AJPettersen

All is well in the world. Spring Training is over and teams are in their affiliated cities. The beginning of the season means jersey selection, locker organization, paperwork and…walkout songs. This decision can be spur of the moment or have months of thought put into it. The reasons for choosing a particular song are unique to each guy. There are a few popular ways I have seen players do this in the past. Play on Words Yesterday I was asking a few guys what they would be using for songs. Matt Summers told me he couldn’t think of anything so he went with “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney. This is clever for obvious reasons. A number of closers have used the song “Closing Time” in the past. Mitch Williams used the song “Wild Thing” to go along with his ‘style’ of pitching. I have had a tough time playing on a Scandinavian last name, so this one isn’t for me.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Funny/Crowd Pleaser I really enjoy when I hear this style as a walkout. They are especially good if a pitcher uses one (they get a longer section of the song) or if they are played at the perfect point in the song. During batting practice yesterday all of the walkout songs were tested over the loud speaker. Among the popular hits played were a number of Justin Bieber ballads. These songs are usually picked as a joke, but often are a hit with the kids in the crowd. I am excited for the first time “One Less Lonely Girl” is blasted over the speakers at Pohlman Field. In college our 2B picked his song to be a joke, but little kids danced and sang every time “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus filled the Metrodome. Good Beat/Lyrics This is the most popular method and the one that I typically use to pick my songs. It has been used by guys like Derek Jeter (Square Dance-Eminem). His song is cued up to say the words, “It feels so good to be back.” I used this my freshman year of college with “Love Me or Hate Me” by Lil’ Wayne. Last year I knew our home games would be at Target Field. The state of the art sound system contributed to picking “Buzzin” by Mann for its catchy beat. What Do You Like? This year I went with “Paradise” by Coldplay. What walkout songs do you like the best? Do you notice each song when you go to a game? Follow me this season! @apettersen1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4isv_Fylg&ob=av2n

The first full day of Spring Training was a whirlwind of activities. Being my first March in Fort Myers, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. Here is how it went: Leave home for the airport. Say goodbye to my fiancé. Check my bags, just under the weight limit. Take my shoes off, walk through a small door, put my shoes back on. Sit and read Hunger Games. Hope they make it out alive. Hangout with Nate Hanson. Board the plane. Watch Cole Nelson try to fit his long legs in a very small space. Take off. Take a nap. Finish Hunger Games. I won’t spoil it. Drink a miniature glass of Diet Coke, no nuts or pretzels? Plane lands. Text everyone, “I’m here!” Grab bags. Hop in a van. Arrive at hotel. Sign my name on a computer screen. Arrive at my room. Roy Larson is staring at me. My roommate, Tyler Koelling hasn’t moved since he got here. Watch two teams punch tickets to the NCAA Tourney. Good luck against the one seeds. Start next Hunger Games book. Mind is blown. Crank up the AC. Go to sleep.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Wake up. Get dressed. Go to bus. See Miguel Sano. He yells, “Ayy papi!” Glad we are still pals. Small talk in Spanish with Kennys Vargas. Head to the field. Arrive at the Clubhouse. Scavenger hunt for my locker. There it is. Unload my stuff. Boxes of gear inside. Christmas in March. Get in a line. Weigh in. Measure my height. News flash, I’m still short. Pee in a cup. Pour urine into a vile. College prepared me for this. Get blood drawn. Nearly pass out. Take off shirt. Stickers placed all over. EKG. Stickers taken off. Sit in a chair. And another. And another. Stare in a machine. Read letters. Look ahead. Bright light in my eyes. Chin on a machine. PUFF. More lights, more staring. Get in another line. Deep breath. Chest my test. Woops, going too fast. Look in my ears. Turn my head annnd…cough. Get dressed and head to field. Warm up. Play catch. Mile run. Catchers and corners first. Watch Matt Parker move like a deer. He ran it in 5 and a half minutes? Cmon. Run my mile. Mouth is as dry as my humor. Get a drink. Shower. Eat lunch. Meet with peak performance specialist. Good to see Dr. Rick Aberman. Day concludes. Hop on bus. Arrive at hotel. I hope this gives a small glimpse into my first day of Spring Training. I am extremely excited to be in Fort Myers, and I am ready to start playing some ball! Follow me on twitter! @apettersen1

