Frederick Keys catcher Caleb Joseph occasionally lingers after games, assists the clubhouse attendant, orders some pizza and then crashes at the stadium.
Talk about eating and sleeping baseball.
"It's been about 30 percent of nights in the clubhouse at Frederick that I have spent the night on the couch," said Joseph, 23, a right-handed hitter. "I didn't want to leave. You never know when your last day is going to be."
A 2008 seventh-round pick out of Lipscomb (Tenn.) University, Joseph is in no danger of being sent home. Despite skipping a level in 2008 from short-season Single-A Aberdeen to High-A Frederick, Joseph is the Carolina League's leading hitter, batting .330 (70-for-212) with six homers and 35 RBIs in 57 games.
Discovered by Orioles scout Rich Morales while playing at the small Division I school, Joseph has gotten stronger, improved his defense and quickly become one of the most intriguing prospects in an organization sorely lacking in position players.
"Even though he is still learning a lot of things, he has hit the ball much better than anyone could have guessed," Orioles director of player development David Stockstill said. "He has a good swing, a quick bat and recognizes pitches much better."
What sets Joseph apart, however, is his attitude.
"I guarantee you there is not anybody on this team, maybe even in our minor league system, that loves the game more," said Joseph, whose younger brother Corban plays in the New York Yankees' system. "I guarantee you that. It's almost embarrassing."
He began attending Triple-A Nashville Sounds games about age 4, and he wouldn't let his family leave until the last out was recorded. By high school, he was working as an attendant in the Sounds visitors' clubhouse, soaking up advice from prospects on their way up to the majors and veterans on their way down.
So it doesn't strike him as strange that he now likes to sleep in the Keys' clubhouse.
"We have a flat-screen TV in there, a soda machine, we get pizza delivered all the time," Joseph said. "It's great."
Before a recent game, the clubhouse TV showed The Rookie, a 2002 Walt Disney movie about Jim Morris, a former high school teacher who made his major league debut at age 35. Even though he had seen the movie before, Joseph choked up during the scene in which Morris learns of his big league promotion. While his buddies played cards, oblivious to the drama unfolding, Joseph said he watched the scene with "these big old teardrops in my eyes."
