Thursday, 6/5/97 An Angel among us BASEBALL: Glaus’ dream comes
true as No. 3 pick overall in amatuer draft
By Sierra Roberts Daily Bruin Contributor The Angel in Westwood
doesn’t wear wings. He wears a baseball uniform, while he dons a
cap as his halo. California’s newest Angel is Troy Glaus. He stands
6-foot-5 and weighs in at 225 pounds (and you thought John Travolta
made an unlikely candidate in "Michael"). Glaus is not your typical
Angel. He is an Angel of the athletic persuasion and the Anaheim
Angels are hoping his performance on their team will be as heavenly
as Glaus is feeling right now. Playing professional baseball has
always been a dream for Glaus. "It is something I’ve been dreaming
about since I was a little kid," Glaus said. Tuesday, Glaus’ dream
came true when he was chosen as the third pick overall in the June
Amateur Draft by the Anaheim Angels. "When talk of the draft first
came out, the Angels were a team I really wanted to play for,"
Glaus said. Troy Glaus will be hanging up his Bruin gear for a
uniform with heavenly appeal. But while he is blessed with athletic
talent, it’s his time at UCLA which has prepared him for the
professional baseball level. UCLA head baseball coach Gary Adams
calls Glaus "the real deal" and anyone who has watched him play
would have to agree. "He can do all five things a major leaguer
needs to do," Adams said. "He can run, throw, field, hit for
average and for power. He’s going to be the real deal in the big
leagues." In his three years at UCLA, Glaus has earned this pro
opportunity by playing great baseball. This season he hit 34 home
runs, batted .409, and had 91 RBIs. But he has attracted attention
for years. As a senior at Carlsbad High School in San Diego County,
Glaus was also faced with an opportunity to play professional ball
– he was drafted in the second round by the Padres – but he turned
down the chance so he could come to UCLA. "Playing here has been
nothing but fun. It was the best thing for me," Glaus said. "I
wasn’t able to get anything but better since I’ve been here. "I
gained a lot of knowledge for the game. I have more respect for the
game. I try to play by showing that respect." Playing for Team USA
for two years hasn’t hurt his performance either. Glaus is one of
two Bruins to come home from Atlanta with an Olympic bronze medal,
not to mention the plentiful international experiences. As a Bruin
this year, Glaus led the squad in home runs with 34 and broke the
school record with a career high of 62. He also tied for the team
lead in RBI (he and Eric Valent had 91), runs scored (100), hits
(108), total bases (227), slugging percentage (.860), walks (57)
and on-base percentage (.520). It was those kind of numbers which
earned Glaus and the rest of the Bruins the opportunity to make the
first Bruin appearance in the College World Series in 28 years.
While the Bruins did not come home as national champions, they
still proved themselves as the best baseball team the school has
seen in a long time. "We were disappointed with what happened,"
Glaus said. "We went with the intent to win, but that’s the game of
baseball." The Omaha series was not a total flop. Thanks to the
power of Glaus’ bat late in the ninth inning on Saturday, the
Bruins were able to tie a long-winded game against Miami before
ultimately losing 7-3. In the second game of the series, Glaus
refused to give up. Despite a fielding miscue in the bottom of the
seventh, the shortstop went out with a bang in the top of the
ninth. The final hit of his UCLA career was a long home run over
the bleachers in left field at Rosenblatt Stadium. "I don’t think
it could have gone any other way; my first hit was a home run and
so was my last," Glaus said. That sort of power and determination
is true Glaus style. "I’m very hard-nosed," Glaus said, "I’m very
driven and focused on the field." Bob Fontaine, Jr., the director
of scouting and personnel for the Angels, is responsible for
drafting Glaus. Fontaine recognizes the Bruin’s potential. "I think
he’s a great kid," Fontaine said. "He knows what he wants to do. He
approaches the game the way you want him to. He knows the price and
enjoys the game." But before Glaus can enjoy playing baseball in
the major leagues, he will need to prove himself at the minor
league level. "I hope to be there (the majors) as soon as possible,
based on my performance," Glaus said. "You have to earn your way to
the big leagues. "I need to get bigger and stronger. I still have
some growing to do and some more fine tuning. I need to work on
better usage of the traits I do have." No matter how long it takes,
Glaus is an Angel that UCLA baseball fans will not soon forget.
CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin Junior Troy Glaus, shown here at the
Midwest Regional, has hit his last home run as a Bruin. Previous
Daily Bruin stories: Bruins slide into second, Jan 22, 1997