SeaOfOrange
02-10-2008, 03:16 PM
The Link to the Interview (http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080207&content_id=2367700&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws)
Fields' Desire To Play Steadfast
CHICAGO -- He went deep during his very first Major League at-bat in September of 2006. He led all American League rookies in home runs and slugging percentage last season, and Josh Fields already has endured in-season position switches from third to left field and back to third.
It's been a pretty full big league experience for the phenom in less than one year of service time. But it's certainly not enough to give Fields pause for thought to walk away from the game.
That suggestion was made in regard to Fields as part of an article in Thursday's edition of the Tulsa World. Actually, the spirit of the article, based on Fields' speech before a Fellowship of Christian Athletes luncheon on Wednesday, suggested Fields seriously debated leaving baseball after his breakthrough campaign in 2007.
On Thursday, Fields made it clear how retirement has never been a consideration and he's anxiously awaiting the most important Spring Training of his career. A new story clarifying Fields' thoughts on retirement ran in Friday's edition of the Tulsa World.
"A couple of quotes got backed up to one another and misinformed people who were reading the article," said a very calm Fields, explaining the problem on Thursday evening. "As far as me talking about retirement, I'm 25 and I haven't even finished a full season.
"Both the editor and I had no idea why it was put in there. I was talking about the struggles of pro baseball, when a young country kid goes to the big leagues."
There certainly was no anger present in Fields' voice when talking about this brief controversy, and the White Sox third baseman of the future fully admitted the quotes in print were completely accurate.
According to the article, Fields spoke of how getting a first taste of the big leagues in 2006 equaled the dreams he had of the experience before arriving. The follow-up part of the quote, though, suggested Fields had some doubts as to whether he belonged.
"But the further I got into my professional career, the more I had to deal with everything else that goes along with being a professional athlete," said Fields at the luncheon. "There were so many things going on in the clubhouse that I really questioned if professional baseball was for me."
Fields explained how "things going on in the clubhouse" mentioned in the article dealt with new demands placed on a frontline player by the media and other ancillary issues outside of baseball, such as meeting the occasional dignitary or celebrity who would show up at a particular game. They had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of personality clash among his teammates, coaches or manager Ozzie Guillen.
As an All-Conference Big 12 quarterback at Oklahoma St., not to mention the White Sox top pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Fields certainly is not unfamiliar with the bright lights of the television cameras. In fact, Fields has been a forthright and engaging persona since joining the White Sox.
Being a good quote doesn't always mean the particular player is completely at ease at all times with the media. It's especially true for Fields, who was experiencing his first everyday dealings as part of an underachieving team.
"When you are in college, you are doing interviews in a conference room with at least one coach in there with you," Fields explained. "If you have tough questions asked toward you about your performance, the coach can cut it off and spin it toward a positive angle for the player.
"Last year, I was getting questions about all of my strikeouts and different things like that, or stuff like having no hits in two weeks. They don't seem like tough questions, but when you are already pretty hard on yourself and want to get hits, you are not used to answering them.
"So, that was a description of the clubhouse atmosphere, as far as the media being in there one hour prior to the games and directly right after the game," Fields added. "I was a young country kid, and I walk out of the shower with a towel wrapped around me and people are there to ask you questions about struggling a bit."
Dealing with the mental part of the game has been an obstacle Fields has gradually conquered since allowing himself to get flustered over early struggles with Class-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. And it's those doubts early on in his career that Fields was talking about specifically when questioning if he belonged in the game.
"The story made it sound like I couldn't handle the pressure I was running into," said Fields, whose doubts stemmed, as an example, from watching players drafted in lower rounds put up better numbers than him early on. "It made it seem like after the season I had last year, I was ready to shut her down."
Instead, Fields will begin the drive to Tucson, Ariz., next week after a brief stopover in Chicago. He's excited about the upcoming camp competition, with the White Sox deciding between Fields and 2006 incumbent Joe Crede at third base.
Fields arrives with his complete focus on baseball, never doubting that he made the right athletic decision. His decision didn't waver after watching Eli Manning lead one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets in NFL history, the same quarterback whom Fields stayed with snap-for-snap during the 2004 Cotton Bowl against Mississippi.
"Seeing Eli win the Super Bowl and playing against him in the Cotton Bowl [during my] junior year and coming so close to beating him, you could think, 'Maybe I should be playing there with those guys or against those guys,'" Fields said. "My grandpapa gave me an important piece of advice that once you make a decision, stick with it and don't look back.
