On deck with Christian Yelich(Greensboro Grasshoppers) at NewBridge Bank Park

We were down by the on-deck circle today with Christian Yelich, the Florida Marlins first-round draft pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, and Bill Hass(gsohoppers.com), along with Jeff Mills, from the News and Record had questions for Christian and Danny Harden from FOX 8 Sports, was working Christian hard too, here in the last remaining days of the preseason……FOX 8 and Hardnen had Yelich LIVE at 5:25ish and then the writers got a shot, at the Hoppers/Marlins top prospect…..

Christian Yelich on being in Greensboro for part of the season in 2010….It was great to get a taste of what this ballpark is like last season and it should help me as we get going for the full-season in 2011….

Yelich on NewBridge Bank Park and what his thoughts are on this Single-A ballpark/stadium…..Best of the Best, for Single-A, you won’t find one any finer….

Yelich on his off-season training and what he was doing to try improve his game….. It all goes back to the workouts, the weights…..Had to work hard to add weight to my lean frame and I was able to put on 15 pounds in the off-season, going from 6’4 175lbs., where now I’m up to 6’4 190 pounds and the added weight should make me stronger over the course of the entire season…You need the strength to sustain the long grind of the 140 game season….(Lifting weights and training hard has paid off for Yelich.)

What do you think the Marlins saw in you, when they signed you and what about the Florida Marlins was appealing to you, when you signed and connected with them??? The Marlins saw the youth and the size, size that could be increased with a base of 6’4 and they also saw the possiblities of moving me to the outfield from first base and I will be in the outfield, for the Greensboro Grasshoppers this season….The Marlins are a team that any young prospect would love to hook up with, since they give you a chance…..The Marlins tend to build from within and all you have to do is look at all the players that have come through Greensboro, in Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, Scott Cousins, Gabby Sanchez, Chris Coghlan and others…..

Christian Yelich on the comparisons to Mark Grace and John Olerud….The comparisons come from the way I played first base and partly from my hitting style and some of that will have to change now that I’ve moved to the outfield…..Flattering comparisons, but you have to develop your own game and that will be the goal as we get started here in Greensboro in 2011…..

How important is the winning, or is it more important to improve your overall game over the course of the season??? You have to want to get better as a player, but winning is very important….There is no reason to go out there every night unless you are trying to win….That goes back to basic levels of baseball, you play the game to win and if not, there is no use to play any game or any sport……

What part of the game of baseball do you like the most, what makes this part of your life so important? It is like a dream come true for me….It’s something that you think about as a little kid and then to see it all falling into place is really something special….Very few people have the chance to do something like this, to play a professional sport and it really means a lot to me and my family…..