Russ Canzler is hitting fifth for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Canzler has hit safely now in 6 of the last 7 games and for the former Hazleton Area Cougar shortstop who just turned 29 life in the minors is a major positive.
"It's been good! Obviously I've got lots of opportunities in spring training. I thought I showed pretty well, so that was really positive, and I think it's important when you come here to not worry too much about what's happening at the big league level. Just try to take care of business everyday here. Make sure that you are having good at bats. Make sure that you are getting your work in, and not to worry about things that are really out of your control," said Russ Canzler.
Having a former big league manager like Charlie Manuel around during batting practice helps. Canzler hopes the call up comes from the Phillies a club currently looking for hitting.
"What do the Phillies want from you? I think that it's important for me as a right-handed bat to show that I can have consistent good at bats major league caliber at bats putting together good plate appearances every night. show that I can handle some versatility at first and third and a little bit of outfield, and I think that my responsibility here as an older guy is just to try to give some guidance to some of the young players here and we have a lot of good ones," again said Russ.
"Last year Canzler went from playing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre down to Lehigh Valley and finished out the season playing 61 games for the Ironpigs collecting 61 hits hit for .286 and knocked in 11 home runs solidifying a spot in spring training with the Phillies.
"I have a lot of good memories from being here with these guys, and good experiences last year, so look forward to seeing them and catching up and hope everything is going well," added Russ.
Canzler is three years removed from his IL MVP in 2011 with Durham where he hit.314 drove in 83 runs and had 18 home runs.