HELLO ARIZONA

Greetings from Goodyear, Arizona! How is everyone doing? I've now been out at Spring Training for over a month, so I think it's about time to check in with everyone. So far I have really enjoyed my time with my new team. I honestly don't think I've met anyone within the organization that I haven't liked. The atmosphere around the facility is one of the best I have seen in my eight seasons of professional baseball. When we are on the field we've been working very hard preparing for the upcoming season, but we are able to do so while keeping things loose and fun at the same time. Here is the Major League side of camp giving a quick example of what I'm talking about.

This is by far the best Harlem Shake video I have seen from a professional baseball team. Anyways, one of the best parts of traveling out West for Spring Training every year  is going from 20 degree weather in Boston to the 80 degree weather in Arizona. Below is a picture of the weather both here in Arizona and back home the day I arrived. It is really strange to go from wearing three layers of clothing and sledding to wearing shorts and a t-shirt and sweating as you walk down the street.

I was actually reading in the bookstore one of the first few days I was down here when a man in his 40's walked into the store shivering wearing a sweatshirt, pants, and winter hat. "It's absolutely freezing outside!!!" he yelled. To be fair, it was the coldest day we have had since I've arrived, but this was the weather at the exact moment he walked into the store.

If that was the weather in Boston there would have been people heading to the beach for the day, including this guy!

Enough about the weather. Lets talk about driving for a minute. The way the streets are set up out here in Arizona is absolutely ridiculous.  There is nowhere to turn your car around and go in the opposite direction if you realize your headed in the wrong direction or just feel like going the other way. There are no U-turns allowed anywhere. Seriously, every turn has a no U-turn sign. The problem is, in order to get to the field after I come out of my hotel parking lot I need to turn my car around and head in the opposite direction. Because I have no idea where I am going I usually will take the illegal U-turn at the first turn available to me. At 7 AM there are really no cars on the road anyways, so I figured it was no big deal. Until I did it my first week down here and got pulled over.

I was sentenced to attend Defensive Driving School. The cost was $200 and I had to take a four hour class, three quizzes, and a quick final exam. Seems a bit excessive for making a U-turn, but what do I know.

It's pretty shitty that I actually took notes during class and still only scored an 88%. The good news is that I passed and can now get back to baseball. As far as baseball goes, we have been practicing as a team for a few weeks now. I have gone to about 10 to 12 Major League games, playing both 3rd and 2nd base during my time over there. Our two week Minor League spring training schedule starts tomorrow so I am excited about that. I've received a lot of questions from people asking me where I will end up playing this year, but right now I really can't say. I think a lot of it will be determined by how I continue to play over the next few weeks. Once I find out I will be sure to let everyone know. Well, it's nine o'clock, which is past my bed time, so I will talk to everyone soon and fill you in on how things are looking. Take care! 

BASEBALL SEASON IS UPON US

Hey what's going on everyone? This is always the craziest time of year for me. I will be leaving for Spring Training in a few weeks, so I've been really busy getting myself ready to head out to Arizona. With all my time taken up with working out, hitting, fielding, and working with youth players, I've fallen behind on my writing.

As many of you probably already know by now, I recently signed with the Cleveland Indians. I appreciate all the good luck wishes I have received on Facebook and Twitter and through email. I am really looking forward to joining my fifth team as a professional and can't wait to see what this season brings. Our Spring Training facility is located in Goodyear, Arizona, meaning I'll be back out west for the first time in two years. It will be fun to play against some of the teams I was so used to playing during my five years with the Padres. It will also be the first time I will play against San Diego since leaving two years ago. It will be nice catching up with some former teammates and fans that I had during my stay there. If you are in the area make sure to stop by a game or practice and say hello!

Over the last few months I have been working really hard with our youth players from my home state of Massachusetts trying to help them improve their game. I know when I am done playing I will go into coaching, so it has been a great learning experience for me dealing with so many young ballplayers. Here is a video of one of our many clinics we have put together over the last few months.




