Cheyenne's Nimmo getting closer to fulfilling MLB dream

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Brandon Nimmo's professional baseball career has taken him all across the country.

Since being selected 13th overall by the New York Mets in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the Cheyenne East graduate and former Cheyenne American Legion Post 6 standout has been assigned to teams in St. Lucie, Florida; Kingsport, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; Brooklyn and Binghamton, New York; and Las Vegas.

Yet the 23-year-old Nimmo said no matter where he's playing, his life is on constant repeat.

"Baseball is hard, and there's not much of a life outside of this," Nimmo said last Saturday as the Mets' Triple-A team - the Las Vegas 51s - played the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Security Services Field.

"A lot of people think baseball players probably go out at night and party and this stuff. It's literally almost like (the movie) Groundhog Day for me for 144 games and 165 days per year, and you can also throw in spring training.

"I wake up, make breakfast, go to the field, play the game, go home and unwind for an hour and then go to bed. Then I do it again the next day. I really don't have a life outside of this."

Don't mistake that for misery or unhappiness. Nimmo is fulfilling a dream of playing professional baseball, and he's one step away from being called up to the Major League level.

This is the first full season Nimmo has played at the Triple-A level. Last year, he split time between there and Double-A Binghamton.

In 37 games this season with Las Vegas, Nimmo is hitting .289 (43-for-149) with one home run and 20 RBIs. His at-bats are a team high. Nimmo recorded at least one hit in all four games against Colorado Springs, and extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games. Nimmo has 10 doubles and a team-best three triples.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder plays centerfield, but Las Vegas manager Wally Backman said he feels Nimmo may be better at left or right field.

Backman played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, and also has 14 years of experience coaching in the minor leagues. Backman knows baseball, knows talent and knows Nimmo will be in the Major Leagues.

"I think he does later in the season," Backman said. "If he keeps doing the things he's doing now, and keeps improving the way he has, he's probably the first choice that would go if something happens to an outfielder," Backman said.

"His whole game needs to get a little bit better, but that's for every player. I think his biggest improvements that are starting to show some are the baseball instincts. The ability and tools are all there."

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Nimmo and his teammates began preparations for Saturday's game a few hours before first pitch with some work in the batting cages. Then there were some pre-game stretches and agility drills.

"Come on, Nimms, let's go," said one of the 51s conditioning coaches as Nimmo jogged onto the field, more than two hours before the game.

Many of the players joked around and carried on conversations as they stretched. Nimmo was off to the side, focused on what he needed to do to get his body ready for the game.

Still, several teammates came up to him during and after the exercises to give him a high-five or some other form of acknowledgement.

"He works harder than anybody I've ever seen," said 51s third baseman T.J. Rivera, who roomed with Nimmo in St. Lucie and has played with Nimmo in the minors for the last few seasons.

"He gets some crap from some of the guys because of how hard he works, but I love it because I try to be the same way. He puts it on the field every day. He's a kid that wants to do good, and you want to see guy like that do well."

After stretching, Nimmo tossed the ball around in the outfield, took about five turns in the cage at batting practice and then went to the outfield as other teammates took their swings.

One thing that has helped Nimmo this season is he has stayed healthy.

Since his pro career began, Nimmo has dealt with a dislocated joint near his wrist, a bruised right hand, a hyperextended left knee, a right leg injury and a torn tendon in his left foot that forced him to miss most of spring training earlier this year.

"It's been a lot, but I've been trying to take care of my body the best I can," Nimmo said. "A lot of these have been freak injuries. It is the nature of the beast sometimes."

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Even though Nimmo was part of a Post 6 program that played upward of 70 to 80 games a year, his baseball experience compared to others in pro baseball is limited.

But as Backman said earlier, Nimmo has all of the tools to be a Major League player. Backman also said most of the players at the Triple-A level are being "polished" to play in the big leagues.

Nimmo is among them, but there's still some development involved.

Backman said how to properly run the bases and taking the right routes to getting fly balls are a couple of the instinctive areas of the game he and the coaching staff work with Nimmo on a daily basis.

