Reid Gorecki Minor League Statistics & History – Baseball-Reference.com
Gorecki becomes the ninth outfielder that the Braves have tried this year, not counting Infante. It’s been that sort of year. Gorecki, like Brian Barton, who had a cup of coffee earlier this year, came out of the Cardinals organization. He was a thirteenth-round draft pick out of the University of Delaware, of all places, in 2002. Gorecki hit fairly well in the low minors, as a college player should, but on exposure to the high minors really never found his bat. For instance, he hit .182 in a half season at AA in 2005. He did better, not great, at that level in 2006, but was even worse on a callup to AAA. He also had some injury issues. The Cardinals let him go as a minor league free agent after the 2007 season.
The Braves picked him up, apparently just to fill out the minor league roster. He was hurt much of the season, but when he was in the lineup, mostly at Mississippi, he hit .304/.388/.458. He hit well in spring training this year, admittedly mostly against the scrub relievers who finish spring training games. At Gwinnett, he hit .286/.351/.464, the best of any pre-Heyward outfielder in the upper minors. Apparently, he’s the sort of guy who doesn’t do anything really well, but does a lot of things okay… Has played center and right in the minors. That suggests that he doesn’t really have a centerfield glove.
Glad to see Henryk’s boy make good.
Gregor Blanco completely collapsed this year, didn’t he?
My goodness, I can’t believe Jon is not the top commentors! Mac, something wrong with your comments counting application!
I agree with you and Alex R that Wren would only call up Heyward if he is here to stay. Using this logic, I don’t see how Heyward will not be the Braves starting rightfielder next season when ACHE is not with us anymore. Leftfield will be a platoon of Church and Diaz if the Braves can afford to keep both of them.
It’s already picked out. And no, it’s not Dylan.
There actually is a Hall of Famer from U of Delaware — Vic Willis, the old-time pitcher.
Just when you thought the R-word issue was as asinine as it could get…along comes Jon.
Personally I blame Francoeur. Without him around people are having to go to great lengths to find things to get worked up about.
If all you watched were Braves games you would think the bunt is a dynamic offensive weapon and a key component to any big inning. The lesson here is that you should try to get the pitcher to field the bunt. God knows what they’ll do with it.
Just ask the ’06 Cardinals.
Just looking back, we have just completed a 4-2 homestand and a 5-2 west coast road trip. We are sitting at 6 games above .500. The series with the Phillies was certainly very disappointing, but it did not knock us out of the race. Let’s go to NY, take care of the Mets, and then beat up the Marlins!
I am sure we will all be very emotional during the next three weeks.
So will Strasburg sign?
@9 I think so. This is just Boras trying to squeeze out the last possible dollar from the Nats before the deadline comes.
Headed to Citi Field tomorrow night (Lowe vs Perez) & again on Thursday (KK vs Santana). Anybody else?
I’m never overconfident about any games, but the Mets are now without David Wright, too… I mean, we should really win that series, even with the one bad pitching matchup.
@11 Our pitching will be stable. We will go as far as the offense can go.
haha you guys fell for it. I really was Jon K. If someone else wants to take over for me that’s fine. I’m going back to posting as myself again.
11, yes we should take two out of three from the Mets. The problem with this is that our Braves need to be sweeping opposing teams, as we are running out of time and games to play.
Do please try to capture the true essence of the faux-educated wannabe comedian with a misplaced superiority complex that I worked so hard to cultivate.
Creating an impossibly ridiculous character who just barely toes the line of believability despite possessing not one ounce of credibility is not an easy feat.
Don’t break your arm there, Dix.
I’ll bite on the “where we’re from” request by Jon K. I thought it was a nice thread.
I reside Houston, TX but I grew up in SC. My Alma mater is currently sitting at #2 in the national high school football rankings. Hard to believe because they stunk when I was there.
I became a Braves fan in ’91 and the Astros are my most hated team. I was at the 18 inning game. Astros fans are insufferable…
Confession: I always wanted Will Clark to be a Brave.
Strasburg signs.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/
I’ve been to a total of maybe 12 Mets games over the course of the past three years. The Mets have won every single game. 8 of those games have been Mets-Braves games. I’m going tomorrow.
Don’t hate me.
@17,
I grew up in Vacaville, CA and currently live in Astoria, New York. I’ve been a fan since 1992.
And I hate Red Sox fans, even more than Met fans (which is a lot.)
Red Sox, Cubs, Mets: The Circle of Douche.
I have to admit that I have never quite understood the Cub fan hate. I spent a couple of years in the Chicago area for grad school and went to a bunch of Cubs games. I mean a bunch- way too many considering most of them were during times when I should have been in class. Starting a day at Murphy’s Bleachers, then hitting the bleacher seats in right field, and emerging from the game to realize it’s like 4pm and you have already had 15 beers that day- it’s hard to be angry at folks who do that. I always found the bleachers to be a pretty genial area- wore my Braves hat to every game and never met with any hostility- and while maybe the atmosphere isn’t pure serious baseball, it was fun and that’s the point, right?
We break your streak tomorrow, Rob. 😉
Grew up in Florida pre-Marlins and (sometimes Devil) Rays with the Braves as the only team on nightly. Dad grew up an Orioles fan originally, but since we watched the Braves every night, we started rooting for them. I think ’94 and ’95 must have been when I first started noticing statistics, because for a long time, I thought an ERA in the 2’s was solid, in the 1’s was “above average” and higher than 3.00 mediocre-to-bad.
Even though the Braves were the regional team at the time I started rooting for them, I’d still consider myself a “TBS” Braves fan, since I knew them more from that than anything else.
“I thought an ERA in the 2’s was solid, in the 1’s was “above average” and higher than 3.00 mediocre-to-bad.”
Those were the days…I am sure you considered Maddux as a “solid” pitcher!
Another solid start by Hanson…I think that only Millwood started as well…
Otherwise, I hope that Braves signed at least one more arm (other than Ryan Wooley) from their draft class….
Red Sox, Cubs, Mets: The Circle of Douche
agreed
I grew up in NC and VA; now live in Rome GA. I became a Braves fan in the lates 80s watching Gant, Blauser, Klesko, Chipper, Javy, etc. play for the Durham Bulls (at the old Durham ballpark).
grew up in villa rica ga, ( westside ) and have been a braves fan since I was 6. We went to see the braves play the dodgers and there was a 3 hr rain delay. When the rain stopped, ted had the ushers move everyone still left from whatever seat they had and put them right behind home plat and up the first base line. Mike Marshall ultimately ruined a great day in the end. I have lived the cycle of a braves fan from the mid eighties , through the nineties til now.
I currently live in Athens ga
Hahahaha, I knew it Dix! I even told you I thought it was fake. Oh, you’re good…
I grew up in Marietta, GA, the son of a mother who’d been a Braves fan since the early 80s, after the end of the Big Red Machine. (My dad was slowly being worked over to the good side from a life spent cheering for the Dodgers.) My first memories associated with the Braves involve Murph and Jeff Treadway in the late 80s. (I’m 27.) I now live in Nashville, TN, where I try desparately to make my wife love the Braves so that our children can one day be raised in a good home.
The details of my life are quite inconsequential… very well, where do I begin?
My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery.
My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet.
My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we’d make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles at a Braves game. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum… it’s breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it. I’m pretty sure that’s where my extreme Braves fandom comes from
I just read that in my mind with the beautiful Dr. Evil voice. Well played.
@30
Dix;
Wow. Just wow.
I grew up outside of Indianapolis, which never had a MLB club and never will. My friends were all Reds fans. I followed the Pirates because of Stargell and I thought the Big Red Machine had an automatic choke. In ’75-76, the Reds worked out the bugs, but I stayed with the Pirates through the We-Are-Fam-A-Lee year.
Then soon I found out that cocaine ruled their clubhouse and I looked for a new team. The Braves on TBS were terrific entertainment every night then when the Army moved me to Augusta.
I shuffled off to Europe in 85′ and came back to see Sid slide.
It’s been a great ride since. I’m pretty sure if I could’ve stayed in Georgia I’d be a Bulldog fan by now, but I’m just getting a feel for the awesome SEC. So, for me, it’s gonna be ABT every week. (Anybody But Tebow)
There is no reason to bring Heyward up. It is better to let him get AB’s at AA or AAA. I am not against a September call up, but there is no need to rush the kid.
It’s always about scrotum with you, isn’t it Dix?
Not always
Dammit Dix – that was good.
If you say you were Gadfly I will consider you a genius.
I think one good thing about the Jon K flap is it prevented us from having a full-blown meltdown over Heyward not being called up. Anyway, yeah…there is absolutely no reason to call him up, and I’m glad they didn’t. I’m not even in favor of a September call-up while we’re still in the race. Just leave him be. There’s no particular need to rush him this year. You can’t expect that he will help us much (if you do, you need to check your expectations a little bit) and it may very well stunt his growth in some way. Call him into spring training next year and see what happens, but don’t expect him to start with the big-league club then either.
Military brat. Fukuoka Japan, Reno, Los Vegas, Vacaville CA (George AFB I think), Charlotte, Satellite Beach FLA, Wichita Falls TX, Charleston SC for 21 years where I became a Braves fan mostly via TBS, Findlay OH, Flower Mound TX, and now Columbus OH. Mac, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Thanks for Braves Journal, man.
#17 Dirt where abouts in SC? Although I’ve lived a lot of places I’ll always be a Charlestonian.
Grew up in Columbus, Ga., near Ft. Benning.
Was originally an Orioles fan after my dad sent home a reel-to-reel audio tape of Brooks Robinson, who was on a USO Tour of Vietnam (late ’66 or early ’67). Along with the Human Vacuum Cleaner, Yankee announcer Mel Allen is on the tape saying hello to a 3-year-old me.
I began to actually watch the game just in time to see Brooks’ big WS in 1970. Serendipity.
I also discovered the Braves about the same time, mainly because they were on TV occasionally (on local indie station 46) & I’d watch them with my maid’s husband, while he was recuperating from a car accident. He loved Aaron, Carty & Cepeda. I liked how Felix Millan choked up on the bat.
When WTCG began to show the team a couple years later, it was easy—Braves were my NL team, O’s my AL team. I kinda got energized by the ’73 Braves, the team that hit all the HRs. Then when the ’74 club (the Buzz Capra year) broke .500, an unshakable addiction had begun (not to mention a long trip to thru the wilderness).
The O’s affinity faded over the years to almost nothing. By the time they got good again (1995), I kinda didn’t care. Of course, my NL team was in its full glory.
Johnny,
Also a military brat. I did England, Germany, Washington, then California.
Heyward is 20 y/o. If he is ready, he is ready. As John Kruk said the other night, too many players end up losing 1 or 2 years in the minors for no reason. You are not rushing the kid, you are rewarding him.
I watched a special on Dmitri and Delmon Young. They basically followed Delmon path to the majors. He basically said it’s very frustrating as a player and for the player’s family to be sitting in the minors when you know you are ready for the big leagues. No one likes the minors, especially the top players.
Wait, Delmon Young said that? Delmon Young is terrible and has been an enormous bust. You might look for a better example.
Military as well – born in France, grew up in DC after several other stops, college at Auburn, moved to Atlanta to do Masters work at Tech in ’85, never left. Braves fan since college during those two Torre playoff years.
@42 Bust or not, he was called up that year. He has other issues, but he the #1 pick and he had talent.
Brett Farve again?? I knew it wouldn’t last
Right, and he might’ve been rushed, because you would expect someone with all that talent to perform at this level.
I think you can be rushed. I think the organization feels they rushed Frenchy and don’t want to hurt Heyward’s growth.I know some people feel he never had the talent anyways, but…
I don’t think you are wasting anything by letting him play a little longer in the minors. I don’t think anyone was ever hurt by being in the minors too long.
I’ve posted this before but wth, it’s a good story.
First remembering noticing baseball during the ’71 WS. My folks took my sister and me to Dorton Arena to see Bob Hope perform at the N.C. State Fair. He asked who won the game that day and someone said the Orioles. He said ‘Good, I’m pulling for them.’ and got a big cheer. To my newly seven year old mind that was unfair, so I decided I’d pull for the Pirates.
I stayed a Bucs fan until 1980 or so. In the Spring of ’81, I got to see the Braves in Fulton County Stadium during a HS field trip. Coupled with the arrival of cable TV to my folk’s house, I started rooting for Dale Murphy. And after a summer of mixed feelings, I abandoned the Pirates for the Braves, and have remained a Braves fan ever since.
I’ve been a Braves fan since 1966, when I would listen to Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson on the radio. I still follow games on the radio, as it frees up the imagination and allows me to do other things about the house, like cook dinner or mark up papers.
I grew up in Atlanta, moved around the world, including stops in Memphis, Washington, D.C., Lima, and Budapest, not to mention a recent stay in northern California, but, for now, I’m in Pensacola, Florida.
born and raised about 140 miles south of ATL and still in the same area. Only major stop elsewhere is 2.5 years sojourn on the doorsteps to heaven (Athens).
Introduced to the MILWAUKEE Braves in 1965. It had been announced they were coming to ATL and somebody put together a regional syndicated package on TV (every Sunday, maybe?). Dizzy Dean was in the final twilight of his glory and was one of the announcers. Dizzy was great fun (I was 7).
My father followed them on radio for 15 years until he got a 9 foot dish in about 1980. He learned to play in the “dead ball” style and sometimes didn’t appreciate the modern players. I guess his favorite was Joe Morgan as he had himself been a very good undersized second baseman and Joe did a little bit of everything well.
I was able to get the Braves in Athens on old channel 17 with a uhf circle antenna on the tv top. Thence by cable and now by satellite.
Mac, your work is much appreciated.
Has anyone heard from sansho1?
Remy, where in Northern CA?
Remy, it looks like August 1st was the last time he made a post here. Hope he’s doing alright.
RobBroad4th – Cool places for your dad (I am assuming) to be stationed. Look where I lived, Wichita Falls TX? Really exotic. I work with a woman here who spent a good part of her teen years in Rota, Spain. And another young guy who lived in Germany. They both saw a lot of Europe. I got to see Burkburnett TX and Possum Kingdom Lake. LOL! Not bitter, great childhood but dang.
@53,
Ha, nice! Exotic is fine in retrospect, but when I was 16, they were telling my dad he may be moved to Venice or Alabama. I was in my second year of high school and both of those options sounded horrifying.
@52,
Ditto.
Yeah, Stu, I’d noticed that he hadn’t posted in awhile. Let’s hope he’s just enjoying a long vacation.
Rob,
My girlfriend worked for a time as a traveling nurse, so we lived in South Lake Tahoe, then Los Angeles, and, after that, we spent eight glorious months in Chico, California. We’ve been back in Pensacola for about a year now, and I really miss Chico, especially Bidwell Park, but one thing I don’t miss is all the wildfires. Of course, here in Pensacola we have hurricanes. Tropical Storm Claudette was just a drill.
I’ve passed through Vacaville on my way to Berkeley and SF, but I never took the time to look around. Isn’t that where the Jelly Bean Factory is? (I read road signs.)
The Jelly Belly Factory is close to there, in a town called Fairfield. Vacaville is known for its prison and factory outlet stores. In fact, we’d drive an hour to get to San Francisco just to see all the tourists getting on a bus to go to the Vacaville Factory Outlet Stores. I never got the appeal.
Tahoe is beautiful, I used to go up there in the summer.
@54 – My dad was looking at a second tour in SE Asia in Thailand. He had already done one combat tour in Da Nang so he decided to retire. I was 11 at the time so I missed having to move in the middle of high school. Hell, moving in mid term in elementary school sucked enough.
Was it George AFB in Vacaville?
Travis AFB in Fairfield.
Moving to another continent when you’re in ANY grade must have been hard.
I was talking to my friend who lived in Europe. He attended 3 high schools. DOH!
edit: I am an old dumbass. I remembered George AFB correctly but that was in Victorville CA not Vacaville.
Old dumbass? Hardly. Go to the Fox Sports South Facebook page if you want to see some of those.
You wouldn’t say that if you were a real fan, Rob. You’re ruining the team with your attitude.
Boom goes the dynamite.
The Fox SportsSouth Facebook rivals DOB’s blog in dumbassery.
Born and grew up in Chattanooga. I wasn’t a Braves fan immediately after they moved, but I became one in the late sixties. A friend of mine had what they called a mimeograph machine and would print out scoresheets for me so when I was in my early teens I was scoring almost every game, listening to Milo and Ernie. 1969 was a great year; Phill Niekro was fantastic and I still remember the announcers talking about Niekro’s infrant son who I guess is not in his forties. Time flies. I still think Milo is a great announcer even if he is a dick.
When I moved to Miami and got my first apartment in the early 80s, I would get home from work, put something on the broiler (the limit of my culinary skills), take a shower and then have dinner watching the Dale Murphy Braves. I remember to this day the game in 1983 against LA when the Braves came from behind twice and won in the bottom of the ninth on a Bob Watson home run. What a game; Ernie went nuts: IT’S . . . OUTTA HERE!!