Besides trying to teach baseball I've obviously been working on my own game as well. This is actually my first off-season in a very long time that I did not have surgery and could work out as much as I've wanted the entire winter. Last off-season after coming off wrist surgery I was really only able to hit a few times before I flew out to Spring Training. I quickly learned how important it is to be able to put in a full workload during the winter after I got off to a very slow start to Spring Training and was never really able to get my swing working. Here are a few clips of me hitting over the last few months. (Please excuse my videographer for falling over at the 25 second mark, as it is very tough to stay in a knelling position for more than 30 seconds without losing your balance and landing on your face)




Although I've had a lot of fun working around baseball this winter, I also have had some tough moments to deal with. For one, having to witness the Patriots get knocked out of the playoffs to the Baltimore Ravens.  The worst part about it is that Laura and I traveled down to watch the game. It was my first time at a Pats game in a few years, and it was Laura's first ever Patriots game. We were lucky enough to receive tickets from a great family that is investing in the agency that represents me. Although it was a tough loss, we both had a great time meeting new people and enjoying the game from some of the best seats in the house. You can see from me being the only one still sitting in their seat fifteen minutes after the game ended that it took a little while for me to get over the loss.

Anyways, it's time for me to get going to my workout. I only have a few weeks to go until I head out for Spring Training so there's not much time to waste. I hope you all have a great weekend and I will talk to you later!

PLUNGE 4 PETE

I want to thank everyone once again for their donations to help Strike Out ALS at the 1st annual "Plunge 4 Pete." With all of your help we were able to add an additional $1,375 to the fund. To show my gratitude and thanks to all of you that donated I busted out my Hooters outfit to take the plunge. Below is the video of the event and my outfit. Thanks again!

HELP STRIKE OUT ALS!

Hey guys! On this Saturday we will be taking a "Plunge 4 Pete" into Good Harbor Beach to raise money for my friend Pete Frates who was diagnosed with ALS over a year ago. I will be auctioning off my Rawlings baseball glove and giving the proceeds to Pete and his fund. Find out how you can bid for the glove in the video below!


    


You can place your bid starting now until midnight tomorrow, Thursday, December 27. You can place your bid at any of the following places.

My personal email account - Mattantonelli9@gmail.com

My Twitter account - https://twitter.com/MattAntonelli9

Here are the rules again!

1) Minimum bid is set at $200

2) Highest bid wins!

3) You are only allowed to bid one time and only the highest bid will be announced

4) Send your name, bid amount, and email address to contact you if you win.

Good luck!

BOSTON.COM

Here's a recent article in the paper about how crazy this past season was and about a lot of the work I've been doing with young baseball players in my area. Enjoy!

Matt Antonelli shoots video of a batter’s swing at Route 1 SportsPlex in Danvers.

Peabody’s Antonelli passing on what he learned as a pro

By Maureen Mullen

Globe Correspondent /  December 12, 2012

For now, Matt Antonelli has hopped off the roller-coaster ride that was the 2012 season and settled on familiar ground: the Route 1 baseball complex in Danvers where he worked out as a kid himself.

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• Photos: Peabody star passes on what he’s learned in pro baseball

Antonelli, who turns 28 in April, struggled with injuries and illness while playing in the Orioles and Yankees systems. He appeared in just 44 games, and in July he was released by New York.

The Peabody native and St. John’s Prep star who was the Padres’ first pick (17th overall) out of Wake Forest University in 2006 will answer the call if a team chooses to sign him for next season. He tells of his marketing hook with the humor that typifies his blog at www.mattantonelli.com: His last three organizations (he was with the Nationals in 2011) all went to the postseason in 2012.

“I don’t know if I’m good luck or it’s good luck when a team has me and then gets rid of me,” he said with a laugh.

For now, he’s working out, giving lessons, and coaching at Route 1 SportsPlex,known as Strike One when Antonelli was a kid. He’d like to go into coaching — preferably at the college level — if his playing days are over.

“I’ve worked with different teams in the past,” Antonelli said. “My dad [Jack, an assistant baseball coach at St. John’s] has coached a lot and usually I’ll help out his team during the offseason. But this is the first time where I’m actually working with all the teams, ages 9 through 15 . . . so this is good practice for me, I guess.”

Antonelli was an outstanding three-sport athlete at St. John’s. He was named the 2003 Massachusetts Player of the Year in both football and hockey, and was the runner-up in baseball to another Peabody native, Jeff Allison.

He made his major league debut with the Padres in 2008, appearing in 21 games, and recording his first hit in his first at-bat, off future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. After that, he was sidetracked by injuries, but he rebounded and was named an International League All-Star when he hit .297 in 2011 with Washington’s Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y.

After signing a free-agent contract with the Orioles in November 2011, he played for Triple-A Norfolk. But when the O’s needed room on their roster in May, he was waived and claimed by the Yankees.