Hitting is another aspect.

Nimmo was 1 of 5 with a triple Saturday. He nearly had a single in his first at-bat in the top of the first, but Colorado Springs shortstop Orlando Arcia made a throw to get Nimmo out by a step.

Nimmo left two runners on in the top of the eighth inning after he fouled out to the third baseman.

"(Saturday) was a little rough. I just have to continue to work on it," Nimmo said.

Nimmo was 3-for-5 in Sunday's series finale, with two doubles, three runs scored and four RBIs.

"For the last two weeks, he's swung the bat really well," Las Vegas hitting instructor Jack Voigt said. "He started to get a little too mechanical and overthinking things. But a quick conversation with him got him out of the mechanical part because that slows you down in this game.

"You have to trust your ability and execute."

Backman said Nimmo's plate discipline gives him a chance stay at the Major League level once he gets there.

"Guys that don't have good plate discipline are guys that may go up there and come back numerous times," Backman said. "When guys like Brandon with good plate discipline get a chance to go to big leagues, they're probably going to stay because of that. He definitely has something that everybody in that room doesn't have.

"He takes his walks when he needs to. He knows the strike zone very well. These aren't things you can teach. You can try to work on it to make that player a little better, but that comes from within the individual."

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Nimmo said he doesn't pay a lot of attention to the everyday happenings with the Mets, which could result in him being called up at any time.

But when the call is made, Nimmo said he doesn't want to get another one.

"I've always tried to keep this mind that I don't want to go up there and then come back down," Nimmo said. "When I'm ready, I want to go up and stay up. From that standpoint, I will keep working on what I need to work on here and (the Mets) will make the decision when I'm ready. I still feel like I have a lot to work on here, and I want to have fun with it.

"If you start looking ahead, that's when the pressure and things like that can start mounting up on you. But really, the pressure is whatever you put on yourself. From day one, I've put some pressure on myself to try and do the very best I can with the talent I've been given. I've had to learn to scale that back."

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The games in Colorado Springs were the closest Nimmo has played to Cheyenne since he entered pro baseball. It also was the only time this season Las Vegas plays in Colorado Springs.

Nimmo said about 25 friends and family members came to the game Friday. His parents, brother and sister, grandparents and other Cheyenne friends also attended Saturday's game.

Nimmo's father, Ron, coached Brandon when he was a kid in the Cheyenne Raptors organization. He said he and his family try to attend games when they can, but this past weekend was special being closer to home.

"Sometimes you pinch yourself and think about how lucky he is to be in the situation he's in," Ron Nimmo said. "But you also realize just how difficult it is. There are a lot of lonely moments along the way when you're not doing well and you're a long way from home.

"There are moments when they doubt whether they are doing the right thing. There's some soul-searching moments. For moms and dads - moms, especially - our job is to be chief cheerleader most of the time. He needs encouragement and a place to vent. He's well beyond my ability to help him as a player. I try to help with the mental part."

The first thing Brandon Nimmo did after Saturday's game was head to the stands where his friends and family were sitting. He hung out with them for more than 15 minutes before he finally went to the clubhouse to eat, get on the bus and get ready for the next day's game.

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Las Vegas opened an eight-game home stand Monday, and the team will have had only one day in May where it didn't play a game.

"It's a struggle and a grind every day," Nimmo said. "It's like any other job where you always have new things to work on. I need to keep working on being more consistent."

Off the field, Nimmo was recently got engaged to Chelsea Bradley and said their wedding will likely be in November 2017.

"You have to have a very, very patient fiancee," Nimmo said. "(Bradley has) been very, very good with this lifestyle, and she understands this lifestyle. We talk once a day on the phone."

It seems like it's just a matter of time until Nimmo fulfills his dream of being a MLB player. If he keeps up the pace he's on now, that time could come sooner, rather than later.

But that's not what Nimmo is focused on.

"I want to be as good as I can possibly be," he said. "Even when that time comes, I know there will always be something to work on.

"I try to remember to live in moment, have a great time, and if it's meant to come, it will come. You don't want to let things pass you by."

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Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com