August 24, 2013 by Wayne McBrayer with photos by Rebecca Herman
ON THE FARM IN TUCSON, ARIZONA
~~WITH GREGORIO PETIT, JUNE 7-9, 2013~~
Baseball is a game of endurance. You start playing when you’re young with the hope that someday you’ll wear a major league uniform and hear the announcer say your name over the loudspeaker. Some players make it up quickly and stick; whereas, some bounce back and forth from the minors to the majors. This came to mind while talking to Gregorio Petit in Tucson back in June.
Gregorio Petit grew up in Venezuela and loved the game of baseball. Gregorio remembered “grabbing a bat and trying to hit everything when I was 3 or 4” and from that point he started playing ball. Growing up, he looked up to another Venezuelan player who played Shortstop – Omar Vizquel. “I like everything about him. He’s a man. If you look at an infielder or a SS you look at a guy like him.”
Gregorio started playing in 2003 with the Oakland A’s and moved up the minor league ladder each season he played putting up good numbers at each stop. On May 18,2008, the Oakland A’s were looking for depth in the infield called up Gregorio for the first time. “When I made it to the big leagues with the Oakland A’s, it was a pretty nice moment,” and Gregorio rewarded the A’s with a .348 batting average in limited play. He started 2009 back in AAA Sacramento and was called up by the A’s once again but only hit .226. The last 3 seasons have seen Gregorio play for the Rangers AAA team in Oklahoma City, the Indians AAA team in Columbus and this season with the Tucson Padres AAA. He is currently hitting .287 with 56 RBIs and is not giving up of the dream of returning to the big leagues.
In the meanwhile, be sure to connect with Gregorio …. Follow on Twitter @GregorioPetit31
For his current stats with Tucson, click HERE
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Kino Stadium is a wonderful ballpark where the staff ensures that there is something fun and exciting going on for the fans all the time. This is the last season for the AAA Tucson Padres as they will be moving to El Paso Texas for the 2014 season. Their last regular season home stand is happeing right now: August 21-29. See the complete schedule HERE so you can plan your visit to see this fun and winning team! Go early – Go often! Follow @TucsonPadres
Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium – great venue, mountain views, and even the Tucson Padre –
The Kino Bambino!
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