Brett Wallace knew he’d be in tough when Goldeyes manager Rick Forney signed Luis Alen.
But the 27-year-old catcher from West Grove, Pennsylvania is looking forward to the challenge.
Wallace, who hit .285 in 58 games with the Gary SouthShore RailCats last season, has developed into a pretty solid Northern League catcher. He hit .210 in 28 games with Gary in 2007, .274 in 65 games in 2008 and then had a very good year last year. Until Forney signed Alen, Wallace was a lock to be the Goldeyes No. 1 backstop, but now there will be a battle for that job in training camp.
“I remember Luis Alen in Winnipeg three years ago and I know he hit .330,” said Wallace. “But I feel that if I play up to par, I can win the No. 1 job.
“I talked to Rick when I signed and told him I wanted to play 80 games out of 100 this year. Rick said that with the travel and the schedule we have, it was unlikely any of us would catch more than 60 or 65 games, but I’m going up there expecting to battle it hard and play a lot of baseball.
“I’ve been working hard in the off-season and I’m excited about playing in Winnipeg.”
Wallace has spent the off-season instructing at Maplezone Sports and Fitness Center in Boothwyn, outside Philadelphia.
“It’s been great working at Maplezone,” said Wallace. “I’ve even had an opportunity to catch for Cole Hamels of the Phillies. We get there at noon everyday, do our work, get some hitting in and work out and then work with the kids when they’re finished school. It’s been a really good off-season and I’ll be ready to go for spring training.”
Like most of his Goldeyes teammates, Wallace looks at the line-up this season and figures it’s going to be very difficult to get this team out.
“This is a great line-up, there isn’t a hole in it,” Wallace said. “You look at the people coming back and the people who have been added to the team and one-through-nine, that’s a solid order. Every guy is a tough out. I think we have reason to be excited about this team.”
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