1. Making it in professional baseball - long odds.
Being drafted by the team you adored growing up - even longer.
Sacramento River Cats starting pitcher Clayton Mortensen is one of the few who have made it to
this level of baseball, and as icing on the cake he was drafted by his favorite childhood team.
Mortensen was selected as a supplemental pick (36th overall) following the first round of the
2007 First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. That signing came two years after the
Rexburg, Idaho, native turned down an offer from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who drafted him
in the 25th round of the 2005 draft.
After working his way through the Cardinals' minor league system, Mortensen compiled a 12-12
record and 4.86 ERA over a season and a half with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. Mortensen
was called up to the Cardinals on June 29, 2009, and made his Major League debut while
pitching the final three innings of a 10-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants. After the appearance,
Mortensen was immediately optioned back to Memphis. The call-up would be his lone
appearance for his beloved St. Louis Cardinals.
Weeks later, the right-hander was traded along with Shane Peterson and cash considerations to
the Oakland Athletics organization for slugger Matt Holliday.
"It was nice because I've always been a West Coast kind of guy," said Mortensen, who stands tall
on the mound at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds. "Everything is different - the clubhouse, the team, the
atmosphere. It's hard for a player to adjust at first and I struggled with it. The process was
definitely weird for me, but also great because it was a opportunity to start somewhere new."
For Mortensen, who began his first professional season (2008) in Major League camp with the
Cardinals (the first St. Louis selection to do so since Braden Looper in 1997), the fresh start was
needed.
Although his statistics didn't change drastically after the trade, there was a new sense of
confidence in the right arm of Mortensen. In early August, Oakland gave the right-hander his
second chance in the majors. After suffering two losses to Kansas City and Seattle, Mortensen
settled down on September 11 to record his first Major League win, allowing one run over 6.0
innings en route to a 12-5 A's victory over the host Minnesota Twins.
"There are no words that can really describe how that feels," Mortensen said. "It's the best thing
in the world that you could possibly imagine, especially in my profession. It's one of the biggest
highlights of your career; it really is the ultimate dream."
The victory at Minnesota was a reassuring factor for Mortensen. He proved to himself that he
could indeed pitch at the highest level. Mortensen, who faced a strong Twins lineup that day,
gave up a lead-off home run to Denard Span in the bottom of the first inning, but settled down to
throw 5.0 shutout innings the rest of the way.
Despite going 2-4 with a 7.81 ERA in six starts with the A's, Mortensen used his experience in
the majors and has translated it into wins this season in Sacramento. Ten wins to be exact, which
leads the Pacific Coast League and exceeds his 2009 PCL win total of nine.

2. Mortensen has definitely found his groove in 2010, going 10-2 in through 15 starts with a 3.58
ERA and 77 strikeouts. He was recently called up to Oakland for a second time, allowing three
runs over 6.0 innings during a July 3 start against Cleveland. Mortensen, who was also named a
PCL All-Star along with battery-mate Josh Donaldson, credits his success to his mental focus
and level of confidence compared to last season. He admits taking his first call-up to the Majors
for granted, and is looking at this season with a new perspective, a so called "gut-check" for
himself.
Mortensen isn't the only person who has noticed the changes in his game.
"He has a good command of all his pitches," said River Cats Pitching Coach Rick Rodriguez
said. "He's got a good sinker, he's been able to keep it down, he's come up with a curve ball and
been very consistent with all his pitches. He's finally starting to feel comfortable here after last
year's trade."
Mortensen has definitely been one of the bright spots in the River Cats' 2010 campaign. The
team currently sits in second place in their division, an unfamiliar position for the four-time PCL
champions.
For the River Cats, who have started to turn things around this season, Mortensen has been one
of the guys they can count on the most. His strong worth ethic and dominance on the mound
shows promise for the organization.
Like so many other starting pitchers around the League, the ultimate goal is to be in a Major
League starting rotation. But for the lanky pitcher from Rexburg, Idaho, he's living in the
moment, doing whatever it takes to bring Sacramento back to glory.