Living in various hotels — and out of his car — because the Yankees’ Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre affiliate was without a home while PNC Field in Moosic, Pa., was being rebuilt, he appeared in just 15 games before he was released. While he was hoping to catch on with another team, Antonelli developed an ailment that caused dizziness, fatigue, ringing in his ears, and nausea, causing him to lose about 10 pounds in three weeks. While most of the symptoms have subsided, he still has ringing in his ears.

“I guess I kind of try to learn something and take something out of it, even if it’s a really bad season,” Antonelli said. “But the thing I actually liked about last season was that moving from one organization to the other, you kind of get to learn some things. Sometimes when you’re in the same organization you kind of hear the same philosophy over and over again.

“In Baltimore I was around a lot of really good coaches, and then I went to the Yankees and learned a lot more stuff with those guys. So that’s the one good thing I think I took out of it, just meeting new players and new coaches and learning new stuff and making new friends.”

He got married recently and has a new home in Georgetown. While some athletes are reluctant to talk about a post-playing-days plan, he is not.

“I guess if it was something different, maybe if I was going into something like finance or something like that, maybe I wouldn’t think about it while I’m playing,” he said. “But really I guess while I’m coaching I’m still basically in the same area. . . .

“But, it’s good. I enjoy it. I enjoy being around all the kids and being around baseball.”

MARRIED LIFE

Hey what's going on everyone? It's time to get back on track and start pumping out some blog posts again. As many of you know, the last two months have been two of the busiest months of my life. Last month I got married in Boston to my girlfriend of six years. It was a great night with our family and friends, and it was awesome to see so many former teammates from all over the country that I hadn't seen in quite some time.

After the wedding, we spent almost ten days in Italy for our honeymoon. It was our first time in Italy and since both of our families are from there we have always wanted to visit. We spent just about a week on the Amalfi Coast, which is a beautiful stretch of coastline in Southern Italy. I had actually never even heard of the Amalfi Coast before, but thanks to Laura and her love / obsession of Pinterest, she knows what every island, peninsula, mountain, and valley in the world looks like. Once I saw the pictures I knew I would love it, and I did. It really was the prettiest place I've ever been to. Here is a shot of Positano, one of the small towns we stayed in.

Everything about Italy was great. The people were super nice, even though I couldn't understand a damn word any of them said. The food was amazing! I ate pizza and pasta at just about every single meal. And I ate enough gelato to kill a small horse. I'm serious. This is what it looked like after every single meal. 

When I told the guy I wanted the biggest cone in Italy he looked at me like I was an idiot, but after searching the place for a few minutes he found me this monster. It turned out being the best six scoops of dessert I've ever had.

Anyways, enough about the food. We were also able to spend some time in Pompeii where we got to see Mount Vesuvius. We took a boat to the island of Capri, another very cool spot in Southern Italy. And we spent a few days in Rome where we were able to check out great historical sites like the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, and much more. I also had to make sure I checked out a Roman McDonald's, just to make sure they didn't have any awesome kind of burger or chicken nuggets that I had no idea about.

Overall the trip was great, but it was good to get home and finally speak some English and eat some American food again. Since being home, it's been back to baseball and getting ready for next season. I recently signed with a new team but I don't want to say who it was just yet because I haven't actually physically signed anything. Hopefully I receive the contract soon and this isn't just a big joke on me. 

My fantasy football playoffs started last night and I have to give a shout out to my followers on Twitter. I wasn't sure who to start as my RB2 between Steven Ridley, Bryce Brown, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. After taking a quick poll I went with BJGE and was rewarded with 17 points. I appreciate the help!

I also cut down a Christmas tree for the first time in my life, which is surprising because I may be the worst handyman of all-time. I have no clue how to use a saw, drill, wrench, and even struggle with a tape measure at times. Last year I actually bought a drill to do some work around the house. After attempting to hang up a bookcase and putting six more holes in the wall than was probably necessary, Laura banned me from using any type of power tool in the house or near small children.

I know what you're thinking. That's the smallest tree you've ever seen and your eight year old sister could have cut it down faster than I did. Well it was my first time so back off!!!

Well, I hope everyone is having a great end to their fall and has a great holiday season. I promise now that a lot of the craziness is done I will be back to writing again, and I will let everyone know where I will be playing next season once I sign my contract. Take care!

I'M KICKING MY ASS...

