The irony of being named Boston’s best minor league defensive catcher twice in the last four years is not lost on Mark Wagner.
The Portland Sea Dogs prospect was either a pitcher or shortstop during his developmental and grade school years.
“I didn’t actually start catching until after high school. I did it a little, but very little in high school,” Wagner said. “It was kind of a rarity.”
Still, he was drafted out of high school as a catcher by the Atlanta Braves in the 22nd round of the 2001 Major League Baseball amateur draft. Negotiations with Atlanta dragged on too long and a week before school began, the Long Beach, Calif., native decided to attend the University of California-Irvine on a baseball scholar-ship instead.
Four years later, he was a ninth round draft pick by Boston, again as a catcher.
A year later (2006), the player who used to bring enough equipment to supply a starting nine to all his college games — “I had all the different gloves” — was named Boston’s best defensive catcher in Baseball America’s Best Tools survey.
He made steady progress through Boston’s minor league system, going from low A Lowell in 2005 to Class A Greenville and High A Wilmington in 2006. He went on to Double A Portland last year, but then hit a speed bump.
“I didn’t perform in some aspects the way I wanted to,” Wagner explained. “Last year, I didn’t realize how mentally draining every single game could be. It was almost like information overload. There were nights I was still thinking of last night’s game just before the start of that night’s game.”
He played in 94 games for the Sea Dogs, hitting .219 with 10 homers and 48 RBIs. Not abysmal numbers, but not what a career .270 minor league hitter was used to either.
“Coming into the season, I kind of wanted a fresh start after kind of backtracking last year. It was a struggle,” Wagner said. “I’d never really struggled before in my career, but it was a good thing overall because I just kind of realized that I would really have to work harder and put in the time to take the next step.”
So when offered the chance to play in the Arizona Fall League at the conclusion of the Eastern League season last fall, Wagner took it.
He hit .288 with four home runs and eight RBIs in 14 games with Scottsdale. The short stint made him feel much better about his season and impressed the Red Sox as well.
“I was invited to the Big League camp this year for the first time,” he said. “I think it all came from the growth and being able to hit that reset button in Arizona Fall League. It’s tough playing that long a season, but it really helped me out.”
The 25-year-old son of Larry and Moya Wagner enjoyed spring training because there was no pressure or any expectations on him to earn a spot on the big league squad, so he was able to relax and learn a lot from Sox team captain Jason Varitek, former Sea Dog George Kottaras, and big league veteran Daniel Bard.
“I talked to them a lot, day in and day out. I’d be stupid not to,” Wagner said. “I even had a chance to get to know them over a couple of dinners. It was a really neat thing to get away from that atmosphere, but still talk baseball.”
This season has been much more productive and satisfying for Wagner.
Through Thursday, Wagner was hitting .326 with a team-leading 17 doubles, three home runs, 23 RBIs (fifth on the team), and 20 runs scored. More impressively, he has not committed an error this season.
“I think learning how to deal with failure and how to persevere through the tough days last season, and working with those guys in big league camp really made a difference,” Wagner said.
Sea Dogs manager Arnie Beyeler, who calls Wagner a “cerebral kid and hard worker,” said dealing with adversity is key to Wagner’s development as he will likely run into it again as he advances up the organizational ladder.
“He’s probably the hardest working guy on the team. I mean, we have trouble getting him to take a day off,” Beyeler said. “There’s tremendous potential with him. He’s putting pressure on the organization to move him up.”
Wagner’s not worried about how long it takes him to reach the majors. He figures if he keeps steadily improving, that will take care of itself.
“I want to show I can play every day and address some of my weaknesses from last year,” he said. “And I want to show them I’d like to get a shot.”
Dogs’ GM speaking in Bangor
Portland Sea Dogs general manager Charlie Eshbach will talk about the business of baseball at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce early bird breakfast Wednesday.
Eshbach, now in his 36th season of professional baseball, is the longest-serving active member of the Eastern League, which he’s been working in since 1975.
He was also the GM of the Reading Phillies and the Eastern League president for 11 years. In 1988, he was hired as interim president of Minor League Baseball.
The breakfast, from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Best Western Black Bear Inn in Orono, is $15 per member and $18 for non-members.