{"id":11091,"date":"2020-12-31T11:04:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T16:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/?p=11091"},"modified":"2020-12-31T11:04:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T16:04:32","slug":"rox-to-pros-will-craigs-journey-to-his-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/2020\/12\/31\/rox-to-pros-will-craigs-journey-to-his-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Rox to Pro\u2019s: Will Craig\u2019s Journey to His Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every young baseball player\u2019s dream is to make it into Major League Baseball. For Will Craig, that dream came true on August 27, 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Playing baseball for Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, Craig always had baseball on his mind. After a stellar high school career, he was drafted in the 37th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Upon high school graduation, Craig began negotiating his future to get one step closer to his dreams. He had two stipulations for the Royals: a salary that was to his liking, and a full athletic scholarship to a college of his choice after his baseball career. After negotiations fell through, Craig decided he was going to college to play baseball for Wake Forest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>College Baseball<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wake Forest was not Craig\u2019s first choice. He grew up a huge University of Tennessee fan and wanted to stay close to home and play for the team he grew up watching. Everything appeared to work out at the in-state SEC school, and his mom was an employee so he would get a discount on schooling. He applied for every scholarship he could and received them all. Everything was lining up&#8211;except for Tennessee did not have the same plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They didn\u2019t think Craig was skilled enough to get into the rotation, and they actually wanted him to be a pitcher. He wanted to be an infielder and knew his calling card was to be a power hitter. After looking at other schools, only Wake Forest saw Craig\u2019s potential as a hitter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was able to compete right away for the starting spot at third base and did not look back. In 2015 Craig was named ACC Player of the Year, hitting .382\/496\/.702 with 13 home runs and 58 runs batted in. He also pitched at Wake Forest and went 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA that season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"395\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11095 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791.jpeg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791.jpeg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27550%27%20height%3D%27395%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20550%20395%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27550%27%20height%3D%27395%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791-120x86.jpeg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791-250x180.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/6-6-2014-11-43-09-PM-4229791.jpeg 550w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>The St. Cloud Rox and the Northwoods League<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIf you are serious about becoming a professional baseball player, you need to do this,\u201d Craig said, talking about his experience with the St. Cloud Rox and the Northwoods League.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cFrom when you start your professional career in rookie ball to Double-A baseball, you won\u2019t find anything closer than this. Playing baseball in college will teach you a lot of things as a player, but one thing it will not teach you is the fast-paced environment of playing 72 games in the span of 75 days. Playing in the Northwoods League teaches you to move on quickly and get ready for the next game, because it is 24 hours away and not four days away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The road trips in the Northwoods League were something he had to get used to, as this was his life for the next three months and his future if he wanted to go into professional baseball. \u201cEverything about my first year of professional baseball had me feeling like I was back in St. Cloud.\u201d With his experience, he could focus on what was most important, and that was baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"959\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11094 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27640%27%20height%3D%27959%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20640%20959%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27640%27%20height%3D%27959%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2-120x180.jpg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2-250x375.jpg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-2.jpg 640w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Memories of St. Cloud<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Craig had some great memories from his season in St. Cloud, but two moments, in particular, stick out to him:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of his favorite memories was playing at Joe Faber Field on a foggy evening. Will stepped up to the plate, saw a pitch he liked, and smoked the ball into center field. He knew that ball was gone. As he started rounding the bases the umpire ruled it a ground-rule double. In his heart, Craig knew it was a home run. He remembers it being one of the hardest balls he\u2019s ever hit.\u00a0 However, the umpires said they lost the ball in the fog and because they couldn\u2019t tell where it went they had to rule it a ground-rule double.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Craig pleaded his case to the second base umpire, the opposing center fielder came in and stated that the ball cleared the scoreboard. The umpires discussed it and decided to give Craig a home run&#8211;a situation that may never be seen again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another memory that Craig had was executing the \u201cperfect sit\u201d. What is the perfect sit, you ask? It is where you sit on the bench for an entire game and don\u2019t move from your spot. You might be thinking to yourself that it\u2019s probably not that hard, especially if you have an off day and know you aren\u2019t going to be playing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What about when the benches clear?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That is the situation Craig found himself in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a Rox player was hit by a pitch, the benches decided to stand and make sure that it wasn\u2019t going to happen again. No fights broke but Craig never even got out of the dugout. His first attempt at the perfect sit was not going to be affected by bench-clearing. He was in it to win it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11093 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27960%27%20height%3D%27640%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20960%20640%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27960%27%20height%3D%27640%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1-120x80.jpg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/Will-Craig-1.jpg 960w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Coach Augie Rodriguez<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Something that has been a treat for the last nine seasons for Rox players has been learning under one of the greatest Northwoods League Field Managers of all time. That will change in 2021 as David Bellamy takes over as Field Manager for the Rox, but Rodriguez\u2019s impact will undoubtedly remain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rodriguez would always push his players and be upfront and honest with them. In 2014, Wake Forest was making a deep run in the ACC tournament. Craig called Rodriguez and asked for permission to arrive a week into the season, so he could rest up from his college season before playing baseball all summer. Rodriguez\u2019s simple reply was that if Craig wanted to play for the Rox, he would be there on time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rodriguez\u2019s specialty was finding out what motivated players and he would test them to get better. That is what Craig remembers and respects most about one of the top field managers in Northwoods League history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Finally Pro<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After Craig&#8217;s time in St. Cloud, he finished another season at Wake Forest. It was now time for what he had been waiting for since he was a kid: going pro.