Catching What's Thrown at Him - The Tuttle Story

EagleFan · 08-02-2008, 10:56 AM

John Tuttle began his life in Battlecreek, Michigan and quickly lrned to love the game of baseball. While he excelled at several positions as he grew up he always was drawn back to catcher of all positions. He likes being part of every play and as he often jokes, at least he doesn't to run his ass off like those idiots in the outfield; where he plays the ball comes to him.

At the age of 18 he stands 6'0' tall and has a sculpted 215 pound frame. When he is not on the field (or doing just enough to get by for his grades in school) he is hitting the weight room. He knows that skill alone won't make for a great career as one needs to be in shape and able to take the poundng that his position will throw at him.

Growing up in Michigan he has been a Tigers fan all his life, though he has no great memories to show for it. Being a student of the game he can recite stats from years past and knows about all the great players. While not having one favorite player he will mention several greats as who he wants to pattern his career after. That list includes such greats as Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson.

The switch hitting right hander got the call during the draft that he was selected by the Reds organization. He will have some large shoes to fill as any catcher wearing a Reds jersey cannot avoid being placed in the shadow of the great Johnny Bench.

Only time will tell if John can reach such lofty heights and achieve his ultimate dream of winning the world series.

EagleFan · 08-02-2008, 11:35 AM

As a non-roster invitee to spring training John foun himself in awe of his surroundings. It took a while for it to sink in that he was actually there as a player as it was hard to stop looking at things as a fan. Seeing players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn interacting with him as a player and not a fan was an amazing feeling.

Finally time came for him to get his first chance in a real spring training game. He got the call in the team's first spring training game as they face the Phillies. His first at bat would come with one out in the bottom of the second and a runner on second and his team up 2-0. He would be facing Cole Hamels with a chance to drive in a run. He felt like he was in a dream ad found it hard to concentrate as he walked to the plate.

After looking at a fast ball down the middle on the first pitch he would become over anxious and chase a wicked curve ball that dropped out of the zone to fall behind 0-2. While protecting the plate he grunded the ball down the first base line but Ryan Howard made a nice play to stop it and flipped to Hamels for the out. John's first at bat would go down as a ground out but he did get the runner to third.

The Reds would go on to win the game 6-3 and Johnwould end up 0 for 3 with a walk. He would get robbed by Shane Victorino on a line drive to center that looked like his first hit in the 6th and then grond out in the 9th. While not doing anything to impress the coaching staff he did not do anything that stood out as a major negative as the only bad swing he had was on the second pitch that he faced, the nasty Cole Hamels curve.

John would get his first hit in the following game with a lead off single in the 5th in a 1 for 3 performance agains the Twins, unfortunately a 1-0 loss. That hit woud make him now feel like he belongs. One of his dreams is coming true right before his eyes, though he still hs a long way to go.

The following game he would not start but got to make a big name for himself as he would pinch hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at 2 and the winniing run at second. After getting ahead int he count he would rip a 1-0 fast ball into the gap in left center to plate the winning run as his first professional pinch hit would be a success.

EagleFan · 08-02-2008, 02:15 PM

The rest of spring training was not very kind to John as he got plenty of playing time but did not have a lot of luck. He was able to kep the number of strikeouts down to a low number but looked over-matched many times aganst some of the better pitchers which led to many weak ground outs.

When he was hitting the ball he ha bad luck as some of his hardest hits were stopped by great plays. Some of the infield stops could have led to infield hits if he did not run just like a catcher.

Defensively he did shine as he didnot make an error or allow a passed ball. His arm strentch and accuracy needs to improve to be able to throw out any runner tht is above average.

He ended the spring hitting .246 with an on base percentage of .287. He scored just 1 run and knocked in 5. Much of his lack of run production was related to hitting late in the lineup and that the Reds had one of the worst offensive performances of any team in spring training.

After spring training he was offered a AA contract. After low-balling him and rejecting his counter the Reds began offering multi year AA deals. John was finally able to settle on a 1 year deal worth just over 37,000. Hopefully the time in the low minorw will help him develop into what the organization hopes he can be.

EagleFan · 08-02-2008, 10:35 PM

John is sent to play for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The potential good news is that the competition for starting catcher is beatable but the bad news is that he willbegin the season as the backup.

His first official professional appearance comes in the team's second game of the season against Montgomery. He comes into the game in the top ot the 8th inning with 2 outs, a runner at first and the team down by a 6-4 count. His firs at bat is successful as he rips a 1-1 ptch into right field for a single and moves the runner to third. Though they lose the game he begins his minor league career with a positive note.

He would get his first start the very next day in the series finale. Oddly enough the coach would have him batting in the number two slot in the lineup. The Lookout would not have any luck offensively and lose 2-0 but John would be 2 for 4 with a pair of singles.

The first month of his season has not been a good one for the team as the Lookouts are 9-17 and in last place intheirdivision, 6.5 games back.

John has been putting up okay numbers but not being productive (or selective enough at the plate). In 24 games he is hitting .333 with just 1 homerun and 4 RBI's. He also has 4 doubes, somwhow has 4 stolen bases as he has done a god job of timing just when to steal in situations, has scored just 5 runs, has an on base percentage of .343 and a slugging percentage of .445.

He has unfortunately walked just 1 time during the month as he needs to become a little more selective at the plate.

EagleFan · 08-06-2008, 02:22 AM

John's career will be put on hold for a bit. Have been getting ready for my trip and will be out of the country for pretty much the rest of August. To be continued when I return.

EagleFan · 09-06-2008, 10:33 PM

Will be picking this back up either tonight or tomorrow (after he football games of course

).

EagleFan · 09-14-2008, 11:05 PM

John gets the start in the first game in May and starts out with a little tough luck as he hitless in his first two at bats even though he hit the ball well each time.

In his third at bat he rips a single to left bt gets stranded.

With his team down 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th he would bat second. After he leadoff hitter singled John comes to the plate and sees the first three pitches missing the zone to get a 3-0 count. He takes the next pitch, though he wished he hadn't as it was right down the middle. The 3-1 pitch drops low for ball 4 giving them two men on and no outs.

The next batter would sacrifice the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out. An intentional walk would load the bases with still just one out. A hit here could win the game.

The first pitch would be ripped deep and had the distance but just foul. After the count got worked to 2-2 a curve ball would hang and get ripped to right for a hit. John would round third and be waved home. The play was going to be close and there was a large collision at the plate as John barreled into the opposing catcher.

The ball would roll away fromteh catcher and the umpire would signal safe. John had just scored the winning run but that was not on his mind. During the collision he felt something pop in his right knee. The pain was unbearable and he could not even attempt to stand.

John's season would end on that night in early May, though he won the battle that day he lost the war for the year. He would be out for the rest of the season with the knee injury and is in for a long rehab ahead.

EagleFan · 09-19-2008, 06:32 PM

After a rough offseason rehab John returns to action and is pleasantly surprised to be moved up the the AAA Louisville Bats. Unfortunately he is given the backup role and gets few chances as the season begins.

Louisville starts the season off with 6 straight losses and John gets only a few pinch hit appearances and a defensive substitution to play first base for an inning in the first couple weeks of the season.

John came close to making a name for himself in one of his pinch hit appearances when Louisville trailed 2-1 in the bottom or the 8th with 2 outs and a runner a first. John took an 0-1 fastball deep to left but it was caught against the wall.

April:

Louisville finished the month with an awful 6-15 record and 9.5 games back.

John was 7 for 21 in his part time role with 1 douible and 3 RBI's. A positive which he took fro the month is not striking out once as he has worked on cutting that down from last season.

08-02-2008, 11:35 AM	#2
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Spring Training 2008 Begins As a non-roster invitee to spring training John foun himself in awe of his surroundings. It took a while for it to sink in that he was actually there as a player as it was hard to stop looking at things as a fan. Seeing players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn interacting with him as a player and not a fan was an amazing feeling. Finally time came for him to get his first chance in a real spring training game. He got the call in the team's first spring training game as they face the Phillies. His first at bat would come with one out in the bottom of the second and a runner on second and his team up 2-0. He would be facing Cole Hamels with a chance to drive in a run. He felt like he was in a dream ad found it hard to concentrate as he walked to the plate. After looking at a fast ball down the middle on the first pitch he would become over anxious and chase a wicked curve ball that dropped out of the zone to fall behind 0-2. While protecting the plate he grunded the ball down the first base line but Ryan Howard made a nice play to stop it and flipped to Hamels for the out. John's first at bat would go down as a ground out but he did get the runner to third. The Reds would go on to win the game 6-3 and Johnwould end up 0 for 3 with a walk. He would get robbed by Shane Victorino on a line drive to center that looked like his first hit in the 6th and then grond out in the 9th. While not doing anything to impress the coaching staff he did not do anything that stood out as a major negative as the only bad swing he had was on the second pitch that he faced, the nasty Cole Hamels curve. John would get his first hit in the following game with a lead off single in the 5th in a 1 for 3 performance agains the Twins, unfortunately a 1-0 loss. That hit woud make him now feel like he belongs. One of his dreams is coming true right before his eyes, though he still hs a long way to go. The following game he would not start but got to make a big name for himself as he would pinch hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at 2 and the winniing run at second. After getting ahead int he count he would rip a 1-0 fast ball into the gap in left center to plate the winning run as his first professional pinch hit would be a success.

08-02-2008, 02:15 PM	#3
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Spring Traiing 2008 Wrap up The rest of spring training was not very kind to John as he got plenty of playing time but did not have a lot of luck. He was able to kep the number of strikeouts down to a low number but looked over-matched many times aganst some of the better pitchers which led to many weak ground outs. When he was hitting the ball he ha bad luck as some of his hardest hits were stopped by great plays. Some of the infield stops could have led to infield hits if he did not run just like a catcher. Defensively he did shine as he didnot make an error or allow a passed ball. His arm strentch and accuracy needs to improve to be able to throw out any runner tht is above average. He ended the spring hitting .246 with an on base percentage of .287. He scored just 1 run and knocked in 5. Much of his lack of run production was related to hitting late in the lineup and that the Reds had one of the worst offensive performances of any team in spring training. After spring training he was offered a AA contract. After low-balling him and rejecting his counter the Reds began offering multi year AA deals. John was finally able to settle on a 1 year deal worth just over 37,000. Hopefully the time in the low minorw will help him develop into what the organization hopes he can be.

08-02-2008, 10:35 PM	#4
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	AA Ball 2008 Begins John is sent to play for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The potential good news is that the competition for starting catcher is beatable but the bad news is that he willbegin the season as the backup. His first official professional appearance comes in the team's second game of the season against Montgomery. He comes into the game in the top ot the 8th inning with 2 outs, a runner at first and the team down by a 6-4 count. His firs at bat is successful as he rips a 1-1 ptch into right field for a single and moves the runner to third. Though they lose the game he begins his minor league career with a positive note. He would get his first start the very next day in the series finale. Oddly enough the coach would have him batting in the number two slot in the lineup. The Lookout would not have any luck offensively and lose 2-0 but John would be 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. The first month of his season has not been a good one for the team as the Lookouts are 9-17 and in last place intheirdivision, 6.5 games back. John has been putting up okay numbers but not being productive (or selective enough at the plate). In 24 games he is hitting .333 with just 1 homerun and 4 RBI's. He also has 4 doubes, somwhow has 4 stolen bases as he has done a god job of timing just when to steal in situations, has scored just 5 runs, has an on base percentage of .343 and a slugging percentage of .445. He has unfortunately walked just 1 time during the month as he needs to become a little more selective at the plate.

09-14-2008, 11:05 PM	#7
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	The problems begin? John gets the start in the first game in May and starts out with a little tough luck as he hitless in his first two at bats even though he hit the ball well each time. In his third at bat he rips a single to left bt gets stranded. With his team down 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th he would bat second. After he leadoff hitter singled John comes to the plate and sees the first three pitches missing the zone to get a 3-0 count. He takes the next pitch, though he wished he hadn't as it was right down the middle. The 3-1 pitch drops low for ball 4 giving them two men on and no outs. The next batter would sacrifice the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out. An intentional walk would load the bases with still just one out. A hit here could win the game. The first pitch would be ripped deep and had the distance but just foul. After the count got worked to 2-2 a curve ball would hang and get ripped to right for a hit. John would round third and be waved home. The play was going to be close and there was a large collision at the plate as John barreled into the opposing catcher. The ball would roll away fromteh catcher and the umpire would signal safe. John had just scored the winning run but that was not on his mind. During the collision he felt something pop in his right knee. The pain was unbearable and he could not even attempt to stand. John's season would end on that night in early May, though he won the battle that day he lost the war for the year. He would be out for the rest of the season with the knee injury and is in for a long rehab ahead.

09-19-2008, 06:32 PM	#8
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	2009: Louisville After a rough offseason rehab John returns to action and is pleasantly surprised to be moved up the the AAA Louisville Bats. Unfortunately he is given the backup role and gets few chances as the season begins. Louisville starts the season off with 6 straight losses and John gets only a few pinch hit appearances and a defensive substitution to play first base for an inning in the first couple weeks of the season. John came close to making a name for himself in one of his pinch hit appearances when Louisville trailed 2-1 in the bottom or the 8th with 2 outs and a runner a first. John took an 0-1 fastball deep to left but it was caught against the wall. April: Louisville finished the month with an awful 6-15 record and 9.5 games back. John was 7 for 21 in his part time role with 1 douible and 3 RBI's. A positive which he took fro the month is not striking out once as he has worked on cutting that down from last season.

08-06-2008, 02:22 AM	#5
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	John's career will be put on hold for a bit. Have been getting ready for my trip and will be out of the country for pretty much the rest of August. To be continued when I return.

09-06-2008, 10:33 PM	#6
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Will be picking this back up either tonight or tomorrow (after he football games of course ).

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