KISSIMMEE, Fla. — As Dan Uggla was coming through the minor leagues, there were plenty of chances to just give up. Like the time he was expecting to spend a few days with his family during a midseason break, only to learn that he’d been demoted to a lower-level team.
Instead of flying home to Tennessee, the second baseman had to pack his bags and drive from California to Indiana.
“When he called us with the news, you could just hear it in his voice,” his brother, Mike, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I couldn’t imagine him making that two- or three-day drive by himself. It was tough, man. For every good moment, there were like five tough ones.”
But Dan persevered through five grueling years in the minors. He didn’t lose hope when he batted .214 in Class A. He didn’t throw in the towel when his original organization (Arizona) left him unprotected.
Well, look where Uggla is now.