I’m quickly closing in on a decade of pitching professionally, which is way more impressive than it seems to get credit for.

Granted, I consider any point where someone not related to me gave me money for my actions on the field. So my summer in the Cape Cod League counts since technically I was ‘paid’ for pitching.

But I’ve been in the Bigs long enough to believe that my days of riding a bus from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Omaha, Nebraska are over.

But I’m not a true veteran. As a reliever that’s not a closer, you can never really feel like your place is truly secure. I mean, most of us are failed starters that recognized early on that it would be easier in the bullpen than continuing to attempt to impress scouts despite already showcasing whatever deficiency caused them to give up on us already.

I’ve known some guys that used that as motivation and made changes like developing a new pitch. The number of those guys that succeeded and achieved the spot they so desired is few and far between.

I said I know a guy, not that it was a smart move.

Because the sooner you realize what you’re not good at and shift yourself away from that going forward, the better off you are.