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During his 2015 season, there was talk from agents saying that he might be a first-round pick. Craig didn\u2019t even know that was possible. It might be every baseball player&#8217;s dream to play professional baseball, but it is also a dream to go in the first round. No matter what happens, you can always say that you were a first-rounder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After meeting with several teams, including the Atlanta Braves, who owned the third overall pick in the draft, draft night had finally come. The first few picks came and went as Craig eagerly waited to hear his name called. Around pick number 20, his agent called and said not to talk to anyone. Major league teams were calling Craig and he was told not to answer any of the calls until his agent said so. Finally, the Pittsburgh Pirates called and after patiently waiting Craig was given the go-ahead to answer. He was drafted by the Pirates in the first round officially turning his dreams into reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everything set in, but he had no time to celebrate. It was time to go to the minors. Just a day after his signing and physical, he was on a bus at 7 a.m. to travel to rookie ball.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Northwoods League 2.0.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s like the movies. You know when they post who made the team on a bulletin board after tryouts? That was what it was like after every spring training to see where I was going,\u201d Craig said. Moving up the ranks is what players have to do in order to get to the major league level. Craig did exactly that as he never repeated a year and moved up a level every season.\u00a0 In 2018 and 2019 Craig had back-to-back 20 home run seasons while driving in 102 runs in 2018. He was good enough to be chosen to represent the Pirates in the 2019 Futures Game, a matchup that showcases the future of Major League Baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1669\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11096 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%271669%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201200%201669%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%271669%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped-120x167.jpg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped-250x348.jpg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped-700x974.jpg 700w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped-768x1068.jpg 768w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped-1104x1536.jpg 1104w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1200px-Griffey_and_Craig_48262214761_cropped.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Not Your Average Debut<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As we all know, 2020 was not an ideal year for anything. MLB played the entire season without fans and there was no minor league action. After a strong 2019 season, people were calling for Craig to be brought up to the big leagues. \u201cIt was different because in 2019, fans would say \u2018Give Will Craig a chance! He\u2019s hitting well!\u2019 but there wasn\u2019t any of that this year. Fans couldn\u2019t really know how well players were doing at the alternate training site so there wasn\u2019t any of that.\u201d Craig had to really prove himself to his coaches that he was ready for the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the season went on, Craig was doing what he needed to do to prepare to be called up. One morning he woke up to a call from his manager. Craig was confused because they usually texted or just spoke while at the field. Answering the phone he was confused, he was told that he was being called up to the big leagues. His dreams were finally going to come true.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Craig started to pack his bags as he waited to hear where he was going to be sent, as the Pirates were on a road series with the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. Bags packed, Craig waits in the lobby to find out which flight he is going to take.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cYou\u2019re driving to St. Louis. Not flying,\u201d Craig\u2019s manager said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s not your average form of transportation to the big leagues but Craig was happy regardless. After his 11 \u00bd-hour drive to St. Louis, Craig was ready to make his debut. In-game one of a doubleheader, Craig hears, \u201cAre you ready to be a major leaguer? Do you want to start in your first Major League game?\u201d Speechless, Craig was able to answer \u201cYes, sir!\u201d\u00a0 He got to play in a seven-inning game where he started at first base and had three at-bats in front of an empty stadium with no crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While his debut might not have been written out as a typical debut, he would not have it any other way. Craig doesn\u2019t know his future for 2021 but he is ready for the call again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI don\u2019t know what 2021 has in store for me. I obviously want to be on the roster. I feel that I can bring something whether it\u2019s on the Pirates or any team that wants me. I feel that I can make an impact every day I&#8217;m there. Whatever does happen, I know I will just be the best player that I can be and do whatever it takes to help my team win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-scaled.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11097 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-scaled.jpeg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271707%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202560%201707%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271707%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-120x80.jpeg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-250x167.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-700x467.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/1134802628-scaled.jpeg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1878\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-11098 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271878%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202560%201878%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271878%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-120x88.jpg 120w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-250x183.jpg 250w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-700x514.jpg 700w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-768x563.jpg 768w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-1536x1127.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/craigjpg-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every young baseball player\u2019s dream is to make it into Major League Baseball. For Will Craig, that dream came true  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":11092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,27,28,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-categories","category-alumni-spotlight","category-team-news","category-update-ticker"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rox to Pro\u2019s: Will Craig\u2019s Journey to His Dream - St. Cloud Rox<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/st-cloud-rox\/2020\/12\/31\/rox-to-pros-will-craigs-journey-to-his-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rox to Pro\u2019s: Will Craig\u2019s Journey to His Dream\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every young baseball player\u2019s dream is to make it into Major League Baseball. 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