So, I wanted to title this blog M.I.A again, but that would be about the fourth M.I.A titled blog post in a row, and I don't think that's allowed. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get on here and speak with you guys, but don't you worry. I've decided to punish myself the only way I felt appropriate. By kicking my ass!  Here's a video of me early this morning.

Hopefully this makes up for my absence. Anyways, the last month or so has been pretty hectic. As many of you know I will be getting married in less than a month. I can't believe it is already here. I hear the real craziness begins about a week or so before the wedding. I can't wait! To make the next month a little crazier we will be traveling to Aruba to be in one of my good friends weddings. I wish I could say it will be a great time for me to get a little pre-wedding tan, but this is what happened a few weeks ago when I decided to go outside without a shirt on for more than ten minutes.

My friends always like to remind me that, "the sun is free!" and tell me to go outside and get a tan. Well, this is what happens when you listen to them. The sun may be free, but the damn aloe ended up costing me $20.00!

On to baseball! How about this season?! I've been up in Boston for the last month and I'm surprised Fenway Park is still in one piece. I'm just glad it's almost the end of the year so I don't have to listen to people yelling about them every two minutes. I honestly couldn't escape it. The doctor's office, the grocery store, Forever 21. Everywhere I went there was someone talking about the Red Sox. I actually heard one guy saying that the Red Sox should try to convince Bill Belichick to become manager. And he was dead serious because the conversation went on for about twenty minutes.

Also, how about the Orioles, Yankees, and Nationals? I'm telling you, there is something about my old organizations. I'm not sure if I'm a good luck charm, or I'm a good luck charm once I'm traded away or released, but the last three organizations I've played with are all going to the playoffs. One of them hasn't been there in fifteen years and the other hasn't been there in over twenty! Congrats to those guys! And if your the Kansas City Royals, it's been 27 years, and I'm a free agent. I'm just sayin'!

Well, other than that it's about that time I start getting busy with baseball lessons, and before you know it I'll be starting to hit regularly preparing for next season. As of right now I am a free agent and can't sign with a team until at least November. A lot of people keep asking me what's going to happen, and I honestly have no idea. We will just have to wait and see, but I will keep everyone updated with how things are going. Until then, I hope everyone has a great week and I will speak with you all later!

M.I.A

Hey, what's going on everyone? This is officially the longest amount of time I've gone without writing on here. I've received so many emails and Twitter messages asking me where the hell I've gone, I finally decided to open the blinds, come out of my basement, and write a post.

The last month or so has been one of the craziest of my career, and that's saying something considering I've had more crazy shit happen to me than happens during an episode of Real Housewives. And that's a lot of crazy shit!

*Crazy shit about to happen* 

Let's start back about a month ago. I was taken off the disabled list for the first time in almost two months. After coming off the DL, I made four starts at first base over a stretch of about two weeks. Considering I had never played first base in my life, and our roster was really full of players at my positions, I was beginning to get the feeling that things may not work out in Scranton. On July 28th, I believe it was, I was called into the manager's office and told I had been released for the first time in my career. I know a lot of people have felt bad for me and asked if I was alright. Honestly, I had a pretty good idea that a move was coming, considering my playing time was extremely sporadic and there just wasn't any room for me there.

Since being released, I was set to sign with a new team to finish the year, but randomly came down with the oddest sickness of my life. I had a terrible case of ringing in my ears, so bad that I couldn't sleep more than two hours a night. If you can't imagine what it would be like to hear such a sound, this will give you a good idea.

Other than constantly hearing Lloyd Christmas scream into my inner ear, I was constantly dizzy, had no desire to eat anything, and really didn't feel like I could even get off the couch. I lost about ten pounds over the three weeks and am just now starting to eat again and get back to working out. My ears are still a little messed up, but overall I feel about 100 times better than I did a few weeks ago. It will only be a matter of time before I get all my strength back and start feeling like myself again, and hopefully more like this kid.

Anyways, you put all this together and that's why I haven't been online in quite some time. I've been asked a lot what my next move is going to be and if any teams are going to pick me up. I actually have no idea what the future holds for me. Right now I am preparing for next season the way I usually do. This has been such a crazy year that I am going to try to learn from it and then try to move on and bury it about 3000 miles below ground never to be seen or heard from again. I would love to stay and chat but I have a fantasy draft to prepare for and Madden 2013 came out today, which is always a great day. I hope you all enjoy your day and have a great Labor Day weekend!