Long Beach State University Athletics
Reed's Stock's Rising
7/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
Reed's Stock Rising BIRMINGHAM, AL - Jeremy Reed is a Dirtbag. Thus far in his career, Reed has accumulated almost as many honors and awards as he has accumulated stolen bases. But, even after Reed was recently named by Baseball America as the number one prospect in all of the minor leagues, the honor he is still proud of is being a Long Beach State Dirtbag. "Being a Dirtbag is great, it's a great group of guys. We're just players who like to get dirty and play hard. We'll always battle every inning, every at bat – it's just a hard-nosed way to play ball," Reed explained. Reed continues to use that hard-nosed approach each time he steps into the batters box as he rarely allows a pitcher to strike him out. Prior to his promotion to the Barons, Reed struck out only 17 times in 222 at bats with Winston-Salem. "I'm just really comfortable and confident that I can put the ball in play with two strikes. I think that's the most important thing, to have confidence that you can put the ball in play and battle every at bat. My dad played a big role in coaching me the right way to play and to approach the game," Reed said. In every league he's attempted thus far, Reed has proven he is a pure hitter. In high school, at Bonita High, CA, he batted .511, and Reed's three-year collegiate average at Long Beach was .326. Reed even hit an impressive .324 in the Alaskan summer league and posted a team leading .366 average for Team USA. Professionally, his stats have continued to improve as he's batted .319 for Kannapolis, .333 at Winston-Salem and he currently owns a gaudy .479 average for the Barons. It seems as the level of Reed's competition rises, so does his average. "I can't really attribute it to anything in particular. I just stay with the same approach and always try and play the same way. That's the biggest thing, you can't change yourself or your approach. I haven't changed anything up here (with the Barons), I was just hot when I came up and luckily I've just kept it going," he said. While Reed's high batting average has certainly caught the media's attention, scouts say it's Reed's Dirtbag attitude, his ability to hit to all fields and smart base running that separates him from some of the other prospects across the country. Reed's 54 career steals at Long Beach ranks second in their history books and, since turning pro, Reed hasn't stopped running. After swiping 17 bags at Kannapolis and 27 more at Winston-Salem, Reed is excited to be playing for Manager Wally Backman and his aggressive style of baseball. "Oh, Wally is definitely a players kind of guy. I've played for a few managers and Wally is right up there with the best. Wally wants us to be aggressive and I like that because he lets me play my game. He gets us to play hard and he really wants to win and that's what I like," Reed explained. With centerfield prospect Joe Borchard struggling in Triple-A (hitting .224) and the probability of Carl Everett leaving Chicago at the end of the season via free agency, it is possible that the name of Jeremy Reed could be at the top of the order and playing centerfield for the White Sox sometime next year. However, as Reed fast tracks his way through the Southern League and into the major leagues, he says one thing will never change. Jeremy's spoken – he's a Dirtbag. |
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