Gregor has had a unique perspective as he has seen many different aspects of three different levels of the organization in three very different venues this season. His whirlwind season and his thoughts on what he saw this season were the subjects of my interview with him last Friday in Corpus Christi.
Conrad Gregor - August 2014
Photo by Jayne Hansen
I first asked him about his incredible season and he said, "I just try to go out there and play my game. I started out the year in Quad Cities and I just kind of moved up the totem pole. I think every level I moved up, there was a different challenge, but I think just my work ethic, my grind and just my mental attitude helped propel me through, this being my first full season and everything, just to go out there and give it all I've got [and] just try to get better in all facets of my game."
Since Gregor saw so many different players at the three levels this season, I asked him who stood out. He responded, "At Quad Cities, Brett Phillips ... young guy, 19 years old being able to do what he did this year. Had a great year. Just getting called up [to] Lancaster. Obviously, putting up great numbers. He stood out. At Lancaster, there were a lot of great players ... Teoscar [Hernandez], [Carlos] Correa, [Lance] McCullers, [Roberto] Pena, down the line. Pretty good team, pretty good experience there.
"And then here [at Corpus Christi], everybody's good. You have to be good to be in AA. I just want to thank the Astros for giving me the opportunity to play the game of baseball. You can't take it for granted. You're only promised today. I just want to thank them and thank God for the opportunity. Playing against great competition. It's just been a lot of fun this year."
Of the different ballparks, Gregor told me, "Me playing at three levels this year, I got to experience a lot of different climates, starting out in the Midwest in April. It's pretty cold. It gets down in the 30's with flurries. We had a lot of inclement weather. Lot of rain delays. Lot of postponement games. So that was definitely an experience for me. But being from Indiana, I was kind of used to that kind of weather so it didn't really affect me a lot, but it had some effect on players who weren't used to that weather.
"And then Lancaster, definitely a climate change going to games in the 90's with a lot of wind, lot of sunshine, not a lot of clouds. It was definitely a mind-opening experience just to be able to go out there. When you see a cloud, it's almost like once in a blue moon. It was fun out there. I had a lot of fun playing with guys that I've heard of and obviously Tony [Kemp] coming from Vanderbilt, that was a lot of fun.
"At each level, there's a different atmosphere that the coaching staff brings and I just want to thank my managers ... [Manager] Omar Lopez and [Hitting Coach] Joel Chimelis from Quad Cities and Rodney [Lancaster Manager Rodney Linares], D-Rob [Lancaster Hitting Coach Darryl Robinson] and Ramon [Lancaster Infield Coach Ramon Vazquez] ... the ship they run out there is great and they really helped me better my game and just gave me a few pointers here and there to help me excel.
"And then here [in Corpus Christi], you've got the bridge in Quad Cities and here, and then you've got the wind blowing out to left. And obviously, you get a great crowd here and the Texas League being a good, predominant established AA league, you get great fans at every place you go. So it's just been a great year for me."
I asked Gregor if there is any good-natured rivalry between him and Vanderbilt/Astro teammate Tony Kemp. He responded, "Me and Tony go back to when I first stepped on campus in Vanderbilt. We're obviously very close and probably know too much about each other. Every time I see him have success, I'm happy for him and when a call doesn't go his way, I'm up on the front step yelling. I just want to see him do the best. He's had a great, great year and a great start to his career as well. And it's great just to be able to go out there and play with him. And when I'm not playing with him and he's moved up, it's always something to shoot for because he's a great teammate, a great friend of mine and a teammate and friend of mine for life. Being able to play in the same organization with him is just a dream come true. Going out there and playing the same side of the infield in professional baseball ... that doesn't happen a lot so hopefully we just keep on moving up together and maybe [some day], we may get that chance to play on the same team in the big leagues together. That would be great."
Gregor isn't just another pretty bat in the lineup either. Many may not realize that he is a plus defender at first base as well. For the season to date, Gregor has a .995 fielding percentage and a 9.11 range factor. In 100 games at first this season, he has only committed five errors (his first error at AA came last night in his 25th game for the team). Of his defense, he told me, "I just pride myself on being able to catch every baseball and make the rest of the infield look good. My job as a first baseman is to just, when they throw the ball and have to make that hard play, being able to pick them up when the throw isn't perfect. But, for the most part, with the great players in this organization, it kind of makes my job easy. They tend to throw the ball at the chest a lot.
"I take pride in my defense. I work on it a lot every day in early work and in batting practice. Just like hitting, I don't take that skill for granted. I'm always getting better at it. I'm always improving on it because I'm just trying to become the best baseball player I can and defense is one area of my game that I want to keep up, and keep up to a gold glove caliber level. I know that when I'm playing good defense, I'm helping the team win and that's what I want to do whether it be with the bat, my legs, my defense, being on the bench, helping the team win. Whatever the situation may be, I just want to help the team win. And that's the objective every night. So that's the approach I take whether it be defense, whether it be hitting, what have you, just to give it my all and just try to help the teams make the playoffs and win a ring."
Which of the pitchers he's seen this season would he least like to hit against? "They're all good. I wouldn't want to face any of them." When pressed, he said, "I'd probably have to go with the young lefty on this team, Josh Hader. He's pretty tough on lefties. Being 20 years old in AA ... you don't come across too many of those. The numbers he put up in the California League [speak for themselves]. For him to go out there and put those numbers up show that he's a force to be reckoned with. And with being so young, the sky's the limit for him."
As to who on the team makes him laugh, he told me, "A lot of guys make me crack a smile, but I'd probably have to go with Tyler Heineman. He's funny. He's got his little quirky jokes. Tony can always make me laugh. We have a lot of inside jokes so that's almost not fair."
Gregor then added, "This is a great clubhouse. A lot of great guys here. Everyone's in it to win it. The team chemistry ...every level I've played ... on has been great. I think you just have to credit the Astros for the guys that they draft and obviously makeup's a big part of that. They try to draft guys that are good citizens as well as good baseball players, and you can see that approach at every level. They're good team guys. Nobody's really in it for themselves. Everyone's in it to win it. When you take that attitude, that approach, the individual accomplishments, accolades happen for themselves. I think that when you just go out there and try to win the game, the numbers take care of themselves and you're in a good position individually when your team wins."
I wanted to know what Gregor would do if he couldn't play baseball. He responded, "I'm in the midst of completing my Vanderbilt degree so I definitely want to go back and get that because education is a big part of my family and my life. So I'd definitely go back and get that degree. My degree is finance and entrepreneurship so probably something with finance and maybe opening up a business. You never know. But I'm always staying up to date on that industry as it is.
"There's life after baseball and hopefully that day I get to go out on my own terms and that day is 20 years down from here, but I think going to college, going to Vanderbilt, playing for Tim Corbin, he put a lot of perspective into my eyes. And with my family's background of having education be something that we really make as the number one priority, I think I'll be prepared and be able to do something important. Like I said, hopefully I'll be playing in the big leagues for a long illustrious career but if that doesn't work out, I'll go back and get my degree and have something to fall back on."
In closing, I asked Gregor to tell me something about himself that most people don't know and might be surprised to hear. "I actually played in the orchestra in high school and through middle school. I played the string bass in the orchestra and I played that for six or seven years. I don't know. Maybe after baseball as a side job, I could work at playing in a band. String bass. Orchestra. Fun fact for the day."
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I truly enjoyed talking with Gregor. He's well-spoken, good-natured, humble and very, very grateful for the opportunity he's been given. He plans to make the very most of that opportunity, and I don't think he will ever take it for granted.
Thank you for your time, Conrad, and best of luck as your career unfolds.
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