Living in DC now, I can at least catch all the games against the Nats.
Marc,
The Bob Watson game, yes.
I was in Columbus watching that game on TV, waiting for the last minute to drive to Atlanta to go see a show at the 688 Club (Jason & The Scorchers, I think). My friend on the other side of town kept calling me, “C’mon, pick me up. We’re gonna be late for the show. We’ll listen to it in the car.”
I seem to remember Greg Brock hit a go-ahead HR in the top of the 9th, so I left home to pick him up for the 100 mile trip to ATL. Very disappointed. Glum, actually.
But when Watson hit the HR—it was an all-timer radio call from Ernie—I almost drove off the circular entrance to I-185 in South Columbus. What a thrill. The 688 show, of course, was made that much more enjoyable, thanks to Mr. Bob Watson.
Barton did most of his development in the Indians organization. Just for the record.
The Bull really had a couple of really good years as the right handed platoon partner to Chris Chambliss on those 82 and 83 teams.
If Horner had just maintained his condition and Ted had just thumbed his nose at collusion (you younger guys, think blue eyed blond haired Manny at 3rd base, that is kind of like what Horner was), then that mini dynasty might have rolled a few more years.
Born and raised in southern VA (Roanoke, then Lynchburg). Braves fan since around ’85, I guess. It was a no-brainer — my dad told me Dale Murphy was LDS too and they were on TV everyday.
Went to school at BYU, UVa (masters), and now at Wisconsin — 4 years so far and I hope I won’t have to take my shoes off to count them all.
Always loved baseball, but revived the affair in 2003 on a west coast stadium tour with some friends. The trip happened to include a stop at the previously mentioned Jelly Belly factory.
confession: For some reason I liked Robin Ventura as a player. I think I liked his swing. Still think the mound charging fiasco with Nolan was hilarious.
I was born into Braves fandom. Saw my first game in September 1995 versus the Expos at Fulton County Stadium. I don’t really remember much of it–I was only seven. Dad wanted to see Chipper Jones up close and we thought we were sitting close on the third base line. However, the tickets were in the upper deck behind Ryan Klesko in left. Drunken bastards behind us bought my brother and I several souvenirs and gifts (just a little strange). I remember looking across the street and seeing the Olympic Stadium being built.
I was born and raised in Lincoln, Ne. and still live in Nebraska (just northeast of Grand Island). I became a Braves fan at the tender age of six when my parents were rooting for them in the 1958 World Series—which we lost. I followed the Braves religiously in the sixties, I listened to as many Braves games as I could. We could generally get the signal around 7 O’Clock from 750 (WSM?) or 670 out of Nashville, I think. The Braves were a tough team to root for in the 70’s, with the assorted Rod Gilbreaths, Pepe Frias, and Gary Gentrys. But, the Braves were my team. Lincoln cable started carrying the Braves in the middle of the ’78 season and I was in heaven, even if they were terrible. I bought a VCR in ’82 and seldom missed a game either live or on tape in a magical season. Braves forever!!
Pudge back to the Rangers.
The Bob Watson home run game. I was newly married, and my very conservative (way to the right of Attila the Hun) in-laws were in town. I was not too keen on going out to dinner, which meant missing the game. We got home about the 7th inning and saw the Braves take the lead. When Brock hit that homerun (I think it was off Bedrock) I threw a pillow across the room and let loose with all kinds of profanities. I was then chastised about taking a kids game too seriously by my in-laws, and got a look of total disdain from my wife. Miraculously, somehow everyone continued to watch the game. When Bob went deep, I leaped in the air with great joy, only to hear my mother-in-law say, “All this for just a game!” I went to the den and called a fellow Braves fan I knew from Wisconsin. He said that he was going to call me. One of the great great moments in Braves history. Oh yeah, maybe the last time I watched a baseball game with my inlaws.
@62,
Nice. 😉
73 — Great story!
My father-in-law swore off the Braves after the AAA team left Richmond (they live there).
Game thread up with big news!
Born in the greater Jackson, Mississippi area; now live inside Jackson proper.
Became a Braves fan back in 87 when 7 years old and watched Ozzie Virgil hit a big home run late in the game for the Braves to win.