SAN DIEGO — Mark Appel wasn’t sure who was getting chewed out.
His Lehigh Valley IronPigs had just lost to the Norfolk Tides, Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, at Coca-Cola Park on Friday. Shortly after the last out, word got around the clubhouse that IronPigs manager Anthony Contreras wanted a team meeting.
It was a hard-fought 10-7 game, but Contreras didn’t seem too pleased with the effort. He told his players that preparation was paramount, and that without it, they wouldn’t win many games or ever get the call to the big leagues.
Then he looked at Appel.