Robbie Garvey bunts foul in Monday's game against the Dayton Dragons. (Rachel Sonnenshine | The Saginaw News)
MIDLAND, MI — Robbie Garvey still has a bit of Vegas in him, a natural restlessness that provided the needed adrenaline for dirt bike racing, rodeo and just about any X Game sport he could find.
If he looks impatient in the Great Lakes Loons outfield or a bit restless at the plate or anxious on the basepaths, it’s only because he’s trying to play a sport that does not necessarily fit his personality.
“It’s a challenge,” Garvey admitted. “I’m learning to slow down, maintain my composure and approach things differently. I’m still getting used to the pace of baseball.”
Garvey, 24, is a late arrival not only to the Loons but also to baseball.
The left-handed hitting Garvey joined the Loons on May 10, taking the roster spot that was vacated when pitcher Lindsay Caughel was promoted to Rancho Cucamonga. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in March.
“The track season was done, and a friend of mine knew (Dodgers vice-president in charge of player development) DeJon Watson, so we arranged a workout,” Garvey said. “I didn’t think I ran that well. I ran better during the track season. I run professionally.
“But I guess they saw something because they signed me.”
Garvey began in Rancho Cucamonga and hit .255 in 19 games. After Monday's 4-1 loss to the Dayton Dragons, Garvey was hitting .274 for the Loons.
Garvey didn’t begin playing baseball until his junior year at Arbor View High School in Las Vegas. He hit a grand slam in his second at-bat.
“I thought it was easy,” the 5-foot-10 Garvey said. “But I’m still catching up. I’m playing against guys that have been playing ball all their lives in different leagues. There are some things that they just do naturally. They don’t come naturally to me right now, but I’m working toward that.”
He played collegiately at the College of Southern Nevada, a year before a player named Bryce Harper joined the team. After two seasons at Southern Nevada, Garvey had an offer to play for Nevada-Las Vegas, but he instead signed as an undrafted free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
He hit .356 for the Brewers’ Arizona League and was promoted to Helena in the Rookie League, where he hit .291 to finish out the 2010 season. He was promoted to the Midwest League to play for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to start the 2011 season, but hit .197 and was sent back to Helena, where he hit .238.
The Brewers released him in 2012, and he found a job with the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things, a team in the independent Frontier League.
“I don’t want to do that again,” Garvey said. “It just wasn’t a good fit for me. I’m not much for the independent leagues.”
Garvey believes he has what it takes to reach the Major Leagues, but he knows he faces obstacles other players don’t.
“Physically, I think I can compete with anyone in baseball,” Garvey said. “But it’s the mental part that’s a challenge to me. There’s that part of baseball that is learned, that you can only become comfortable with the more you play.
“I started late. I don’t have that. It’s why I’m here, and what I’m working to get.”
