The following is not actually a letter from Jesus Guzman to the San Diego Padres. -Dex
Dear San Diego Padres,
I know some of the fans out there still miss Adrian Gonzalez. And there are probably some people pissed that Anthony Rizzo was traded for the dude who throws real hard.. Andy.
And I'm sure people are wondering if Kyle Blanks will ever be able to hit the major leagues as opposed to just AAA. And I don't blame anybody for looking at Yonder Alonso and reading Baseball America and wondering if he could be Rookie of the Year.
And don't get me wrong. I totally appreciate what you've done for me. All the chances and everything. It's just like I told Corey Brock...
The experience in San Diego validated what Guzman knew about himself all along -- that he could hit at this level. A career .305 hitter in the Minor Leagues, Guzman flourished at about every stop.
"I never gave up, I never put my head down and I always worked hard," Guzman said. "I had four good years from 2007-10 and never got called up. But to me, it didn't matter. I always told myself that next year is another year and that I've got to keep working hard."
But you know... Lately. I've been thinking...
What about me?
I mean, I only showed up in the middle of last season to post a 2.7 WAR, which was like fourth best on the team. And people keep complaining that Petco Park is hard to hit in, but I got a .312 batting average in my big league time with half the games coming at Petco, so I didn't think it was a big deal. I mean, if I had been able start the whole time, I'm pretty sure I could've done that all season, which would've been the second best batting average ever posted at Petco Park by a Padres starter.
So there's that...
And yet, everybody seems really high on Yonder Alonso and hoping Kyle Blanks eventually hits for power. I know I only got 5 home runs last year, but I got 22 doubles and that was all in only 76 games. I slugged for .478.
So, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to go ahead and try to win the starting spot this season, and if it's OK with you, I'm going to go ahead and hit +.300 all the way through the All-Star Break. I know all the fans are buying Maybin jerseys now that he's got his extension, but I'm pretty sure Guzman would be a pretty good seller too.
Your first baseman,
Jesus Guzman