger mentally and physically.

"I'm a pretty intense person when I'm working out," Axford said. "I'm not a social guy when I work out. I get there and push myself mentally and physically to get the job done."

As cliche as it may sound, that's exactly what he learned while he was in Milwaukee, especially from the veterans.

"Seeing some of these all-stars work at their job shows you what you need to do to stay in the big leagues," Axford said.

"It's your job and you have to take it seriously. Seeing these guys set that example, you understand what it takes to be at that level. I want to be there, so I'll be as prepared as I can for spring training."