Shane Funk

Shane Funk is a 20 year old pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization. Funk was drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 draft after a storied high school career that included an appearance in the Aflac All-America game. 2007 will mark Funk's second full season as a pro.

Journal Entry 3-6-2007

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Hey everyone! My name is Shane Funk and I'm right handed pitcher in the minor leagues for the Texas Rangers. I have been talking with Top Prospect Alert and I have been asked to write a journal about what's happening with my life throughout the minor league season. In this journal I hope to help everyone get a better grasp on what life in the minor leagues is like.

REPORTING TO SPRING TRAINING:

Ok the first and probably one of the actual most hectic times of the year is reporting to spring training. This is mainly because you have to break out of the routine of the offseason with your friends and family and actually say goodbye and ship off. Saying goodbye to my friends was easy, we had a small get together at a friends house my last Saturday in town and that was basically it. As for my family, my Mom made an amazing home cooked meal the night before I left town and I thoroughly enjoyed it as it would be my last home cooked meal for six months.

The journey to spring training for me was a long one. It consisted of driving from my hometown in Panama City Beach,FL all the way to Surprise,AZ just outside of Phoenix. I met up with Mike Kirkman (one of my teammates) and his girlfriend just outside of my hometown and we drove the whole way there in just over 2 days. We stopped in San Antonio,TX the first night and Tucson,AZ the second. Then the next day we FINALLY arrived in Surprise. The total trek was roughly around 1900 miles.

During spring training our accommodations aren't as nice as during the season. For the duration of spring training we stay in a hotel which is paid for by the team and we are provided a per diem of $12 a day for food. This is due to the fact that during spring training we are not paid any salary.

THE FIRST DAY:

The first day of spring training is always exciting. It starts off at about 7AM and we all file into the always packed players parking lot and head to the locker room. The locker room is split into two different sides, the Minor League side and the Major League side. With each side having its own training and equipment rooms, community shower, and of course lockers.

After we receive our workout gear, uniforms and such, we change into shorts and a t-shirts and proceed to get a physical. After that we have a team meeting and head out to the fields for our first day of practice.

Early on in spring training, practice is short and sweet since many position players have yet to arrive and we don't have to shag for BP. All the pitchers are put into two groups, with group one throwing bullpens on day one and group two throwing on day two. The groups will alternate bullpen sessions for each of the first 8-9 days until position players arrive.The group not throwing will stretch about an hour earlier than the other group and will go through a throwing program and a series of defensive drills (PFP, covering first, bunt defenses) then once that is complete they will move on to conditioning.

The group throwing a bullpen that day stretches an hour later and goes through the same defensive drills and then moves on to a short 10 minute bullpen session followed by conditioning.

At this point in spring training the pitchers are done with their workouts around 11:30-12:00 and we're out of the complex by 1PM or so. This gives us plenty of time to watch the big league games or get in a round of golf. Usually though I prefer to get a good nap in for an hour or so and get in touch with the family. The rest of the day is pretty simple, we grab dinner and then usually get to bed around 12ish. Well that's about all there is to talk about as of now, I'll be back in a week or so with another entry, hope you enjoy!

-Shane Funk

You may email your questions for Shane Funk to shanefunk@topprospectalert.com

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