Big-league backup beats minor-league starter for Twins C Herrmann
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Herrmann doesn't get to play every day, but that's just fine with him.
Herrmann broke camp this spring as the Twins' backup catcher, making the first major league Opening Day roster of his career. He came into the 2015 season fully knowing his role as the backup to catcher Kurt Suzuki, meaning Herrmann might play just a few times a week.
But a few games a week in the majors sure beats the alternative, something Herrmann knows all too well after six seasons in the minors.
"I've been called up and down several times. Each one of those times has been exciting, but just breaking camp with the team means a lot more to me," Herrmann said. "I feel like I earned it. I feel like I'm a part of this team."
Herrmann started at catcher Sunday against Seattle, just his fourth start of the season. He had an early exit in one of his four starts after injuring his nose. Herrmann has now played in just six of Minnesota's first 18 games of 2015 and has only 14 plate appearances after going 0-for-3 with two walks in Sunday's win.
Yet even though Herrmann only plays sporadically, he's enjoying being a major leaguer. On seven different occasions last season, Herrmann moved from Triple-A Rochester to Minnesota, or vice versa. Four of those seven transactions were going from the minors to the majors. Three of them were the other direction, which is never a fun trip for a player to make.
Herrmann also bounced around a few times in 2013, but not nearly as much as he did last season. That takes a toll on a player mentally when on any given day he might have to have his bags packed for a flight -- either to a major-league park or a minor-league one.
"It's mentally frustrating, but it's a learning experience," Herrmann said. "I feel like it makes you a better player, and also a better person because I feel like some people have to be really patient in this game. I've been pretty patient about my playing time and my chance to be up here. I think just being patient pays off sometimes."
Patience has indeed been a virtue for Herrmann, who has now spent the first month of the 2015 season on a major-league roster. Unlike in previous years, though, Herrmann has yet to play a single inning in the outfield. At times in the past, the versatile Herrmann was one of three catchers on the Twins' roster, meaning Minnesota could afford to play him in the outfield.
This year's Twins team has enough players -- including a few infielders -- who can play the outfield, allowing Herrmann to focus all of his effort and energy onto his one job.
"The past few years, I never knew what I was going to be doing. I didn't know if I was going to be playing outfield or catcher or whatever," Herrmann said. "This year, (manager Paul Molitor) sat me down and said, 'Hey, you're going to be our backup catcher, maybe get one or two games in a week,' which is great. It kind of gives me an idea of what I need to do and how to prep myself for my chance to play."
Entering Monday's series opener against Detroit, Herrmann is batting .250 with two RBI and three runs scored. He's played one of his six games as a pinch hitter, another as a pinch runner off the bench.
After playing almost every day last year when he was at Triple-A Rochester, Herrmann has had to adjust to only playing a few times a week.
"That's the hardest transition for a lot of players is everybody's used to playing every day," Herrmann said. "Last year in Triple-A, I played every single day, maybe got a few days off. That's just something I'm going to have to learn how to handle and prepare myself to play."
Herrmann beat out a few other catchers in spring training for the backup job, including Josmil Pinto and Eric Fryer. If not for an injury that sidelined him during camp, Pinto might have had a chance to make the 25-man roster over Herrmann.
But Herrmann made the most of his opportunity in spring and was rewarded with a spot on the Opening Day roster. Now that he's back in the majors, though, Herrmann knows it's not a given that he'll stay here all year.
"Every day you've got to prove yourself in the majors. There's a lot of guys fighting for jobs every day, not just on this team but every team in general," he said. "I don't take any day for granted. I just go out and take care of my business, even if I'm not playing. I just do whatever I've got to do to make myself better."
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