Rookie third-baseman gives Fish something to Croes about

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Goldeyes’ third baseman Dayson Croes has had to prove himself constantly in his young baseball career.

Thirty-two games into his first American Association season, the 23-year-old has a batting average of .379 and has already had a 25-game hit streak to his name. The streak is the longest at any level of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) or Major League Baseball (MLB) partner league this year.

Croes was born and raised in Noord, Aruba. The small population on the island can make it difficult to face high-level competition.

“It’s a small island, so you’re playing against the same guys from three to 16 (years old),” said Croes who sat out the Goldeyes’ game Tuesday against the Lincoln Saltdogs due to an injury.

His father, Estefano Croes, played professional baseball, but faced injuries that prevented him from reaching the major leagues. Estefano made sure his son got an education to fall back on if his professional career did not work out. Because of the focus on education and his love of baseball, Dayson strived to play college ball.

“Since I was 11 or 12 I always knew I wanted to play college baseball.”

After he graduated from high school in 2017, Croes did not receive a single college offer. Late into the recruiting process, the head coach from Southeastern Community College noticed Croes at a tryout.

“It was April and I still didn’t have any scholarships or anything, but their coach saw me at a tryout in Miami, Fla., and then he contacted me and I went on a visit,” said Croes.

While Southeastern had no scholarships to offer, the school’s tuition was affordable and Croes decided he would walk-on at the Iowa-based community college.

The Aruba native said his first college practice was the stuff of nightmares.

“The first practice in the fall, I overthrew the third baseman and the coach said ‘Get off the field!’, and basically told me to go back home and said that I have until Tuesday to pack my stuff and go back home to Aruba, I thought I was done there.”

He was far from done. The stunt was merely a scare tactic and Croes continued to put the work in.

While he started the team’s opening game on the bench, the starting third baseman struggled at the plate and struck out multiple times which was a big no-no for the coaching staff. The door opened for Croes.

“The biggest thing there is they hate strikeouts, and the third basemen struck out like three or four times in the first game so he got pulled and I went in and I got a hit in my first at bat, I think I went two for four in my first game and I didn’t strike out, so after that day I played almost every single day.”

Croes did not look back after gaining a starting spot. He earned a scholarship while at Southeastern and batted an incredible .429 in his freshman campaign.

After his first season, coaches from across the country took notice of the freshman phenom and he was in a position to transfer to a higher-level school after his sophomore year. Unfortunately in the fall of his sophomore year, Croes tore his Achilles tendon. Just like that, coaches stopped calling.

While the injury can take a year or longer to recover from, Croes was miraculously back on the diamond in six months and played in the spring season.

“I don’t know how I did it,” said Croes. “It wasn’t a good year, I hit under .300 but I still led the team in RBIs, it was the only time in my career I hit under .300, but I hadn’t touched a bat in six months.”

Croes gutted out the season, but still didn’t receive many offers to transfer. Fortunately, Quincy University offered him a scholarship and he took it.

Croes lost nearly all of his first season at Quincy to the COVID-19 pandemic, but played outstanding baseball over his time there. Over three seasons he batted .388.

Upon graduating from Quincy, he wanted to play professionally, but didn’t have a team to play for. That reality changed when Greg Tagert gave him a call.

“Tagert called me, I think it was in January, I was getting ice cream with my girlfriend and I see this phone number from California,” said Croes. “I thought it was spam, so I almost declined it and I was like, ‘Oh maybe I’ll answer it,’ and it was Tags.”

A few months later, Croes made his way to Winnipeg. The third baseman has hit the ground running in his first AA season. Croes attributes his early success to overcoming adversity at every level and staying mentally strong.

“I think just always having to prove myself,” said Croes. “I’m not the biggest kid, I’m not the fastest, I’m not the strongest, but I’m going to compete.”

Goldeyes manager Greg Tagert said that Croes has played a key role for the Fish in nearly every game so far this season.

“He has really been a difference-maker for us,” said Tagert. “He’s been instrumental in the games we’ve won (and) he’s been instrumental in giving us a chance to win games that we let slip away or haven’t finished off.”

In addition to his manager’s kind words, his teammate Jacob Bockelie also has high praise for the 23-year-old rookie.

“He’s been one of the more impressive bats I’ve seen especially fresh out of college,” said Bockelie. “The thing that has impressed me so far is that he’s had long-term success, we’ve seen rookies that have come in and be hot for ten or so games and then just hit a cold streak… He’s been constantly adjusting and fine tuning his approach to really have a lot of success, he’s really helped us out a bunch.”

While Croes has enjoyed his time in Winnipeg, the time away from his family has been challenging.

“It’s hard being away from home, being away from the people you love,” said Croes. “Having their support is motivation to keep going.”

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca