Skip to main content

Moose Tracks: Rule 5 Reaction

By
Earlier this year, former Phillies minor league third baseman Travis "Moose" Mattair made time to take fans along on his return to baseball, after a year off, by checking in with PhoulBallz.com and PhilliesNation.com, giving the fan base an in depth and unique glance into life as a prospect heading to and participating in spring training, occasionally at the big league level. On Thursday, Moose, a native of Washington state, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the minor league portion of baseball's Rule 5 draft.

As fans might expect, the slick fielding Mattair checked in, to offer his thoughts on that news, for what may possibly be the final edition of his recurring diary feature called Moose Tracks.


I am really excited and really ready to start a new chapter in my baseball career! This is something I didn't expect and now that I know (about it), I'm very happy.

My parents are probably more excited than I am, now that, with Cincinnati, I'll spend spring training in Arizona, which is much closer to them in the northwest than having to go clear across the country to Florida to see me play.

I first learned about being picked from Jiwan James (another Phillies prospect, who was rumored to be a likely target of teams in the Rule 5 draft, but went unselected). He texted me with "Dang, Moose," saying something about getting picked in the Rule 5 draft and going to Cincinnati. I replied back with, "Congratulations!" I was clearly confused, as I thought it was Jiwan that was taken. He replied to set me straight and that's how I found out that the Reds took me.

I spent a lot of time talking on the phone with people, and saying some good byes. I talked at length with Marti Wolever, who is the Phillies' scouting director and I thanked him for the opportunity to play in the organization. I talked with my agents, who are at the winter meetings, but weren't really at the Rule 5 proceedings.

This is just a new chapter for me and I am very excited for what is next.


There is no doubt that we all wish Moose the best as he continues to live his dream of playing professional baseball. He is one of the kindest and most respectful individuals I have had the pleasure of dealing with in baseball and in life in general.

All the best, Moose.
________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE
Labels:

Comments

LeeAnn said…
Congrats to you Moose--well deserved although we will miss you we sure will be cheering you on! Brian, LeeAnn, Sami and Jake <3
December 9, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Moose-keteers 4 Life said…
Great guy. I am glad he is happy about the switch.
December 9, 2011 at 6:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...
3 comments
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: Off-season check in with 1B Kyle Martin

By
Kyle Martin, image- Jay Floyd First base prospect Kyle Martin grew up in South Carolina as a Phillies fan, admiring slugger Jim Thome , so it was a dream come true for his entire family when the organization made him their 4th round draft choice this year. A lefty batting power threat, Martin quickly made his professional debut with Class A Lakewood. The transition to the minors seemed easy, as the 23-year-old tallied a .279 average with five home runs and 37 RBI in 65 games for the BlueClaws. I recently spoke with the University of South Carolina product about his remarkable 2015 as a whole and he ranked how playing in the Phillies organization ranks against playing for Team USA in this year's Premiere 12 tournament. Read ahead for that interview and click here for my previous feature on the six-foot-two 240-pounder. -Are you still enjoying downtime right now or have you reached the stage of your off-season where you are back to baseball activities and knocking the ru...
Post a Comment
Read more

Michael Taylor Q&A

By
Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...
2 comments
Read more