As no better than a fourth outfielder in Double A three years ago, Mitch Haniger believed he had nothing to lose by requesting a demotion.
“If I stay at Double-A (Mobile) and don’t play, I get released,” Haniger recalled. “You can’t get to the big leagues by not playing in the minor leagues and just being a bench guy.
“In my mind, there was no risk. Either way, I was going to be out of baseball if I stayed there.”
The bold request in 2015 turned out to be the greatest move of Haniger’s once-stagnant career.