Anthony Giansanti keeps a video clip on his cell phone of a spring training game, March 20 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., Cubs vs. the White Sox.

Giansanti, a Cubs minor leaguer and a Montville High School graduate, smacked a two-run home run in the ninth inning off White Sox reliever Zach Putnam. The footage, in which Giansanti is wearing a blue Cubs jersey with red piping, No. 99, is narrated by longtime White Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson.

“Anthony Giansanti,” Harrelson begins. “Tomahawks it, way back … 10-5. He hung it; he hurt it.”

Harrelson pronounces tomahawks as “tommyhawks.”

It's something Giansanti hangs on to because it's something, at-bats in a major league uniform, of which he's hoping to have many more.

Several of his fellow former Cubs minor leaguers, in fact, are on Chicago's roster as the team gets ready to take part in the postseason for the first time since 2008, facing off against Pittsburgh in Tuesday's National League Wild Card game. At one point, Giansanti counted seven former roommates in the majors.

But it was during a stint at Triple-A Iowa this summer, during which he spent most of the time injured, that Giansanti said he learned more about himself than ever, enough to spend the entire 2016 season healthy and successful.

“Being in Triple-A, watching learning, I learned a lot about what it takes to play in the big leagues,” Giansanti said this week, back home in southeastern Connecticut, working for his brother-in-law as a mason/landscaper.

“Being around guys that have done it, they know what it takes (to play in the major leagues). It made me want to learn even more. You realize you don't know anything about the game. It's more than just showing up at the field.”

Giansanti said Cubs manager Joe Maddon urges his players to “do simple better.”

“It's about who does the simplest things the best,” Giansanti said. “I have a lot to prove and I learned a way to do it. The most unreal moment of this year was learning who I am as a player.”

Of course, it wasn't the only unreal thing Giansanti did this season.

Also, to keep the guys loose in the clubhouse, he began leaving tickets to every game at the will call window for famed mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey, the UFC women's bantamweight champion. He tweeted out a photo of Iowa's pass list, inviting Rousey to Des Moines.

“I woke up and it was all over,” Giansanti said. “SportsCenter, Sports Illustrated, the MSN home page, Facebook. MMA writers were calling me, radio shows. It spread like wild fire. … Ninety-nine percent of the people I've seen since I've been home have asked me about it. I guess it's my MO.

“… I guess the worst-case scenario is I'm not going to get a date with Ronda.”

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Giansanti, who turned 27 last week, has now spent six seasons in the minor leagues with two stints in Iowa. A 5-foot-10, 195-pound right-handed hitter, he's batted .256 in 479 career games with 67 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs and 180 RBI.

He's played all nine positions defensively, but is listed as a left fielder on the roster of the Double-A Tennessee Smokies, where he finished the 2015 season.

It all started at Montville, where Giansanti earned all-state honors in football, wrestling and baseball, graduating in 2006 following the Indians' Class M championship in baseball. Giansanti's senior year he was named The Day's All-Area Player of the Year in football (quarterback) and baseball (shortstop).

“When you're in a state championship game and he swings and misses and then the crowd from the other side is yelling 'overrated' for one swing and a miss, yeah, I think it's safe to say that he just brings something extra, something special,” Montville baseball coach Phil Orbe said at the time.

As a senior, Giansanti hit .384 in baseball. In football, he had 1,100 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, 850 yards passing and 13 touchdowns and was the team's top tackler. In wrestling, he was the ECC runner-up at 160 pounds and reached the State Open.

He then played baseball and majored in marketing at Siena. Giansanti was drafted after his junior year in college in the 49th round by the Oakland Athletics, but chose to stay in school for one more year.

He then hit .336 as a senior with 10 homers, 47 RBI, 56 runs scored and 25 stolen bases … and went undrafted before being signed as a free agent a few days later by the Cubs.

“I was staring at it (the computer), watching every pick,” Giansanti said of the 2010 draft. “It was kind of a harsh reality check. A couple days later a scout gave me a call — Billy Blitzer, I'll never forget. I was in my buddy's garage in New York, trying to figure out the next step in my life.

“Not being drafted made me that much more hungry. I've stayed hungry. I have the same work ethic. It's a surreal feeling, living out my dream. There's not a day I take it for granted. (The Cubs) have been incredible. They've taken care of me and treated me with respect.”

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If someone ever tells Giansanti he “can't” do something, all he has to do is think of his twin brother Mattie and all that Mattie has accomplished despite having Down syndrome.

Mattie also wrestled at Montville, holds a job and has more than 50 Special Olympics medals, by Anthony's estimation. Born 10 minutes before Anthony, he refers to Anthony as “Little Bro.”

Anthony, who also has two sisters, calls Mattie a superhero.

“He's my best friend. He's a total inspiration,” Anthony said. “I'm proud of him because he's so independent. He's like the mayor of Niantic. He's defied all the odds. He's more organized than I am. He's too cool for me. … Whenever I think I can’t do something, I think he's done that times 20. It keeps me grounded and focused.”

Giansanti knows all it takes to make the major leagues is a phone call.

He's heard the stories: Paulo Orlando of the Royals makes the majors this year as a 29-year-old rookie. Jesse Hahn, a Fitch High School graduate, was pitching in Class A baseball in 2013 and was in the majors with the San Diego Padres by 2014.

“The endless stories I've seen and heard are too compelling (to give up),” Giansanti said. … “That's how I keep my sanity. People are worried about variables I can't control. The thing I can control is my attitude and my effort. I was raised that way, to be good as a teammate. It's translated through my entire career.

“I'd love to stay in baseball for 60 years.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday