At around the time Cardinals pitching prospect Tink Hence was eight or nine years old, the baseball conversations he’d hear while sitting in the back seat of the family car between his father and older brothers about managing emotions when playing the sport began to resonate with the future 63rd overall pick.
“You can't be all happy whenever you do good and then when you do bad you want to pout around,” he recalled of his dad’s messaging. “It's just kind of just keeping it even-keeled. … When it goes bad, just shake (it) off and come back. When you do good, just try to find a consistency and keep going… That's the big thing that I just keep on my shoulders and in my head anytime.”
Those lessons learned have shown this spring as Hence, 20, got his first experience in big-league camp as a non-roster invitee before he was reassigned to minor-league camp on Wednesday.
