A mutual contact of outfielder D.K. Carey and RailCats manager Greg Tagert encouraged him to attend the team’s tryout.
Carey, who was released by the Washington Nationals in spring training after four seasons in the organization, was slightly skeptical.
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But he went for it.
Both Carey and the RailCats have been happy he did.
The 26-year-old from Georgia has excelled in his first experience with independent minor-league baseball.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” Carey said. “Any time you get released, you have to ask yourself questions. But I talked to my parents, talked to my girlfriend, and I knew I wanted to keep playing.”
Entering Saturday’s game at the Steel Yard against Fargo-Moorhead, Carey was hitting .382 with 11 RBIs, team-leading totals. And no one had more than his one homer.
“I’m just looking for my pitch and trying making contact,” Carey said.
During his time with the Nationals, Carey hit .228 to go along with 21 homers, 120 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. His production at the plate with the RailCats has been a bonus.
“We preach defense,” Tagert said. “We believed he could help us win ballgames in that area and he’s been exceptional at all three outfield spots.
“We certainly don’t expect him to continue like this offensively, but he’s proving to be a better hitter and he’s come up with some big hits.”
Then again, Tagert didn’t expect to land a player with Carey’s background in the manner the RailCats did.
“It just goes to show you we’ll continue to hold tryout camps,” Tagert said. “Every player who comes to a RailCats tryout camp for the next five years, even any tryout camp I’m running, has Dale Carey to thank.
“People always say, ‘Why are you having them, you can never find anybody?’ Well, you have your answer with Dale Carey.”
In 2014, the Nationals drafted Carey in the seventh round out of Miami, where he was named second team all-conference as a senior.
The Pittsburgh Pirates also took him in the 21st round in 2010 out of high school before he opted for college.
“What’s impressed me about Dale Carey, he was a seventh-round pick and he has that look, you think this guy must have a lot of tools and he does,” Tagert said. “But it’s the baseball IQ, that’s what’s impressed us the most.
“He’s not as toolsy as you would think. It’s not knock-you-out speed. It’s not jaw-dropping power like Cristian Guerrero. But this guy knows how to play the game.”
Carey intends to play the game for a long time to come.
He still has aspirations to return to the affiliated ranks and climb the ladder, as do most players. But Carey, who spent almost six weeks on the “phantom DL” last season, is focusing on the present.
“All you can control is how you produce on the field,” Carey said. “I’m just trying to work hard and help this team win games.”
He’s been doing so in a variety of ways.
“We’re not surprised by his talent, but we were a little surprised with just his knowledge and awareness,” Tagert said of Carey. “He has that all-around game. He’s been a wonderful addition to the ballclub.”
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