Taking it one step at a time

Taking it one step at a time

Freshman third baseman Troy Glaus could have gone straight to
the Major Leagues, but chose instead to pursue a college career at
UCLA

By Ruben Gutierrez

A young player grows up holding sacred the feel of freshly mowed
grass and smoothly raked infield dirt. The smell of a new glove
overwhelms him with the desire to play catch. He is a shortstop,
and after practice, if he hustles, he can catch his favorite
player, Cal Ripken Jr., on the tube for a few minutes. Like so many
before him, he loves the game.

The young player grows, physically and mentally. His skills
become honed and his baseball instincts pick up. Assaulting
opposing pitchers, he hits a shocking .525 his senior year in high
school and shatters his high school’s record with 20 career homers.
He earns several first-team All-American honors. Without a doubt,
he is a player.

The fairy tale doesn’t end there, though.

People real high up in baseball know he can play, too. He is
drafted in the second round of the Major League draft by his
hometown club. So he plays pro ball and lives happily ever after,
right? Wrong. The player decides to snub the show and attend
college instead.

Meet Troy Glaus, freshman third baseman, UCLA Bruins.

"We wouldn’t have recruited him if we didn’t think he had a
strong interest in getting a college degree," UCLA head coach Gary
Adams said. "We thought we had a fighting chance, but to be honest,
when he was drafted high in the second round by the Padres, his own
hometown team, I was kind of discouraged. I had asked Troy before
if he had his choice of any team that would pick him, who it would
be, and he said it would be San Diego."

For the UCLA club, the acquisition of Glaus has been a match
made in heaven. Though batting an unassuming .260, Glaus has
started all but two games for the Bruins, and has sent eight
pitches out of the park, second on the team only to catcher Tim
DeCinces.

"I figured the transition from high school to college would be a
lot easier," Glaus said. "Not only in baseball, but as far as the
whole social aspect and maturing. It would be less of a dramatic
change to come to college than to play on a minor league team
somewhere in the Midwest and be all alone."

Glaus, a prize recruit across the nation, chose UCLA for several
reasons. Glaus praises the academic environment and especially, the
UCLA coaching staff.

"I liked the campus and the school," Glaus said. "I really liked
the coaches and their philosophies and the way they let us play.
They don’t make us all robots, everybody doesn’t do everything
exactly the same. They let us do our thing and if it doesn’t work,
then they help fix it so it does."

Making the transition to the college level has been far from
easy for Glaus, though. Besides facing top-notch pitching in every
trip to the plate, Glaus was also asked to make the transition to a
new position early in the season. Three-year starter Gar Vallone
was the incumbent shortstop and Glaus was moved to third base.

"It’s just a different position and it took time to get used to
it," Glaus said. "The ball comes there a lot faster. You don’t have
the chance to read the hops as much. You can’t get the ball when
you want to get it, you get when it wants to be gotten."

Along with the position change, Glaus has also been forced to
adjust to the accuracy and power of college pitching.

Being drafted last year fulfilled a lifelong dream for Glaus.
Though immersed in the team goals of UCLA baseball now, the
prospects of playing ball professionally are never far from Glaus’
thoughts.

"That was the ultimate," Glaus said. "For about a month I was so
nervous before it. I didn’t know what was going to happen and
people were telling me different things. I really couldn’t believe
anybody because you never know what they’re talking about. It was a
big thrill because the Padres are my hometown and I wouldn’t be
going that far away."

Besides these actual pressures on the field, Glaus has also
weathered the criticisms of those who expected the world from this
proven commodity. Besides expecting tremendous production, people
also expected Glaus to carry himself with cocky air.

"I think people had their own ideas about what I was going to
come in and be like, without meeting me, without doing anything,"
Glaus said. "I think they came in thinking I was going to be soft
and I wasn’t going to play hard. I go out every game and play as
hard as I can. I make it a point not to be cocky or sound cocky to
anybody I meet."

The immense pressure put on Glaus to succeed, given the
reputation which precedes him, sometimes causes him to dwell too
long during the rough going. While some attribute this to
immaturity on the part of a freshman player, Glaus cites his
competitive spirit and commitment to his teammates and coaches.

"I’ve heard it taken two ways. The fact that they think I’m
selfish and I’m only playing for myself, which is completely
wrong," Glaus said. "When I do something that doesn’t help the
team, I feel like I let the team down. That’s why I get mad at
myself."

Glaus is fanatical in his devotion to his team and subscribes to
the never-say-die attitude which has emerged as a recurring theme
this season. Glaus may dislike playing poorly or having a bad day
at the plate, but he hates losing immeasurably more.

Listen up though, because the fairy tale isn’t over just yet.
Glaus has also been selected to try out for the U.S.A. baseball
team, the first step in a possible selection to the 1996 Olympic
team. If Glaus is selected to the team, chalk that up as another
lifelong dream fulfilled.

"I remember watching baseball when the Olympics were in L.A. and
thinking that would be one of the greatest thrills," Glaus said.
"You’re playing for your home country against every other country
and everybody in the world is watching you. It would be awesome if
we got the chance to play in Atlanta (the site of the 1996
Olympics)."