Joey Ballgame Is Ready To Play (Continued from Page Two ...)

The Right Frame of Mind

Thurston’s goals are not set in mechanics or records, but in developing the right frame of mind. Joe thinks he achieved that frame of mind during the record 2002 season, and wants to keep it going. “I went into it last year with the attitude that, if I go out there and have fun and play hard, everything will take care of itself.”

The mantra of take it easy and play hard belies an athlete who is intensely focused on the details of his own mechanics. “I’m never satisfied with my game. I think that, if I do the little things better, every day, then my all-around game will be better.”

Developing good habits in his junior college days made entry to the minors much easier.

“In the minor leagues it wasn’t that hard for me because all my work ethic was instilled in me early, in junior college and high school. They had us working so hard that when I came out here I said ‘Man, this is all we have to do?’”

In an era where visible ego and self-confidence are prized, Thurston is one of a handful of young players to quietly return to the more modest, workman-like attitudes of bygone greats of the game. His ultimate goal for the season is to “go out there and win as many ballgames as I can help my team win. I’m real big on being a team player.”

Playing For Memories

Thurston is very pragmatic about his career. He knows that time in baseball is all too short, and that he has to make the most out of it every day. “You’re never guaranteed tomorrow, in life and especially in baseball. I don’t want to look back, after the game, and say if I would have just ran a little harder or played a little harder then I would have achieved some kind of way. I don’t want to look at it that way.”

It’s an achievement just to be a member of the much-vaunted Dodger farm system, a fact that does not escape Thurston.

More importantly, Joe the team player wants people to know, in the Fox-Dodger era, that the farm system, while less drawn upon than with the O’Malley Dodgers, is alive and well and busting with other great talent worth a look-see.

“It’s an honor to be in this organization. People don’t realize how good our minor league organization is, how good the players are. A lot of times when you get to the big leagues you see a lot of guys who hadn’t been in the organization the whole time. There are so many great players that have potential. A lot of people overlook that. It’s a good thing to be in an organization that has a good minor league organization. There’s so much good talent [that] you’re always competing against [them]. You’re always going to be on good teams because you have good talent.”

A View of the Mother Ship From Inner Space

When asked how he thinks the 51s are doing, Thurston replies “I’m very happy with our team play. We’ve won a lot of games. We’re the type of team that [are] not going to hit a lot of home runs, but we’re going to do the little things right. We’ve done the little things well enough to win some ballgames.”

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next Page