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Cline Has Brother in Him
by Bob Keisser, Long Beach Press-Telegram
May 31, 2007
ONG BEACH - Matt Cline wasn't born with his nose in the fine red clay
of a baseball field, but he's certainly comfortable once he gets there.
As much as anyone on the 2007 Dirtbags, the senior second baseman embodies
the team philosophy and spirit that has made it a postseason perennial,
and the team wouldn't be hosting a regional Friday at Blair Field if not
for the contributions of Cline on and off the field.
He's as driven as Rickey Henderson looking to steal a base, Russell Martin
taking a collision at the plate and Ken Griffey planting his face on the
center-field fence to make a catch.
But there is another aspect of Cline's personality that few people know
of.
In 2003, in his CIF champion senior year at Edison High School, Cline's
older brother Michael was killed in an accidental gunshot incident.
Michael was 7 years older than Matt and had been the prototypical big
brother in a family that had gone through divorce and its attendant pain.
Matt's mother and father split when he was a toddler. His mom Cheryl moved
to the South. His dad, Randy, stayed in Southern California, and brother
Michael became a stabilizing role in his life.
"It was particularly hard on my mom," Matt said. "For me,
I had looked up to him for a long time. He's still with me."
Before every game, Matt uses his cleats to write Michael's name in the
dirt around second base.
His brother's passing led Matt Cline to figuratively take his place. Michael
was married with two kids, and in the ensuing years, Matt has become more
than an uncle to his nephews.
"I'm not their dad," he said. "Michael will always be their
dad. But it was difficult for them, and I want them to have someone in
the family to look up to."
For all of his aggressive play on the field, Cline has always been more
of a quiet leader on the team, his intensity sometimes turned inwards.
He takes losses harder than anyone in the team. The Dirtbags are his family,
too, and he obviously takes family seriously.
When the team hit a bad patch of play in late March, losing six of seven
and throwing the ball around the park like kids playing T-Ball, Cline
and his veteran teammates called for a team meeting away from the ballpark
and without the coaches, just so everyone could let whatever they were
feeling out.
Two days later, the team went on its 21-3 spree.
Cline played two years at Orange Coast College after high school, earning
JC All-American honors as a sophomore. He was a late recruit by Long Beach
State for 2006, not arriving until the January workouts began, putting
him four months behind everyone else.
"He had a lot of catching up to do," coach Mike Weathers said.
"There's a long learning process, and coming in January was difficult.
The jobs on the team were already more or less won."
By the third week of the season, Cline was earning playing time with incumbent
Chuck Sindlinger, and by season's end he was the starter. He hit .308
for the season batting out of the ninth spot.
He came back strong this season, then erupted with the bat at midseason
and now is third in the team at .332, with a .426 on-base percentage and
tied for second in hits with 63.
His hot streak led Weathers to move him up into the No. 2 spot in the
batting order.
He's worked himself into being a prospective draft pick next month despite
his size.
"Matt is much more familiar with the program now," Weathers
said. "He understands his role and understands what he's capable
of.
He's always been the kind of guy who will battle you, a hard-nosed Dirtbag,
and did everything pretty well. Now he's doing some things extremely well."
"The team's entire motivation this year was to just play hard, be
a team and see what happens," Cline said. "This (getting to
the postseason) was our goal all season long, and we're really ready to
make something of it."
In Cline's case, he's actually playing for two families, one that wears
baseball uniforms and another that now leans on Matt the way he once leaned
on his brother.
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