Fixin’ to make The Show
Former Silkworm backstop succeeding in A-ball
by Don Leypoldt
Former Manchester Silkworm catcher Jon Fixler is officially
a Legend.
As a Silkworm, Fixler earned NECBL All-Star honors and
represented the Southern Division in the 2006 showcase at
Keene. He hit .239 during the summer, while clubbing a homer
at Concord and driving in 10 runs. His .365 on base
percentage was one of the highest on the team.
Behind the plate, Fixler threw out over 30% of would-be base
stealers. He earned all state accolades as a quarterback in
high school, so Fixler’s arm strength has never been
questioned.
Now, the Indiana Hoosier toils as the backstop for the
Houston Astros’ A-ball affiliate, the Lexington Legends of
the South Atlantic League. Thanks to a blistering April in
which he hit .349, Fixler has started half of Lexington’s
games while averaging nearly a run batted in per game.
He probably would have started more, but Fixler platoons
with Max Sapp- the Astros’ first round pick of the 2006
amateur draft and one of the Houston organization’s top 20
prospects, per Baseball America.
The outgoing Fixler is quick to deflect credit for his early
success. “We have a great group of coaches who do a good job
keeping us focused.
“I’m just trying to slow things down. That’s the biggest
key. The pitchers here throw hard and they have good stuff
but if you relax and think to yourself ‘I’m going to be
hitting so I might as well get a couple of hits’, things
just kind of work out.”
Fixler was selected in the 19th round of the June 2007
amateur draft. The selection capped a junior season in which
he started in 44 of Indiana’s 54 games. Catching and playing
first base, Fixler hit .286, led the team with two homers,
and drove in 35 runs. The Chicagoland native left IU with a
.295 lifetime batting average.
“When I talked to the folks with Houston on draft day, I was
really excited that it was that team,” says Fixler. “This
was a great fit for me and I’m really happy to be here.”
Injuries limited him to just sixteen at bats for Houston’s
short-season affiliate Tri-City in the summer of 2007.
Nonetheless, Fixler made the necessary adjustments that
enabled him to have a strong spring training three months
ago.
“Spring Training was overwhelming, but it was definitely a
fun and positive experience,” Fixler recalls. “I have a lot
of good friends on this team (Lexington) from playing last
summer. Sticking with those guys and letting my instincts
take over” got him through the Grapefruit League. Houston
subsequently assigned him to Lexington.
Needless to say, the transition from college ball to the
minors is significant. “The biggest jump is the consistency
of the pitching,” explains Fixler. “It is getting adjusted
to seeing the high level of pitching every day as well as
having your body ready to play 140 games. It’s a long season
and we’re only about one-quarter of the way through it.”
The nature of Fixler’s personal goals for this season- they
are mental rather than quantitative- may have given him the
mindset to achieve his strong start. He states, “The biggest
thing for me is that I want to come to the park every day,
be excited to play baseball and take every day as it comes.
I don’t have any goals numbers wise in terms of how many
guys I want to throw out or how many hits I have. I just
want to take in the whole experience, enjoy the day and I
feel that if you do that, things will work out for you.”
Right now, Fixler is where the 2008 Silkworm hitters want to
be- hitting over .300 while playing professional baseball.
While he appreciates how much hard work goes into elevating
baseball skills, he advises current Silkworms to “Just have
fun. Go out there, play ball and know that someone is
watching you. All it takes is one good day. There are going
to be scouts in the stands. Relax and appreciate playing
ball with your buddies in the summer.”
He continues, “College definitely helped me to grow up and
become a man. Playing summer ball, especially in
Manchester…the quality of the play in that league is
exceptional. It really made the transition (to pro ball) a
lot easier too just being around different guys and seeing
that level of play every day.”
The great paradox of baseball is how the game is “serious
fun.” Watching Silkworm alumni like Fixler succeed at higher
levels of professional ball increases the fun for Manchester
fans.
The Manchester Silkworms are proud members of the NECBL. The
Silkworms have had nearly 40 alumni drafted by Major League
Baseball and have sent three alumni to the Major Leagues.
For more information on Jon, the Silkworms or any specific
player, please contact Don Leypoldt in Sports Information,
or GM Ed Slegeski (SilkwormsGM@aol.com)
The author expresses gratitude to Rob Gidel of the Lexington
Legends and Brendan Burke of the Lakewood BlueClaws for
their assistance in this article.
