Chad Tracy Featured by Examiner.com
8/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Todd Newville, Examiner.com
Slugger Chad Tracy is having a marvelous season at the plate this year for the Frisco RoughRiders by almost anyone’s estimation – except his own.
Tracy is tied for first in home runs in the Texas League with Chris Carter of the Midland Rockhounds with 22 dingers. Tracy is also second in runs batted in behind Andrew Locke of Corpus Christi (103) with 96. Through August 16th, Tracy is hitting .273 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .478 slugging percentage.
Despite being near or at the top in several offensive categories in the Texas League, the 24-year-old Tracy doesn’t seem very impressed with his performance. Maybe that’s because he’s established such high standards for himself.
“It’s been alright,” Tracy said recently. “I had a tough month in June and it seems like I’m just starting to come out of my funk and get going again. I guess I’m happy with what I’ve done so far, but I also know I can do much better to try and learn something that helps the team win. Whenever you become satisfied in baseball, then you’re in trouble because it’s a humbling game.”
Tracy (born July 4, 1985, in Arlington Heights, Ill.) is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound first baseman this year for the ‘Riders, the Double A minor league affiliate for the Texas Rangers. He’s always shown a penchant for power and production throughout his minor league career. In 2006 with Class A Spokane (Wash.) of the short-season Northwest League, he had 11 homers in 66 games.
In 2007, Tracy had 14 homers and 84 ribbies with Class A Clinton (Iowa) and was a starter in the Midwest League All-Star Game that year. Last year, he had 13 homers and 67 RBI for Bakersfield (Calif.) in the California League before getting the call up to Frisco, where he hit a robust .344 in just 24 contests.
“You always have to keep trying to get better and that’s what the great ones do,” Tracy said. “That’s what I’m aiming for. I want to be the best player I can be to help my team win. That’s what it’s all about – winning.”
Tracy’s winning attitude comes from his father, Jim, who is currently the manager of the Colorado Rockies. The elder Tracy played a couple of seasons with the Chicago Cubs in the early 1980s, and then he embarked on a minor league managing career. In 2001, he was named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With the Dodgers, Tracy guided them to the 2004 National League West Division title with a 93-69 record. He has also piloted the Pittsburgh Pirates and currently has an overall 608-596 managerial record over six seasons.
“Being around him on the field as a little kid was great,” Chad said. “I certainly learned a lot. That was always a great experience for me as a young kid to be around the players and that atmosphere – guys like Barry Bonds and Paul Lo Duca and others. Man, what a great time!”
The younger Tracy is a jack of all trades on defense. He’s versatile and can play the outfield as well as first base. He also can adorn the shin guards, chest protector and mask behind the dish as Frisco’s catcher if needed in a pinch. After all, he was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award when he was a senior at Pepperdine in 2006.
“It’s always good to be able to play more than one spot on the field,” Tracy said. “In college, I was a catcher and since I’ve been drafted (in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft,) I have played a lot of outfield and first base. If I can hit the way I’m capable of, then playing more than one position on the diamond is only going to help me in the long run if I want to make it to the big leagues.”
Tracy took over first base for Frisco when top-rated prospect Justin Smoak was promoted to the Triple A Oklahoma City Redhawks in July. Tracy and Smoak were close friends, even though they were only together at Frisco for a short spell.
“Yeah, we’re close even though I just met him last fall after he was drafted,” Tracy said. “We played together in the Arizona Fall League and he’s just a great teammate. When you have a friend of that caliber and see him move on – a guy that cares about his teammates – you’re always glad to see him make the next step up the ladder. Everybody in the clubhouse loved him and we were all happy for him to see him make that step up.”
Like Smoak, Tracy is also probably one step closer to his dreams of big league stardom - based on his performance this campaign. For now, Tracy’s just content trying to help Frisco make the post-season in September. Currently, the RoughRiders are in second place in the South Division at 26-23, just 2-1/2 games behind the Midland Rockhounds (28-20) for the second-half title in the Texas League and a spot in the playoffs.
“Our hitting and pitching has been coming around lately,” Tracy said. “When you win, it’s fun because you come to the park everyday with a smile on your face. I hope we can keep building on this because, when we click on all cylinders, we’re tough to beat.”
