Long Beach State University Athletics
Weaver a Definition of a Dirtbag
6/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
Weaver the Definition of a Dirtbag On Page 35 of the Long Beach State baseball media guide there's a brief description of what "Dirtbag baseball' is all about, along with a number of comments from former Dirtbags. "Being a Dirtbag is great," says Jeremy Reed, now in the Chicago White Sox organization. "We're just guys who like to get dirty and play hard." "Being a Dirtbag means you're a never-say-die player," says Terrmel Sledge, who's with the Montreal Expos. "It's a badge of honor," says one of the original Dirtbags, Steve Trachsel, now with the New York Mets. On and on it goes. Bobby Crosby, the Oakland Athletics' shortstop, says, "Being a Dirtbag…is always putting the team before yourself." When Jered Weaver showed up at Long Beach State for a recruiting visit, a rangy, shaggy-haired right-hander who was an all-star in high school (at Simi Valley, naturally), he got the full Dirtbag treatment. He'd been to Cal State Fullerton, and heard all about the Titans' successes over the years, and to Cal State Northridge, of course, since it was right down the street. But he was sold on Long Beach State. Why? No college baseball player has ever received the national attention Jered Weaver has gotten this season, and perhaps none ever will again. Yet, even now, just days before the major league amateur draft, when Weaver's name might be the first one announced or the second, or even third, but undoubtedly somewhere high enough to command some big-time bucks Jered Weaver remains what he was when he got here. A Dirtbag. A Dirtbag baseball player. Ask him about the draft and he says, "That's not my focus right now. My focus is the team. I want to do what I can to help get us to Omaha (and the College World Series)." Ask him about all the media attention the list of those wanting the "inside' on Jered Weaver is endless, from USA Today and Sports Illustrated to ESPN and Fox to the Associated Press, not to mention three San Diego television outlets since the Padres have the No. 1 pick in the draft and he says, "I don't let all that stuff get into my head. I'm here for the team. I've always been a team guy. It's fun and all, and it's great for the team, too. A lot of guys get to be seen. But all I'm interested in is helping us take that next step." Ask him about this weekend, when the Dirtbags play at the NCAA Regional at Stanford, the first step on the road to Omaha, and whether he wants to start today against St. John's, or against Stanford, or whenever, and he says, "When the coach tells me to pitch, I'll pitch. I don't care who it is. They're going to do what's right for the team." For the record, Weathers said Weaver won't pitch today. When it's over, when the Jered Weaver Era at Long Beach State eventually ends whether it's this weekend, or next, or in Omaha so will one of the most captivating times in LBSU baseball history, Dirtbags or otherwise. When Weaver is the Dirtbags' starting pitcher, it's an Event. The crowds at Blair Field are bigger and far more energetic when Weaver is on the mound. In a smaller way, it's similar to the days at Dodger Stadium when Sandy Koufax was pitching, when fans would leave their seats for a beer and hot dog when the Dodgers were batting precisely the opposite from the way it usually works and get back in time to see Koufax. It had to be a short beer line, too, in those days. The instant Weaver pokes his head out of the dugout the hoopla begins. For Weaver, it starts even before that. "I try to start my focus in the dugout, before I go out there," Weaver said, taking a moment to explain what he goes through to get that focus he's always talking about. "First, I pull down my pants legs. I guess it's a superstition, something I did once and it worked, so I keep doing it. Every pitcher is superstitious, I guess." Next, Weaver more or less lunges out of the dugout. He carefully avoids stepping on the foul line. "Like I said, superstitions," he said with a laugh. Finally, he reaches the mound. He throws his warm-up pitches, gets the ball back from the third baseman, walks halfway to second base, turns toward center field and stretches his legs. Then, using his arms, he forms an X, aimed toward center field. "Just my way of telling the guys in the field not to let an error or something like that bother them," he explains. Once he gets an X back from the center fielder, he turns and walks back to the mound, and he etches the initials of his grandparents in the dirt. "It's just something I do," Weaver says matter-of-factly. He's done that for every one of the 354 innings he's pitched at Long Beach State. Obviously, it still works. Weathers didn't until three starts later, March 5 at Blair Field, when Weaver struck out the first 10 Brigham Young batters, 15 in all. Weaver's greatest mark came three starts after that, March 24 at Blair Field against nationally ranked Wichita State. Weaver struck out 16 batters in six innings. That's 16 of 18 outs via strikeout, prompting Wichita State's coach, Gene Stephenson, to echo Weathers, saying, "I've never seen that. He probably would've struck out 24 if they'd left him out there." Against Pacific on March 7 at Blair Field Weaver struck out a school-record 17, retiring the last 18 batters he faced. That earned Weaver his sixth another record National Player of the Week Award. Weaver won his first 14 games this season before his first loss, last weekend at Miami. With 14 wins he's still No. 1 in the country. His earned run average, 1.69, ranks third nationally. And his strikeouts per nine innings, a remarkable 13.6, is No.1. "Strikeouts are definitely fun," he said. "But I don't really try for strikeouts. They just happen. That's not my game plan. But, yeah, they're fun." It hasn't been all bliss, however. In his freshman season, 2002, Weaver was removed from the starting rotation for a time. It was a decision by the Dirtbags' pitching coach, Troy Buckley. "That was the greatest thing that could have happened to me," Weaver said the other day, looking back. "I was lazy, I wasn't in good condition," he said. "What Buck did was kick me in the butt. And I needed it. After that I never wanted to come out of the rotation again." Not much chance of that. Not now, when Jered Weaver is the ultimate Dirtbag. |
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