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| Chris Minaker has played every inning at shorstop for Stanford over the past two seasons |
Third-year starting shortstop and 2006 Wallace Award Watch List member to answer questions at 11:30 am, PT.
Chris Minaker To Hit Chat Room Thursday, February 16
Ask Chris A Question
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford senior shortstop Chris Minaker will answer your questions when he checks into the gostanford.com chat room this Thursday, February 16 (11:30 am, PT) to continue a series of regular chats with Stanford Baseball players and coaches throughout the 2006 campaign. If you would like to ask your questions of Chris ahead of time please feel free to post them now, and we will save them for his arrival on Thursday, or feel free to just join the live chat session at that time.
Minaker will speak on the eve of No. 24 Stanford's highly-anticipated home series versus defending national champion and seventh-ranked Texas at Sunken Diamond this Friday-Sunday, February 17-19 (5 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PT). All three games will be broadcast live on KZSU 90.1 FM. The broadcasts will also be available from a link at gostanford.com. Stanford leads the all-time series between the clubs by the slimmest of margins (17-16-1). The Cardinal has won four of the last five regular season series but is trying to avenge a sweep at the hands of the Longhorns in Austin last season.
Stanford is off to a 4-2 start this season, sweeping then No. 5 Cal State Fullerton in its first series of the season before dropping two-of-three to Kansas last Friday-Sunday. Texas was shocked in its first series of the campaign when the Longhorns were swept at San Diego but has won four of five games since, including victories over a pair of Top 12 teams in Rice (then No. 5) and Tulane (then No. 12).
Minaker is on the 2006 Wallace Award Watch List, an annual award sponsored by the College Baseball Foundation to honor the nation's top collegiate baseball player. Minaker has also been a fixture at shortstop for most of the past three seasons, having made 103 consecutive starts at the position for the Cardinal. He has made solid improvements each season offensively, hitting .291 with three homers, 37 RBI and 10 stolen bases in his junior campaign. Defensively, he has been spectacular, making just nine errors while playing every inning at shortstop for the Cardinal last season and not making a single error in his first 25 contests. Academically, he has earned a pair of First Team Pac-10 All-Academic selections and was also named an ESPN The Magazine District VIII Regional Academic All-American as a junior.
• Chris Minaker Bio
• Getting To Know Chris
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Chris Minaker: I'm here and ready to go. |
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| Ellen (Flagstaff): Who is the best switch hitter you have seen? |
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Chris Minaker: THis is a pretty easy answer for me. My former teammate Jed Lowrie was an incredible hitter from both sides of the plate. I would have to say he is the best I've seen. |
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| Mark (Lafayette): I was looking at the hitting totals for the last two series and the team didn't strike out very much, do you feel the team can continue to keep this up? |
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Chris Minaker: I think that this is definitely a trend that we can keep rolling. Not striking out is something that we pride ourselves on. Anytime you can put the ball in play you give yourself a chance to have success. So hopefully we can continue to do this. |
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| Jeff Janssen, Cary, NC: Chris, As a senior, how important do you feel your leadership will be for your team's success this season? |
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Chris Minaker: Leadership, in general, is the fundamental building block for any successful team. FOr me, as a senior, hopefully I can be the individual that the younger players turn to when they need direction, advice, or encouragement. I think that it is important for all of my teammates to realize that they are an integral component of who we are as Stanford. In order for us to succeed at the level we hope to, then the seniors (myself, Matt Manship, Chris Lewis, and John Hester) need to leave our mark on the program. |
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| Harry Potter: What do you think of Jeremy Bleich? |
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Chris Minaker: Jeremy is an incredibly talented left-handed pitcher who has already shown that he is ready to make an inmpact at this level. He is very poised on the mound, and this helps to complement his impressive arssenal of pitches. I think that he will be very successful over the course of this season. |
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| Ryan (San Francisco): First of all good luck against Texas this weekend! Also it's no secret that the offense has struggled this year to start but last Sunday we saw you guys manufacture more runs through stolen bases, hit and runs, and sac bunts. Is this something we will see more of the rest of the year? |
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Chris Minaker: I think that our offense is very versatile. We have the ability to both play small ball, and bash the ball around the park. At this junction of the season, I do not feel that we have had the chance to show what we are fully capable of. It is still very early, and there is definitely an adjustment period that each team must go through at the start of the season. I don't actually know what the offensive identity of this team will be, but hopefully the bottom line will be execution. Coming through with the hit when we need it. |
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| Mark S (Round Rock, TX): Hey Chris..I noticed you took a pretty good shot at second base on Sunday. It looked pretty serious. Are you feeling any effects from the collision and if so do you think they will effect your performance against Texas? I hope not cuz the Cardinal needs their hottest hitter. Good Luck |
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Chris Minaker: First, I appreciate your concern, and I can assure everyone that I feel perfectly fine now. I just got my bell rung pretty hard during a slide at second base. I feel great now and am looking forward to this weekend. |
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| msb-london: chris--your bio says the bible is the best book you ever read--do you have a favorite passage or verse? |
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Chris Minaker: My relationship with Jesus CHrist is the number one thing that drives my life. As far as my favorate passage, I would have to say that Philippians 4:13 is very inspiring: I can do all things through CHrist who strengthens me. |
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| Paul - Belmont: Chris, I hope you go to the pros for your senior year. Good luck |
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Chris Minaker: Thank you very much. But hopefully we can get to Omaha first. |
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| Todd Kunis Sunnyvale: Hey Chris
How much is riding on this weekends match up, as far as moral for the rest of the season. |
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Chris Minaker: Obviously this weekend is a big one. However, it is by no means the defining point of our season. We would love to be able to win this series, but even if we do not there is still a lot of time to put together a great year. I hope that we show that we can play good, smart, and confident baseball. Hopefully that translates into success on the field. |
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| Thomas (Stanford): Chris,
Great to have you back for your senior year. I saw your Quarterback skills during the fall and thought that your team was a lock for the championship. Do you think that this team can finish in Omaha? |
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Chris Minaker: I thought we had a great shot at the Intramural championship myself, but in the end my quarterback skills were not quite good enough. As far as baseball goes, I think that we have the experience and leadership that is needed in order to win on the big stage. We just need to make sure that we stay focused and play to our potential. |
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| Los Altos: What type of exercise/training do you guys do during the offseason vs. the season for strength and speed, and how often? Weights/Track work/Plyometrics,etc? |
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Chris Minaker: We have different training programs for in and out of season. During the fall and winter we lift three times a week with our strength coaches. We focus mainly on building strength and size during this period. We use heavier weights and do lower repetitions. During season we lift twice a week. THis training is focused on endurance and we do higher repetitions with lighter weights. Throughout the whole year we do speed training twice a week. |
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| D. Long: How was your broad jumping this morning? |
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Chris Minaker: I would have to say that I jumped 9'4". THis is referencing a class that I am in called ancient athletics. We went out to the track stadium this morning and replicated the olympic events of antiquity. |
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Chris Minaker: It looks like that is all the time I have this morning. Thanks for your questions and GO CARDINAL! |
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