Kingston mines the state of Illinois for Redbird riches

March 2, 2013

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- I am very excited to have been asked to write up a daily blog for CornbeltBaseball.com. I will be chronicling my daily activities from practices, games, down time, and anything else I find interesting. I want to make this a fun experience for the readers and me alike. This will be a good look at what the life of a minor league baseball player is like.

Before I get this going, I feel like I should share some things about myself. I grew up in Algonquin, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. I played high school ball at Dundee-Crown, alongside with another former Illinois State Redbird Ryan Court. I spent five wonderful years at Illinois State University as a left-handed pitcher, mostly in the bullpen. After my last season (2012) at ISU, I was fortunate enough to be drafted in the 22nd round by the Houston Astros.

Immediately after the spring college season I was shipped out to Troy, New York to participate in “short season” professional baseball. About half way through the season I was promoted to High A ball in Lancaster, California. We eventually won the California League championship. I was lucky enough to share that moment with my teammates and even more lucky to be the last pitcher on the mound for the last out.

That takes us to now. After months of the off-season workouts working to get better I have arrived in Kissimmee, Florida for my first professional spring training. I hope you will enjoy my first spring training experience along with me.

Kenny Long’s Lancaster JetHawks stats