I have been a resident of Minnesota my entire life, which probably makes me crazy for deciding to be a baseball player. Typically, November to March are off limits for outdoor baseball, making the offseason frustrating. In college this wasn’t a problem, as we had an indoor facility on campus and the Metrodome. As this offseason and the winter months approached, I realized how I took these facilities for granted. How would I workout now? Minnetonka I knew I would be living in Minnetonka about three days a week and in Rochester about four days a week for most of the offseason and would have to find places to workout in both locations. The high school football field in Minnetonka is domed for the winter and is usually accessible during school hours. Beyond that, my parents have a workout room in their basement that is perfect. I could do everything I needed. Now I had to tackle the other four days of the week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester I discovered that working out in Rochester was going to be difficult, when a simple Google search for indoor batting cages turned up nothing. I knew I couldn’t take four days off from hitting and throwing each week and expect to get better. I stumbled upon the email address for the baseball coach at the local college. I emailed him on a whim and was offered a volunteer coaching job. I zealously accepted and was given full use of all the facilities they had to offer. I could hit and throw in their fieldhouse and I could lift in their weight room. I had a fellow pro baseball colleague named Brandon Douglas to workout with. He was in AA for the Tigers last year and was very helpful because of his experience. What I Focused On Having 6 months to work on baseball was a dream come true. When I left instructs in the middle of October, I knew there were things I needed to improve. Two things I focused on were mental training and getting my body ready for the grind of 150+ games. I was first introduced to mental training in college. We focused on techniques that guided my four years of play, which I have continued to develop. Recently I became connected with a mental/vision training coach in Minneapolis. Whenever I was in the cities, I worked with him twice a week for an hour. His methods stretched my imagination for how I can grow in vision improvement, bat speed and confidence. Playing for 6 months straight will be something new for me. In college, the frequency of games isn’t nearly the same as a pro season. I knew I would need to put on weight and increase my flexibility to endure the year. I left the season around 155 pounds, which was the least I had weighed in a while. I hit the weight room hard and was able to add 10 pounds and increase flexibility. My body is now ready to make it through the season without any hiccups (barring another fastball to the nose). My first offseason of workouts were successful and I am excited to get the 2012 season started! I will be writing again in about a week to give my initial thoughts about spring training. Check me out on twitter: @apettersen1

My name is AJ Pettersen. I will be blogging for twinsdaily.com throughout the summer. I grew up in Minnetonka, MN, have been a Twins fan my entire life and am honored to be a part of this organization. That being said, I hope my insight into the life of minor league baseball is both interesting and engaging. While the lives of minor leaguers may be significantly different from others, after the season ends we look for jobs just like anyone else. The only difference is our availability. Finding a job that pays decently, has flexible hours and doesn’t require your presence 6 months out of the year is nearly impossible. Many players have to get creative when they search for offseason employment. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] My Job Search When I returned home from instructional league in mid-October, I knew I would be moving half of my belongings to Emily’s (my fiancée) place in Rochester and half of them at my parents place in Minnetonka. Emily got a job out of college in Rochester and we decided it would be best if I lived there while she worked and we would return to the cities whenever she had 3 or 4 days off from work in a row. This meant my job had to be even more flexible than I had originally thought. I brainstormed ideas and couldn’t come up with much beyond working online. MTurk The first site I stumbled upon was Amazon Mechanical Turk. This is a site where workers complete “hits” and get paid for their work. I researched the best strategies for making money on the site and quickly found myself completing hits, such as organizing kitchen photos into categories like “stainless steel” and “open concept.” I timed myself and found I was making about…$3.50 an hour. I thought, “I either need to get a lot of quicker with my categorizing or watch HGTV to brush up keywords.” Neither of those thoughts made a difference, so I tried something new. I began filling out surveys and writing essays. My hourly wage was rising to about $7 or $8 an hour, but it was becoming more difficult to find the work I wanted to do. There was one employer consistently giving out the best rates to write essays. I searched his name in google and came up with his email, leading to my first real freelance writing client. Freelance Writing I began writing essays and was making upwards of $20-$30 an hour, with a steady stream of work coming in each day. This nature of these essays was more busy work than I wanted, so I contacted other online writers to see if they had any work for me. One woman responded and wanted me to apply for a weekly blog post on moneyning.com. The host of the site liked my writing and I have been writing for him for the past 3 months. From $3.50 to around $30 an hour I make now, my search for employment has been anything but normal. Freelance writing has been a blessing for the flexibility it allows me.