MLB reports:  Happy New Year everyone!  On this New Year’s Eve, we get reacquainted with an old friend.  Earlier this month, we featured our interview with Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect, Robby Rowland. After getting to know Robby and staying in touch, Robby has been gracious enough to prepare a Guest MLB Blog, exclusively for the Reports. Fans of the game love to interact with its favorite players. But there are fewer bigger rushes that being able to get inside the mind of a player. Today on the Reports, Robby has opened a window into his mind and soul.  We get to meet Robby and learn about his story. From growing up as a 2nd generation ballplayer, to signing with the Dbacks and his experiences during his first two professional seasons. What does a ballplayer do during the offseason to spend his time?  Robby lets us know…and the answer may surprise you.

Featured today on MLB reports, we are proud to present Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect, Robby Rowland and his Guest MLB Blog:

Robby Rowland-  Guest MLB Blog:  First and foremost, I would like to thank Jonathan from MLB reports for giving me the opportunity to write this blog entry. With that being said, I would also like to add as a side note  that I did not go to college. So if the writing in this blog is a little off, then just blame my high school teachers…

For those of you who donʼt know me, I would like to take this time to try to give you guys a clear understanding of who I am. I know when I was growing up, I was always so curious about professional athletes and what they were like. I would always look at each of them as an idol or someone famous. But in reality, us professional athletes are just everyday people. Yes, we might get some media attention and be on TV.  But at the end of the day, we really are just normal people like you. I have always admired the professional athletes who, after big games or TV interviews, would still stay humble. Thatʼs one thing that my parents taught me at a young age. No matter what happens, you have to stay true to who you are.

And once again, I apologize if everything is just thrown into one paragraph. I have so many good ideas on what I want to discuss today and quite frankly, my writing skills are not as good as my pitching skills!

Now to the part where I tell you fans a little bit about myself. Let’s see… I was born in Toledo, Ohio on December 15, 1991. I bet you are wondering why a California kid was born there. Well, my dad was also a professional baseball player before me. He was playing for the Toledo Mud Hens at the time and that year we spent the offseason in Toledo. My dad played parts of 6 years in the big leagues, with the Tigers, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Giants. After I was born, I spent the next several years traveling from ballpark to ballpark. I was very young, so I donʼt remember everything about my old man’s playing days. But I do remember some of the ballparks, especially Fenway! I have some old pictures of my brother and I getting to run the bases at Fenway, but I donʼt quite remember the experience. I do remember getting to go into the clubhouses after games and wait for my dad.

We did end up moving to Cloverdale, CA in 1998. Why you ask? Because this is where my parents grew up and went to school. Cloverdale is a very small town, with a population of about 7,000 people. It has only 1 high school with about 400 students total. It definitely doesnʼt have a variety of restaurants to choose from or many of the big city amenities. I love the small town atmosphere. Everyone knows each other and the people all come to support you in the local high school sport games. It very much enjoyed growing up in this supportive and tight-knit community.

In June 2010, I was drafted in the 3rd round (88th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. What a packed month, as during that month of June I graduated high school, got drafted, made my professional debut and got a girlfriend… talk about a roller coaster ride! I spent my first professional baseball season in Missoula, MT- the Rookie affiliate for the D-Backs. I got to spend that whole summer with my brother, who signed with the D-Backs the day after I did. It was one of the best summers of my life. And a little bit of a blur to say the least!

It is now almost 2012 and I am in my second official offseason. So now the big question: What do Professional Baseball Players do during their time off from baseball? Well this question would be answered differently by a lot of players. During the season, all the players say that they canʼt wait for the season to be over, that it has been such a grind and they just want to rest… or whatever. And once the offseason hits, these same players say: ”Ok, now I got my rest time. Itʼs been great… for about a week. Wow, what am I supposed to do for the next 4 months!” Let me tell you what I do during my offseasons. I am a guy that can never sit still. I got kicked out of a lot of classrooms because I was so restless! So for me to be on my offseason, I am just plain miserable! I love being active to the point that when a day comes that I have nothing scheduled, I just donʼt know what to do with myself! Last offseason, I basically worked out, ran, watched movies, played video games and just chilled. I could not do that again this year. During the current offseason, I forced myself to get a little side job splitting and delivering firewood (editor’s note: what is this guy, Rocky?) that helped out a little bit. But my other job resulted in a broken truck window… I also help with the local boys varsity basketball team. So between all that, working out and running almost every day, this offseason has been a lot better.

Reflecting on my first two seasons in pro ball, things have not gone the way I planned. Actually, the complete opposite. But just because my seasons may not look great on paper and perhaps maybe my ERA doesnʼt show this, the reality is that I have improved a great deal since I started. It is a big adjustment coming from high school to professional ball. Every pitch here counts, whereas in high school, I didnʼt really care where it (each pitch) was going. I just knew people werenʼt going to hit me based on my abilities. I have learned so much during my two years of professional baseball. Not just from a physical stand point, but from the mental side as well. This game can be great to you… or it can tear you apart.  It all depends on how you approach the game.  You have to be mentally strong and bounce back from setbacks to ultimately make it in baseball.

All baseball players know that this is not an easy game. But I refuse to ever give up. What doesnʼt kill you, will only make you stronger. I love this game with a passion. I live and breathe baseball. My favorite saying is “Baseball is life, the rest is just details.” I know that I am so fortunate to have received the opportunity to live the life of a baseball player. There is nothing I would rather be doing right now. So just because I had a couple of slow seasons, it does not mean that I will give up. I will continue to battle and work hard until I have thrown my last pitch. “I have the opportunity to make my dream become a reality.”

Well I hope this wasnʼt too much of a mess and you guys got to know me a little bit better. If any of you have any questions at all, please feel free to tweet me. I love to interact with fans! If you guys donʼt know this already I am a very sociable guy. Thanks for your time. Hope to be back soon!

Robby Rowland