Last fall, around this time of the season, Conor Gillaspie returned home to Wichita, Kan., after his eighth, and arguably his most trying, professional baseball season.
“I did some soul-searching, I guess you could say,” Gillaspie said.
He unwound. He released some of his frustration from 75 games in the minor leagues and only 17 in the majors, where he had a .203 batting average for the Los Angeles Angels. A former first-round pick, he came to terms with a career that had fizzled before it really got a chance to heat up.
He became more at peace about his role in the game and on a new team, the San Francisco Giants, who signed him in February as a third baseman with a chance — just a chance — to make the team out of spring training.