January 13: Has Asanovich Got A (Real Estate) Deal For You

At the other end of the line, Goldeyes second baseman Josh Asanovich had a question.

“I know there are a lot of Winnipeggers who spend the winter in Phoenix and I know fans in Winnipeg have told me they’re thinking of moving to Phoenix at some point in their lives, but why is it that almost all of my Canadian clients are from Alberta?” he wondered. “If there is anyone in Manitoba looking at buying property in the Phoenix area, give me a call. There are a lot of great buys right now. Homes are cheap.”

Asanovich spends his off-season in the desert running a small real estate business with his wife and sister. The business is located in Gold Canyon, a community on the eastern end of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and they have never been busier.

“We’re moving a lot of properties right now,” he said. “Real estate in this market is really cheap and we’re getting busier every day. My sister just got her real estate licence and she’s joined the business. We run a little in-house office and it’s going well.

“Still, I’m pretty excited about getting back up to Winnipeg. I love the business, but I’d rather be playing baseball. I just started getting back on the field, doing my baseball workouts and I’m excited about the team Rick’s putting together.”

By his own admission, Asanovich had a good year last year, not a “great one.” He hit a solid .285 with nine homers, 32 runs batted in and 56 runs scored while batting primarily out of the No. 2 hole. However, a number of chronic bumps and bruises resulted in 16 missed games. He’s convinced that if he’s completely healthy when he heads north in April, he’ll remain healthy all season.

“The toughest thing about our travel schedule, and the number of games we play in just four months, are the nagging little injuries you pick up,” he said. “This year, making sure my body is healthy is my only concern. Physically, you need to feel good before the start of the season and maintain your health all season long. My goal is to be at my best when training camp starts.

“I think I had an adequate year last year, but I have a lot more in the tank. Defensively I was fine, but offensively, I have more to offer. Between the nagging injuries and the adjustments that have to be made just to play in our league – the travel schedule and the number of games we jam into a four-month period (100 this year) – I just don’t know if people really understand what we have to do to play well for an entire season. Fortunately, I’m now accustomed to the adjustments that need to be made and I expect to be a lot better offensively this year.”