Catching Up With Former Twins Infielder Augie Ojeda

Augie Ojeda grew up in southern California where he learned to love the game of baseball.

“I was a big Dodgers fan. I was diehard!” He continued, “Fernando Mania in 1981! All the excitement and the hype that he brought to the Dodgers.”

But because he was small, he didn’t have scouts looking at him in high school. He went to Cypress College, a two-year program with a strong baseball tradition. That’s where he started to get noticed as a ballplayer.

“You still haven’t developed into that prototypical 6-2 baseball player, especially back in those days. Scouts were big on height and numbers and the 40-yard dash. I started realizing I had a chance in junior college. I grew a little bit, got stronger, and played really well against better competition.”

He still wasn’t a big guy, but he was attracting the attention of some of the top baseball schools in the country. Because of scholarship limitations, many of the prominent southern California baseball schools didn’t really recruit him. But he was hearing from all over the country. His five school trips were to Arizona State, Oklahoma, Miami, Tennessee and Texas Tech. Each school gave him a 100% scholarship offer.

“My decision was kind of easy. It was basically my pick, and I chose Tennessee. They had a good team the prior season and went to the College World Series, and most of the guys were coming back. It was between Tennessee and Miami, and Miami at the time had Alex Cora at shortstop.”

He chose Tennessee where he continued to find great success. In 1996, Ojeda was the 13th round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles. He didn’t sign right away, but there was a good reason for that. He was heading to the Olympics.

He joined some great college players, including former Twins Jacque Jones, Matthew LeCroy and Chad Allen on the 1996 USA Olympic team. The team won the bronze medal in those Atlanta Olympics.

“It was a blessing. It was awesome. It kind of snuck out of nowhere. I didn’t really see that coming.” Ojeda added, “Any kid wants to represent the flag. It’s an honor, and a fun experience that words cannot describe. It was a blessing playing with all these first rounders. I was just happy to be a part of it, and anytime you get a chance to represent your country is an honor.”

Following the Olympics, Ojeda went back to school for a semester before signing with the Orioles. Things moved pretty quickly in 1997. It started with an invite to big league camp. “Getting ground balls next to Cal Ripken… that was pretty cool.”

Because of an injury to another shortstop, Ojeda began his pro career in Double-A. He played in three levels that season, even getting some time at Triple-A Rochester, a place he would return years later.

He was traded to the Cubs before the 2000 season. “I was kind of heart broken because I was the type of kid who followed baseball in the ‘80s and guys stayed with one team forever. Rivalries, and you don’t like the Giants because you’re a Dodgers fan, and you see the same faces for seven, eight years. I was bummed. I was crushed. I thought I was going to be an Oriole forever.”

“It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

That June, he made his big league debut with the Cubs.

He spent parts of the next four seasons as a utility infielder for the Cubs. He became a fan favorite because of his size and work ethic, but also because he played really strong defense all around the infield.

“The Cubs fans are really supportive, and they do their homework on the minor league guys. And they didn’t know much about me, but they saw my size and thought I was a long shot to make it. I hit a double in my first game and I got a standing ovation, and they started calling my name.”

What an experience. However, following the 2003 season, the Cubs placed him on waivers and the Twins claimed him.

Minnesota Twins

“I got a call from Terry Ryan that they were picking me up. I didn’t know much about the Twins. But from playing in the same league in Double-A, I realized they were strict on their development. Every single guy played together for years, and they had to produce. It wasn’t like any other organization where if you do well or you do bad you skip or you stay back. You had to earn your stripes. And they were stacked. They did a really good job with their scouting and player development.”

He returned to Rochester to start the 2004 season. In early August, he was called up to the Twins. He spent August in a utility role, but by September, he was playing nearly every day… and putting up numbers.

“The coaches did a good job of working extra with the guys. So every day at home, it was extra batting practice. Every day, extra batting practice. And I took advantage of that. I never had that in my career. The coaches would throw a half hour of extra batting practice, and I was a switch-hitter so I got a lot of reps. They were a young team. They emphasized big time extra work and working hard, and I think that helped me the most.

In 30 games for the Twins in 2004, Ojeda hit .339/.429/.458 (.886) with a double and two home runs.

“That was the best month I had in my entire life.” He continued, “I played all of September, and that was in a pennant race. We won the Central that year. Gardenhire sat (Luis) Rivas. He was struggling. I came into a game in Anaheim, and I went 2-for-4 in late August. Then after that I played almost every day. Playing every day is a little easier. You know your rhythm. You know your timing.”

For whatever reason, Ojeda spent all of 2005 in Rochester with the Red Wings. “To this day, I never knew what happened. What did I do to them? I helped them. I was part of the big push in a pennant race. Then I never got called up. I never knew what was going on.”

“The coaches really worked hard. Really worked hard. They were different though. It was a different organization. I was kind of shocked the way the way they handled things. Gardenhire, I don’t know if he got it from Tom Kelly, but they were really big on picking their own apples.They didn’t get bad apples. And when they got good apples, they wanted to control them, which was different. The guys were young so they didn’t say much, but it opened my eyes.”

After that season, he became a free agent. He re-signed with the Cubs but spent all of 2006 in Triple-A.

In 2007, the Diamondbacks gave him a chance. It was a chance for him to play at home in Arizona where he had bought a house during his time in the Cubs organization.

He fully took advantage once he was called up. He spent the second half of 2007 with the Diamondbacks. He played over 100 games in both 2008 and 2009 and another 59 in 2010.

“Bob Melvin. I give him all the credit. He believed in me. Kind of similar to the Twins. Orlando Hudson got hurt my first year in ‘07, and that summer I hit .340 in September playing every day. We made the playoffs. I stuck around and got rewarded. I made the team the next year. I did well in ‘08 again. I spent four years there, and that’s the best little run in my career, and I had the best time of my life, thanks to the Diamondbacks and Bob Melvin.”

Since retiring, Ojeda has had offers and options for coaching in pro baseball, but he is happy living in Arizona, and helping his wife take care of their three kids. He’s got two daughters, an eight year old and a five year old. They are both in swimming and gymnastics. The couple have a two-year-old son as well.

“With my three kids being so young, I don’t have time, and I don’t want to leave them. I’d rather stay home and raise them and see them develop. Playing all these years, you see teammates interact with their parents or their kids and there really isn’t a relationship. I told myself that’s not the life I want to live when I have kids. You’re basically gone for six, seven months out of the year. You’re not going to see them. You’re not going to bond. You’re not going to have a relationship. It’s definitely not worth it.”

He’s also proud of what he was able to accomplish on the baseball field despite the odds being against him. He was “too small”. He had the “utility player” label. And yet, he had a nine-year, major-league career.

“I never thought I would have the resume that I have. Never in a million years did I think I’d be a big leaguer. Never in a thousand years did I think I’d play in the Olympics. Went to a big-time college on a full scholarship. Being in high school and 5-4, 130 pounds. No scouts. No connections, and three years later I was in the Olympics, getting drafted and then minor league ball. My goal was to be a big leaguer. I didn’t know if I would make it. I knew what scouts wanted, and I knew that’s not what I had. But I had the heart and determination. I worked hard, and that’s what got me over the hump. I look back in awe, to be honest. I’m ecstatic and blessed.”

He adds, “To all the kids who don’t have the size, keep working. Outwork them. There’s no talent for outworking people. There’s no talent for grinding and putting in the work.”

While Augie Ojeda doesn’t tweet much, but you can follow him at @augieojeda.