Wednesday, 2/26/97
Breaking the mold
Second baseman Chad Matoian gives Bruins big-time leadership
despite short stature
By Kristina Wilcox
Daily Bruin Contributor
Chad Matoian does not fit the prototypical mold of the tall,
lean baseball player. So it comes as a surprise to learn that he
does indeed play baseball. The 5-foot-8-inch second baseman also
played football and, yes, basketball during his youth sporting
days.
"I am playing with the cards dealt to me," Matoian said. "I wish
I were 6 feet, but I’m not."
The height question has an interesting twist because his
roommate is Olympian third baseman Troy Glaus, whose 6-foot-5-inch,
225-pound frame dwarfs Matoian.
Meanwhile, Matoian’s role as a fifth-year player makes up for
what he may lack in physical stature.
"I think of myself as a leader," Matoian said. "I’m not a vocal
leader. I have my job to do. If I do my job, the guys will follow
by example. I am not the kind of player who yells at players in the
dugout. I have enough respect for my teammates to not do that. By
other people watching me play, they’ll play with intensity."
His coach sees Matoian’s function a bit differently.
"He is a sparky leader, a feisty guy, an intense competitor,"
head coach Gary Adams said.
Nonetheless, Matoian is someone who people look up to,
figuratively speaking.
"He’s been a hero all his life," Matoian’s younger brother Brady
said. "A little kid turned hero."
Matoian grew up in Fresno as the older of Matty and Kathy
Matoian’s two children. Some of his earliest memories are of
playing baseball with his father.
"You see these pictures of me holding this bat that’s as big as
me when I’m three years old. And I used to grab the bat left-handed
for some reason. But this little kid just holding a bat…
"My father enjoyed baseball. It was the primary sport he played.
It’s natural that parents steer their children into what they are
interested in. And baseball was what I was best at."
Then how did he become interested in basketball and
football?
"I went to private Catholic school from (kindergarten through
eighth grade), and we used to play those sports all of the time,"
he said. "But when I got to high school, my dad didn’t want me to
play either of them. My dad told me no football when I started high
school.
"But my junior year I decided to go out for the team, and in the
fifth game of the year, I break my ankle. My dad saw that
coming."
So instead of playing all three sports his senior year, he cut
back to just football and baseball. That turned out to be a good
move, as he earned all-league honors in both sports that
season.
But colleges did not really notice his play.
"I wanted to make it big, the prime time," Matoian remembers.
"So I said, ‘I’m gonna go to UCLA.’ I wrote letters to Coach Adams,
my parents wrote letters, my grandparents, aunts and uncles … I
wanted to come here.
"I was going for the gusto. If baseball didn’t work out, I was
going to be at a great school. I wasn’t going to let baseball
decide where I go."
But baseball did work out. Matoian made the team his freshman
year as a walk-on. After redshirting that season, the pattern
began.
"I think of my career as a roller coaster," he said. "I’ll start
the season on the bench, pinch-hitting or being the designated
hitter. I’ll do well at the plate, and end up playing the last 30
games on the season. That’s happened every season."
But his second year on the team was a turning point.
During his redshirt season, the team was struggling, and in one
particular game, trailed USC by two runs late in the game.
With a runner already on base, Matoian was waiting on deck when
he was told by Adams that if the present batter reached base also,
Matoian would be pinch-hit for.
However, even though the batter got a hit, Matoian was allowed
to hit and proceeded to double down the left field line, driving in
the tying runs.
"That was a turning point for me here," he said. "Once that
happened, I knew I belonged here. I knew that I was good enough to
compete at this level.
"Coming in here, I didn’t want to be a big fish in a small pond.
I wanted to blend into the crowd. At home, I was in the spotlight,
under the microscope. All my life, I had to live up to everyone’s
expectations of me. There was so much pressure. But I’m more of an
everyday kind of person. Here, there are no preconceived notions. I
got to start over."
By starting over at UCLA, he has also seen the baseball program
experience a metamorphosis.
"I’ve seen the rise and fall and rebuilding of this program," he
said. "This year, our team is a lot more confident. We are almost
at senior status, with a lot of juniors and seniors. A lot of
people grew up with time and maturity."
Given that newfound confidence, what does Matoian think of this
year’s postseason possibilities?
"I honestly believe we can destroy our opponents. Not just win,
but destroy … I’m not satisfied with going to Omaha. I know our
team is capable of winning the College World Series."
Coming from a seasoned veteran, the team has some tall orders to
fill.GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Chad Matoian is a "sparky leader" on the Bruin team.