Prospect Interview: The Chronicles of Reddick, Part I |

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Prospect Interview: The Chronicles of Reddick, Part I

By Administrator | January 1, 2009

Outfielder Josh Reddick, 21, hails from Effingham County, Georgia, which is located approximately twenty miles north of the magnificent, antebellum city of Savannah.

I met him for the first time this past summer (on July 30th) in the dugout at Merchants Auto dot com Stadium, in Manchester, NH. After following his exploits in Greenville (Low-A) and Lancaster (High-A) over the previous two seasons, I must confess that I was surprised by how slight of stature he is… generously listed in the media guide at 6’2”, 180, he seems a bit smaller in person.

Red Sox outfield prospect is always “on” when he is on the diamond… here he watches a Peoria Seguaros pitcher from the dugout during 2008 AFL action. SOX1FAN photo.

I spoke with him on four separate occasions over the next four months, twice in formal interviews and twice in ‘gab sessions’ in the dugout (I spoke with him most recently in Peoria, AZ, in November). He is an extremely amiable young man but, at the age of twenty-one, he seems almost too serious on the baseball diamond. While he is quiet and appropriately studious in his approach to the game, I have seen him lose his temper in the dugout when he has struggled.

He is VERY intense.

During Arizona Fall League action in Peoria, I was in the dugout one evening as he struggled. After hitting a weak fly ball and a pair of soft grounders to first base, he went down the corridor towards the clubhouse and took out his frustration – very briefly – on an unsuspecting trash barrel. After the moment passed, he returned to the area adjacent to the dugout and watched himself in a full-length mirror as he took swings… he did this for the remainder of that half-inning and for the entirety of the following visitor’s at-bat. He spoke with a Scottsdale Scorpions teammate about needing to stay back… about slowing down his lower half (see the interview). He worked on that one aspect of his swing until his next at-bat.

He launched the second pitch of his next plate appearance into the Arizona night for a LONG home run.
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S1F: Were you a huge baseball fan when you were growing up?

JR: Oh yeah, baseball’s been my thing since I was four years old.

My dad played baseball growing up and he got me interested in the game. When I was around a year old he got electrocuted… he actually died and had to be resuscitated. He dedicated his life afterwards to helping me become a baseball player and living out my dream of making it to the big leagues.

Since I was about five years old, whenever anyone asked me what I want to do with my life I told them I want to be a professional baseball player. People would often tell me that I couldn’t rely on making it to the pros, but I would just tell them that I’m going to be a professional baseball player. I never had a back-up plan. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

S1F: Did your dad play pro ball?

JR: No. He played baseball in high school and then played men’s league softball… then (he was electrocuted). He just loves the game so much. He coached me and my brother growing up, and he coached my sisters… he loved the game so much that he just kept with it. And in spite of the (severe) injuries he suffered in his accident, he still taught us how to hit.

S1F: Is your dad the most important person in your development as a ballplayer?

JR: Absolutely. He and Tony Kirkland, my high school coach from 11th and 12th grade at South Effingham High School.

S1F: When you came out of high school you went straight to JUCO as opposed to a four-year school… why?

JR: I wasn’t scouted very heavily coming out of high school. I knew I didn’t want to go pro right out of high school, but I knew I didn’t want to go to a four-year school either. I didn’t really work very hard at the educational part of school. I knew if I went to a four-year school I wouldn’t have gotten much done in the classroom, and I figured it wouldn’t have helped me any more athletically. I had heard that a JUCO was a great draft opportunity, so I figured I would go to a JUCO and see what I could do there.

The college I went to, Middle Georgia, is actually a great college to get drafted out of… I’ve seen a few guys who have gone to the big leagues from there and a few other guys got drafted out of there… So I figured I would go there and give that a shot for a couple of years. It worked out.

S1F: And so you went to Middle Georgia and became the conference’s “Player of the Year”…

JR: Yeah. When I look back I realize that JUCO was really pretty easy. The pitchers didn’t know how to get you out – they would just try to blow fastballs by you.

S1F: Going into the 2006 draft, did you have any expectations for where you might be selected? What was your draft day experience like?

JR: Yeah, actually I did. The Red Sox and Angels both told me that I would get drafted somewhere around the seventh round and I was set for that. When that didn’t happen I got really frustrated. I was listening to the draft on-line at the place where my mom works, and when I wasn’t picked and it started getting later (in the draft) I kinda got mad. I went home and quit listening.

But about twenty minutes after I got home I got a call from my buddy and he said “Congratulations! You were drafted in the seventeenth round”. And then Jason McLeod (the Sox amateur scouting director) called me and said they were really happy to get me. Then my agent called me and said they offered $60,000 to sign. Right away I said “No, I’m gonna go back to college”, and they were like “Okay, we understand”.

That summer I went off and played in a wooden bat league and I did real well. I played against Team USA and faced Ross Detwiler, who (eventually) was the sixth overall pick and who’s a left-hander. I had three hits and hit a home run off him. There were twenty or more scouts there for the game, including the guy who scouted me for the Sox (Rob English). I was really flying under the radar until that happened. My agent called Jason MacLeod (the Red Sox scouting director) and said “you’d better sign this guy now before someone else gets him”. So the Red Sox made me a new offer and I signed.

S1F: How do you find the minor league routine?

JR: It’s tough. You do the same thing every day for six months. You have to have the right mind-set or it wears you out. You’ve got to know how to eat right and take care of yourself mentally.

S1F: What’s your daily routine like?

JR: I get to the ballpark early. I do a little tee work, and then go in the cage and work on going the other way… then I tell my pitching coach to mix it up and he throws me the ball and I let my hands react. After that I go into the outfield and work on getting my reads.

S1F: This year you played in Greenville and Lancaster and Portland. Was the instruction you received within the Red Sox organization consistent from level to level?

JR: Well, it’s consistent, but it’s different. In Low-A, you’re still the young guy trying to develop and mature into the game. Once you get out of Low-A it’s more laid back. Once you get promoted they believe you’re mature enough to handle things the way that you should.

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Amateur Scouting Director Jason McLeod wrote the following on the Sons of Sam Horn website:

Reddick played junior college in Georgia and led the state in hitting at the JC level. He’s a lefty hitter who we drafted with the intention of following him while he played in Georgia. He played against Team USA and put on a show against (potential first-rounder) Ross Detwiler. He hit a home run off of him to centerfield. We kept following him and determined that if he did go back into the draft it was going to cost us more, so we signed him late.

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Reddick Interview Part II

Reddick Interview Part III

Topics: Sox Prospect Interviews, Sox Prospects |

4 Responses to “Prospect Interview: The Chronicles of Reddick, Part I”

SeaBeachFred Says:
January 1st, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I’ve heard some great things about Josh Reddick and apparently he stands real tall with the Red Sox brass as a future Red Sox outfielder. I will be following him closely this coming season as he works his way up the ladder. I want to see if he can hit lefthanded pitching, always a test for a young left handed hitter, and whether his power numbers develop enough to make him the successor to J.D. Drew. Needless to say, unless he get floored by a big offer for a standout star pitcher or a terrific all star type hitter this kid goes nowhere but to Fenway Park.
Prospect Interview: The Chronicles of Reddick, Part Three | Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
[...] on Josh Reddick… Happy New Year to members of SOX1FANation. You can find Part One of the series here, and Part Two of the series [...]
stickem43 Says:
February 9th, 2009 at 4:48 am
How do I find part 2?
Prospect Interview: The Chronicles of Reddick, Part Two | Says:
February 28th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
[...] Reddick Interview Part I [...]