‘Attitude is Everything’

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.” – Charles R. Swindoll

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Anyone who has been fortunate enough to spend time around 22-year-old Dodgers second base prospect Willie Calhoun (or who follows him on Twitter @11WillieCalhoun) knows firsthand that he is, in a word, a character. Whether he is interacting with his teammates, other players, fans (and he has many) or the media, Calhoun always seems to have a huge and infectious smile on his face. And though he may initially come across as being a bit shy, once he feels comfortable around you and opens up … look out! He is an absolute hoot to be around and isn’t afraid to speak from the heart.

After last weekend’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp at Dodger Stadium, members of the media had an opportunity to interview several of the Dodgers top prospects who were on hand helping out with the camp. Among them was Willie Calhoun, who the Dodgers had selected in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.

Which ‘kid’ in this photo is having the most fun?
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Dodger fans who have been following the Vallejo, California native through his first two seasons of professional baseball have undoubtedly noticed two things about Calhoun: 1) He is very good at baseball; and 2) He has absolutely rocketed his way up through the Dodgers’ farm system. In his combined 205 professional games played thus far (38 with the Rookie League Ogden Raptor, 15 with the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons, 20 with the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and 132 with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers), Calhoun has a slash-line of .277 / .345 / .487 for an OPS of .832.

The Dodgers were so impressed with Calhoun that they selected him to participate in the prestigious 2016 Arizona Fall League (AFL); and his AFL coaches were so impressed that they named him to the even more prestigious (and nationally televised) AFL Fall Stars Game. All Calhoun did in the Fall Stars Game was go 3-for-3 with two singles and a two-run home run to power the AFL West Division team to a commanding 12-4 win over the AFL East Division team. It came as a surprise to absolutely no one that Calhoun was named as the game’s MVP.

“It was super fun. Obviously playing against the best minor leaguers across the country and being able to compete with them was a blast. I really had a good time there,” said Calhoun of his AFL experience.

Calhoun was named MVP of the 2016 AFL Fall Stars Game after going 3-for-3 with a monster home run and three RBIs.
(Photo courtesy of Arizona Fall League)

But the AFL wasn’t the only huge experience this past year for Calhoun. Earlier in the season he was selected to represent the U.S. Team in the 2016 Futures Game, held during MLB All-Star Week at Petco Park in San Diego.

“The Dodgers put a lot of trust in me. That’s really the biggest thing is they’re able to trust me and I was able to prove them right a lot about why they put me there and why I was on the fast track,” Calhoun said. “So just being able to prove everyone right for getting to keep on doing that is the biggest thing.”

As you would expect, Calhoun is very cognizant of the fact that, to this point, the Dodgers still do not have a so-called everyday second baseman with spring training now only two months away. He also reads and hears what the media (and social media) have to say about all of this. So, does he see himself as a viable candidate for that spot without any Triple-A experience aside from one pinch-hit at-bat for the Oklahoma City Dodgers in the Pacific Coast League playoffs?

“I see it a lot but I know I still have a lot of work to do and that’s something I’m going to attack … still attacking this off-season,” Calhoun said. “I feel like I’ll be ready by the time the season comes around. With all the hard work I’m going to continue to do after this. I feel like I put myself in the best position to do that.”

There is no argument that Calhoun is working hard towards that end, but how does Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi – the guy who has the ultimately say in the matter – see things?

“I think the lack of Triple-A experience obviously would suggest he’s going to need more time,” said Zaidi earlier this off-season. “But we’ve made an effort to incorporate some younger players into the big-league club in different roles. You never want to rule out a guy accelerating the timetable on you. But Willie, we’re excited about the progress he’s made. There’s still some things he needs to work on. So, we’ll see how he looks in big league camp. We’re not locking him in anywhere next season. Like all our guys, he’ll be able to earn that opportunity if his performance warrants.”

Even though Calhoun is a long shot to be the Dodgers 2017 Opening Day second baseman, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi hasn’t completely ruled it out.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With rumors that the Dodgers are actively pursuing Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (via trade, not free agency) and should that happen, it would – or at least could – put a roadblock between Calhoun and the major leagues; at least with the Dodgers, that is. Chances are that should a deal be struck between the Twins and Dodgers to land Dozier, Calhoun could very well find himself right in the middle of that trade. Then again, the Dodgers might not be willing to include him in any trade deals.

But Calhoun will be the first to tell you that he is still learning the game and that his primary focus this off-season has been on his defense more so than his offense.

“Turn my focus, like completely switch it from being offensive maybe go to the defensive side a little bit more … a lot more on defense than I am offense,” said Calhoun. “That’s something I’m doing this off-season, I’m strictly focusing on defense right now. I’ll pick up a bat maybe mid-January and start hitting to get tuned up for spring training.”

Calhoun added that he has been and will continue to work with Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Thomas Gentile and Ogden Raptors manager Shaun Larkin this off-season on his first-step quickness and defensive positioning.

“You don’t have to be the fastest guy but if you’re able to get to more balls than a normal second baseman that makes you better than a normal second baseman, so that’s something that I’m focusing on too,” said Calhoun.

Unlike many who make it to the professional level, the game hasn’t always come easy for the 5′-8″ / 187-pound Calhoun.

“I’ve always had to overcome something in my part of the game since I was a senior in high school,” Calhoun said. “I’ve always been told like I’m too small and everything. So just being able to overcome those types of things is something that I’m going to have to keep on doing.”

Along those same lines, Calhoun likens himself to another second baseman who had to overcome issues like his own – one who went on to become one of the greatest second basemen the game has ever seen and a likely future Hall of Famer.

“Dustin Pedroia. I actually talked to Dustin towards the end of the Fall League,” said Calhoun. “[Dodgers vice president of baseball operations] Josh Byrnes took me to his house – Josh Byrnes was with the Red Sox when Dustin was there – so I had some deep conversations with Pedroia. He was telling me about everything that he had to overcome. He’s from Woodland, California which is about 40 minutes away from where I grew up at. Just in talking with me he really inspired me and what I need to do and with what he overcame, and look at where he is now, probably one of the best second basemen in the game. Just what he told me really clicked for me and I think I’ll be ready for it.

“He went out there and just ‘You have to act like no one deserves to be on the same field as you, and that’s on the offensive side of the plate and that’s on the defensive side of the plate.’ He said that’s how he plays. He said that he told himself that he was great and what he believes, how he really feels and how he acts on the field. So, that’s something that really clicks for me.”

As Charles R. Swindoll said … “Attitude is Everything.”