With his roommates in Philadelphia this weekend, Mike Minor had the trio’s Buckhead pad to himself.
But he didn’t have much time to sit back and enjoy being home alone. With a busy weekend lined up, Minor spent a majority of his time 35 miles away in Gwinnett for a four-game series against Charlotte.
His roommates, Braves’ pitchers Brandon Beachy and Cory Gearrin, weren’t exactly on vacation: They faced division rival Philadelphia over the weekend, with Beachy pitching Friday night, making his 12th start of the season against the NL East-leading Phillies.
“The weirdest thing is when you don’t know if your roommates are going to be there or not,” Minor said. “I always have to check the phone, check their schedule and see when they’re at home.”
The rookies decided to live together during spring training, eyeing Buckhead as the ideal place because of the neighborhood’s nightlife and restaurant scene, and its central location between Turner Field and Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnett Braves.
“We all knew that we wanted to stay in that area anyway, regardless of where we were going to be,” Beachy said. “We were all prepared to make the trip up to Gwinnett every day if that was what was going to happen.”
While both Minor and Beachy entered the Braves organization in 2009, their paths to Turner Field began differently.
Minor was a touted first-round draft pick, selected seventh overall by Atlanta after his junior season at Vanderbilt. Beachy, undrafted after his junior season at Indiana Wesleyan, signed as a free agent with the Braves.
The pair met in the instructional league that year, spent time together in Mississippi and reunited in Gwinnett. Minor, 23, got called up to the big leagues first, making his debut Aug. 9 last year against Houston. In the six-inning outing, the southpaw gave up three earned runs while striking out five batters. Minor remained on the Braves’ roster for the remainder of the season.
Beachy, 24, wasn’t far behind. He made his major league debut a month later against the Phillies, as a replacement for an injured Jair Jurrgens.
This season, the Braves chose Beachy over Minor to fill the final spot in Atlanta’s starting rotation. That hasn’t put a damper on the pair’s relationship. Minor, after he was assigned to Gwinnett to start the season, has made six major league starts this season, a number of them in place of an injured Beachy.
“Neither one of us knew if we were going to make the team or not, but we didn’t care,” Minor said. “We were going to be friends, and whatever happened, happened.”
Gearrin adds a reliever’s arm to the roommate mix. He first met Beachy while playing Double-A ball in Mississippi and was introduced to Minor when the lefty was playing in the fall league in Arizona, with Gearrin crashing on his couch.
“This past year was the first time we’ve all kind of been together and gotten to know each other the way you only get to know roommates,” Gearrin said.
Gearrin and Minor began the season in Gwinnett while Beachy traveled south to Turner Field. Beachy strained his oblique in an at-bat on May 13, resulting in a month-long stint on the disabled list. A few weeks later, Minor was called up from the G-Braves to fill in for Tim Hudson and spent the next month in the big leagues, with the exception of a June 5 start in Gwinnett. Minor returned to the G-Braves after his June 21st start against Toronto.
Gearrin made his major league debut with the Braves on April 25, less than two weeks after his 25th birthday, pitching two perfect innings against the Padres.
“We were all actually here [at Turner Field] while I was hurt for a little while, and that was fun,” Beachy said. “Hopefully it’s not too long before we can get that situation back.”
With the season at the midway point and their schedules busy, the pitchers have found Buckhead a convenient landing place.
For Gearrin, the trip to Coolray Field, coupled with time spent away from his roommates, was a constant motivator to make it to the big leagues. Early in the season, Gearrin remained on the Gwinnett roster when Minor moved up for a short stint in April.
“I missed several of the West Coast swings, and those are long road trips,” Gearrin said. “I’ll be in Triple-A, and Mike and Brandon will be in L.A. and San Diego, and I’m like, ‘I have to get back to the major leagues.’”
Although their different routines may complicate things a bit, Beachy, Minor, and Gearrin have found a way to make it work.
“There’s not very much cooking going on,” Beachy said. “Somehow the dishes always get done and the trash always gets taken out.”
