GiveHyzduashot
03-04-2003, 05:07 PM
He's been tearing the cover off the ball this spring, and this is what I found on him. He played in 6 major league games in 1996 and 5 in 2001. He's 32 years old, so needless to say he's a longshot to make the team. Reminds me of an infielders version of Adam Hyzdu.
By Steve Novotney
He sprints on and off the field, plays each pitch with the intensity of a young, hungry prospect, still will not step on a ballfield’s chalk lines because of baseball’s stereotypical superstitions, and never, ever will wear his ballcap backward.
But none of those facts defines Mike Gulan as the ballplayer he has always wished to be since performing for Steubenville Catholic in the late 1980s.
His uniform this spring, however, has placed the 32-year-old Gulan much closer to realizing the same dream he has owned since a child running fast through the vast halls of Three Rivers Stadium. Instead of donning Cardinal red or the teal of the Marlins, Gulan, finally, wears the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“This is it,” he said while pointing at the No. 83 on his jersey. “I could care less about the number they gave me … it’s a Pirates jersey. Wearing one of those has always been a goal for me since I was little going to games.
“As soon as I signed, I promised myself I would keep believing that the day would come when I’d be able to play at PNC Park in front of my family,” the infielder explained. “I know that day will come, and it’s going to be a great day.
“My family and my friends are rooting for me, I know that. They might want that day at the park as much as I do.”
Gulan entered his 11th professional season when reporting to Pittsburgh’s Bradenton, Fla., training facility in mid February. Since being selected out of Kent State during the second round of the 1992 June draft, the Ohio Valley native toiled in the minors for 10 seasons before traveling to Japan last season to play for the Bay Stars of the Central League and Searex of the Eastern.
“I wanted to go overseas to play last year so that’s what I did,” said Gulan, who still resides in Steubenville with his wife, Lesley, and their two children, Mitchell and Myla. “I talked it over with my wife and she said it was OK for me to go, so I went for the experience.
“Of course, the culture (in Japan) is very, very different than it is here, but it was interesting to see firsthand,” the 1989 graduate of Steubenville Catholic said. “Besides, when you get out on that field, baseball is always baseball.”
His career was spent with the St. Louis and Florida organizations before departing for the Far East, and upon his return he hoped the friendship he established with Pittsburgh General Manager Dave Littlefield when Littlefield was an assistant GM with the Marlins in 1999 would supply a chance.
“But now that I am here, that doesn’t mean anything to him or me,” Gulan said. “I have to show that I belong here – that’s the bottom line. If I don’t prove that, I fully expect him to tell me to go home without thinking twice.
“That’s the business side of the game, and when you play for more than a few years, you learn a lot about it. That’s not bad or good, that’s just the facts.”
Gulan learned a hard lesson in 1998 when the Cardinals released the infielder just three seasons after being honored by the organization as its best minor-league prospect in the system and one year following his major-league debut in 1997. “You go from feeling like you’re on top of the world to not knowing what to say to even your wife,” he said. “That was the first time I had to face that maybe all the dreams might not come true after all, and that’s tough to take at first.
“Then it happened again with the Marlins (after playing six games in the big leagues during the 2001 season), and I was faced with the question again – what do I do now? I got the invitation to go to Japan and play, so that’s what I did.”
Those experiences allowed Gulan to enter this spring with realistic goals concerning the 2003 campaign. “I’m a third baseman, and so is (Aramis) Ramirez – and he gets paid a lot of money to go out there every night ,and do what he does. So I know I’m not going to beat him out for the job in Pittsburgh, but that doesn’t mean I won’t get a chance to play on that level.
“I have to take advantage of every opportunity I’m given this spring. I have to show the manager that if he needs someone who’s ready, I’m his guy. I have to run hard to first base even though I may pop up to the infield because I have to show (Lloyd McClendon) what kind of player I am,” Gulan explained. “My main goal is to show them that if someone goes down during the season, I’m their guy. I want this spring training to stick in their minds. If it means I go to (Class AAA) Nashville to play there, that’s fine with me.”
Gulan did not waste much time making an impression on McClendon. Not only did he play flawlessly in the field after taking over for Ramirez during the Pirates’ first exhibition season contest, but Gulan also gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead over Philadelphia in the sixth with a two-run blast over McKechnie Field’s left field wall. “You often hear how a lot of the home runs that are hit down here are wind assisted,” McClendon said after the season opener. “That ball didn’t need any help. It got out of here pretty darn fast, didn’t it?”
“Talk about a dream coming true,” Gulan said. “I’ve always dreamed of a day like today as a Pittsburgh Pirate.”
“But you what? It’s one game, one at-bat. It feels good today, but there’s a whole month to go yet and anything can happen between now the start of the season.”
Although the infielder insists he remains realistic about his chances with the Pirates, he also admits he has yet to considered the alternative to playing a game for a living. “I would love to play for a couple of more seasons – I’d love to do this for the rest of my life -- but if the decision is made that I’m not able, then I guess I’ll go back to (Kent State), finish my last semester, and put on a tie.
“But I really have no idea what I’ll do after baseball. No idea,” Gulan said. “I might get involved with coaching, and I have a few friends who are in business, but I really don’t know. I’ve never had a vision of being a fireman or a policeman or a guy who sits behind a desk every day. My only vision was to grow up and be a baseball player, and right now, I’m still trying to make that come true.”
By Steve Novotney
He sprints on and off the field, plays each pitch with the intensity of a young, hungry prospect, still will not step on a ballfield’s chalk lines because of baseball’s stereotypical superstitions, and never, ever will wear his ballcap backward.
But none of those facts defines Mike Gulan as the ballplayer he has always wished to be since performing for Steubenville Catholic in the late 1980s.
His uniform this spring, however, has placed the 32-year-old Gulan much closer to realizing the same dream he has owned since a child running fast through the vast halls of Three Rivers Stadium. Instead of donning Cardinal red or the teal of the Marlins, Gulan, finally, wears the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“This is it,” he said while pointing at the No. 83 on his jersey. “I could care less about the number they gave me … it’s a Pirates jersey. Wearing one of those has always been a goal for me since I was little going to games.
“As soon as I signed, I promised myself I would keep believing that the day would come when I’d be able to play at PNC Park in front of my family,” the infielder explained. “I know that day will come, and it’s going to be a great day.
“My family and my friends are rooting for me, I know that. They might want that day at the park as much as I do.”
Gulan entered his 11th professional season when reporting to Pittsburgh’s Bradenton, Fla., training facility in mid February. Since being selected out of Kent State during the second round of the 1992 June draft, the Ohio Valley native toiled in the minors for 10 seasons before traveling to Japan last season to play for the Bay Stars of the Central League and Searex of the Eastern.
“I wanted to go overseas to play last year so that’s what I did,” said Gulan, who still resides in Steubenville with his wife, Lesley, and their two children, Mitchell and Myla. “I talked it over with my wife and she said it was OK for me to go, so I went for the experience.
“Of course, the culture (in Japan) is very, very different than it is here, but it was interesting to see firsthand,” the 1989 graduate of Steubenville Catholic said. “Besides, when you get out on that field, baseball is always baseball.”
His career was spent with the St. Louis and Florida organizations before departing for the Far East, and upon his return he hoped the friendship he established with Pittsburgh General Manager Dave Littlefield when Littlefield was an assistant GM with the Marlins in 1999 would supply a chance.
“But now that I am here, that doesn’t mean anything to him or me,” Gulan said. “I have to show that I belong here – that’s the bottom line. If I don’t prove that, I fully expect him to tell me to go home without thinking twice.
“That’s the business side of the game, and when you play for more than a few years, you learn a lot about it. That’s not bad or good, that’s just the facts.”
Gulan learned a hard lesson in 1998 when the Cardinals released the infielder just three seasons after being honored by the organization as its best minor-league prospect in the system and one year following his major-league debut in 1997. “You go from feeling like you’re on top of the world to not knowing what to say to even your wife,” he said. “That was the first time I had to face that maybe all the dreams might not come true after all, and that’s tough to take at first.
“Then it happened again with the Marlins (after playing six games in the big leagues during the 2001 season), and I was faced with the question again – what do I do now? I got the invitation to go to Japan and play, so that’s what I did.”
Those experiences allowed Gulan to enter this spring with realistic goals concerning the 2003 campaign. “I’m a third baseman, and so is (Aramis) Ramirez – and he gets paid a lot of money to go out there every night ,and do what he does. So I know I’m not going to beat him out for the job in Pittsburgh, but that doesn’t mean I won’t get a chance to play on that level.
“I have to take advantage of every opportunity I’m given this spring. I have to show the manager that if he needs someone who’s ready, I’m his guy. I have to run hard to first base even though I may pop up to the infield because I have to show (Lloyd McClendon) what kind of player I am,” Gulan explained. “My main goal is to show them that if someone goes down during the season, I’m their guy. I want this spring training to stick in their minds. If it means I go to (Class AAA) Nashville to play there, that’s fine with me.”
Gulan did not waste much time making an impression on McClendon. Not only did he play flawlessly in the field after taking over for Ramirez during the Pirates’ first exhibition season contest, but Gulan also gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead over Philadelphia in the sixth with a two-run blast over McKechnie Field’s left field wall. “You often hear how a lot of the home runs that are hit down here are wind assisted,” McClendon said after the season opener. “That ball didn’t need any help. It got out of here pretty darn fast, didn’t it?”
“Talk about a dream coming true,” Gulan said. “I’ve always dreamed of a day like today as a Pittsburgh Pirate.”
“But you what? It’s one game, one at-bat. It feels good today, but there’s a whole month to go yet and anything can happen between now the start of the season.”
Although the infielder insists he remains realistic about his chances with the Pirates, he also admits he has yet to considered the alternative to playing a game for a living. “I would love to play for a couple of more seasons – I’d love to do this for the rest of my life -- but if the decision is made that I’m not able, then I guess I’ll go back to (Kent State), finish my last semester, and put on a tie.
“But I really have no idea what I’ll do after baseball. No idea,” Gulan said. “I might get involved with coaching, and I have a few friends who are in business, but I really don’t know. I’ve never had a vision of being a fireman or a policeman or a guy who sits behind a desk every day. My only vision was to grow up and be a baseball player, and right now, I’m still trying to make that come true.”