Two new players, two new careers

AUBURN, N.Y. -- It can't be this easy, can it?
Sure, Brian Wright and Shaun Larkin compiled some big numbers during their college baseball days -- Wright at North Carolina State, Larkin at California State-Northridge.
But Tuesday night at Falcon Park here, two of the Cleveland Indians' selections in the June amateur draft -- Wright a seventh-rounder, Larkin a ninth-rounder -- made their professional debuts for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
And they acted like it was no big deal.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet, to tell you the truth," said Larkin, a second baseman. "It's not much different. Bases are still 90 feet [apart]."
Fresh starts
In front of 2,000 fans hungry for the start of Class A short-season minor league baseball, Wright and Larkin put on their new uniforms and started their new careers.
To them, however, it was just another game.
"It wasn't anything too special," laughed Wright, a right-fielder. "I mean, my first at-bat I had a little adrenaline flowing, but as far as overly nervous or overly excited, I didn't think I was."
Instead, Wright focused on his job as a leadoff hitter.
"I need to get on base and start something," he said. "It's pretty much the same. It wasn't dramatic or special."
Maybe this is all a good thing. Maybe Manager Chris Bando and the Indians should be content in knowing Wright and Larkin are confident in their abilities, even if they each battled through some growing pains in the Scrappers' season-opening 3-1 loss to the Auburn Doubledays.
"You just have to understand the game," said Larkin, who batted behind Wright on Tuesday. "You're going to have your good games, you're going to have your bad games and your streaks -- good and bad. You have to take them in the same stride."
Up and down
Larkin went 0-for-4 and was charged with an error in the sixth inning when the ball popped out of his glove on a potential double play.
"Shaun hit the ball hard," Bando said. "He was a little tentative on defense, but over the course of the season, those things will work their way out."
Larkin said, "I was getting a step ahead of myself. That's just anxious energy."
Wright led the Wolfpack in nearly every offensive category. He showed his experience in his first at-bat Tuesday by drawing a walk, but he went 0-for-3 the rest of the way.
"I didn't play very well and I didn't play terribly bad, either," Wright said. "I definitely have some work to do. Things are just going to take some time."
Road warriors
Part of the adjustment to minor league baseball is the constant travel, staying for days in unfamiliar towns and keeping one's game at a high level.
Wright and Larkin are aware of that minor league road ahead, even if it has been un-traveled for them.
"Bus trips don't bother me," Larkin said. "You have a lot of time to get close with your team. It's more about the positive things, not 'Ah, we've got six hours ahead of us.' "
Wright said, "You have to hang out a little bit, maybe read a book, play some cards. Ain't really too much to it."
Don't misunderstand Wright and Larkin. They do appreciate where they are. Just listen.
"I started at childhood, man," Larkin said. "From day one. When I picked up a bat, this is what I wanted to do. It's a lifetime dream. I'm trying to make the best of it while I can and enjoy every minute of it."
There is that calmness and drive that have carried the two into professional baseball, and it showed Tuesday night.
It's a mental battle that must be waged and won. Wright and Larkin have begun the fight.
XBrian Richesson is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at richesson@vindy.com.