2006 Fantasy Camp Diary

Preparing for Camp

by Meg Goldsmith for Kerry 

Kerry's Fantasy Camp adventure actually began in December.  Through long and painful experience, Kerry has learned that he needs to be baseball shape, not just good cardiovascular shape, to withstand the rigors of Fantasy Camp.  The first year Kerry went to camp (1999) he developed severe tendonitis in his throwing shoulder because his body wasn't used to all the throws he had to make.  Two games a day will do that to someone used to playing a middle infield position!  But in 1999 he wound up playing first base because he couldn't throw the ball at all by the end of camp.  When he got home, he saw someone with a background in sports medicine and got some shoulder-specific exercises which he continues to do to this day.  The result is that he has built up his throwing arm enough that he now pitches as well as play third base, shortstop and, on occasion, center field.

The other thing he learned in going to camp is that stretching alone is not enough to keep his quadriceps from "barking" at him due to all the starts and stops he makes while on the basepaths.  A few years ago Kerry joined a gym with an indoor track and he started running sprints after his weight workouts every other day.  The result:  He stopped needing to go to the trainers room to rub out his quads every morning.  So now part of his pre-camp preparations involve running sprints every other day during the 3-4 weeks prior to camp.

This year, for the first time in several years, he found someone to throw with as well as take live BP against.  The guy's name is Dave and it turned out that Dave was ambidextrous.  Dave is involved in several semi-pro leagues in the Chicago suburbs and has a membership to the White Sox training facility so he took Kerry in as his guest close to every other day for the months of December and January.  Dave works out daily.  Kerry has never been as prepared to see live pitching as this year due to all the BP against Dave.  However, one thing he learned is that while Dave can throw from both sides of the rubber, his accuracy is much better when he's pitching right-handed than when he's left-handed. 

After all of that preparation work, Kerry flew down to Tampa on Friday afternoon and rented a car to make the drive to Sarasota.  He refuses to take a connecting flight and there are no direct flights from Chicago to Sarasota.  He got in last night and was going to meet David Berson (davidwb on the message board) Saturday morning prior to the arrival of the veterans.  The Veteran's Tournament takes place Sat. and Sun. while rookies are being evaluated.  Regular play begins on Monday after teams are chosen.  Due to all his hard work heading into camp, Kerry has become one of the more sought after regulars and the pros who run the teams know him and fight to get him on their team.