"I'm not going to look back. I'm excited to be with the White Sox. My family and I love Chicago, and there's no question I made the right decision."
Fields' Desire To Play Steadfast
CHICAGO -- He went deep during his very first Major League at-bat in September of 2006. He led all American League rookies in home runs and slugging percentage last season, and Josh Fields already has endured in-season position switches from third to left field and back to third.
It's been a pretty full big league experience for the phenom in less than one year of service time. But it's certainly not enough to give Fields pause for thought to walk away from the game.
That suggestion was made in regard to Fields as part of an article in Thursday's edition of the Tulsa World. Actually, the spirit of the article, based on Fields' speech before a Fellowship of Christian Athletes luncheon on Wednesday, suggested Fields seriously debated leaving baseball after his breakthrough campaign in 2007.
On Thursday, Fields made it clear how retirement has never been a consideration and he's anxiously awaiting the most important Spring Training of his career. A new story clarifying Fields' thoughts on retirement ran in Friday's edition of the Tulsa World.
"A couple of quotes got backed up to one another and misinformed people who were reading the article," said a very calm Fields, explaining the problem on Thursday evening. "As far as me talking about retirement, I'm 25 and I haven't even finished a full season.
"Both the editor and I had no idea why it was put in there. I was talking about the struggles of pro baseball, when a young country kid goes to the big leagues."
There certainly was no anger present in Fields' voice when talking about this brief controversy, and the White Sox third baseman of the future fully admitted the quotes in print were completely accurate.
According to the article, Fields spoke of how getting a first taste of the big leagues in 2006 equaled the dreams he had of the experience before arriving. The follow-up part of the quote, though, suggested Fields had some doubts as to whether he belonged.
"But the further I got into my professional career, the more I had to deal with everything else that goes along with being a professional athlete," said Fields at the luncheon. "There were so many things going on in the clubhouse that I really questioned if professional baseball was for me."
Fields explained how "things going on in the clubhouse" mentioned in the article dealt with new demands placed on a frontline player by the media and other ancillary issues outside of baseball, such as meeting the occasional dignitary or celebrity who would show up at a particular game. They had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of personality clash among his teammates, coaches or manager Ozzie Guillen.
As an All-Conference Big 12 quarterback at Oklahoma St., not to mention the White Sox top pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Fields certainly is not unfamiliar with the bright lights of the television cameras. In fact, Fields has been a forthright and engaging persona since joining the White Sox.
Being a good quote doesn't always mean the particular player is completely at ease at all times with the media. It's especially true for Fields, who was experiencing his first everyday dealings as part of an underachieving team.
"When you are in college, you are doing interviews in a conference room with at least one coach in there with you," Fields explained. "If you have tough questions asked toward you about your performance, the coach can cut it off and spin it toward a positive angle for the player.
"Last year, I was getting questions about all of my strikeouts and different things like that, or stuff like having no hits in two weeks. They don't seem like tough questions, but when you are already pretty hard on yourself and want to get hits, you are not used to answering them.
"So, that was a description of the clubhouse atmosphere, as far as the media being in there one hour prior to the games and directly right after the game," Fields added. "I was a young country kid, and I walk out of the shower with a towel wrapped around me and people are there to ask you questions about struggling a bit."
Dealing with the mental part of the game has been an obstacle Fields has gradually conquered since allowing himself to get flustered over early struggles with Class-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. And it's those doubts early on in his career that Fields was talking about specifically when questioning if he belonged in the game.
"The story made it sound like I couldn't handle the pressure I was running into," said Fields, whose doubts stemmed, as an example, from watching players drafted in lower rounds put up better numbers than him early on. "It made it seem like after the season I had last year, I was ready to shut her down."
Instead, Fields will begin the drive to Tucson, Ariz., next week after a brief stopover in Chicago. He's excited about the upcoming camp competition, with the White Sox deciding between Fields and 2006 incumbent Joe Crede at third base.
Fields arrives with his complete focus on baseball, never doubting that he made the right athletic decision. His decision didn't waver after watching Eli Manning lead one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets in NFL history, the same quarterback whom Fields stayed with snap-for-snap during the 2004 Cotton Bowl against Mississippi.
"Seeing Eli win the Super Bowl and playing against him in the Cotton Bowl [during my] junior year and coming so close to beating him, you could think, 'Maybe I should be playing there with those guys or against those guys,'" Fields said. "My grandpapa gave me an important piece of advice that once you make a decision, stick with it and don't look back.
"I'm not going to look back. I'm excited to be with the White Sox. My family and I love Chicago, and there's no question I made the right decision."