Brett McMillan has made a virtually seamless transition from
high school ball ““ a world of 80-mph fastballs and lazy
curves ““ to the fastball in the 90s and wicked junk pitches
of college.
In a matter of months, the true freshman has dug a comfortable
spot in the batter’s box at Jackie Robinson Stadium. He leads
UCLA by a wide 31-point margin with a .367 batting average and
ranks second with a .533 slugging percentage.
“Coming in, I wasn’t exactly sure what to
expect,” McMillan said. “I had watched a lot of college
ball on TV, but I still had never played at such a high level. I
know it’s cliché, but I’ve just concentrated on
working hard while maintaining the same frame of mind at bat as I
always have.”
McMillan has been a fixture in the lineup, starting 31 games,
but he has been anything but a fixture in the field.
Though he came in primarily as a third baseman, he struggled
early on defensively and has also seen time at first, left field
and designated hitter. Head coach Gary Adams has used any means
necessary to keep McMillan’s pure lefty stroke in the batting
order.
“I don’t pattern my swing after anyone in
particular,” McMillan said, “but I’m always
studying the best lefty swings and taking particular things from
each because I’m trying to keep my swing true to myself, not
Barry Bonds or Shawn Green.”
“The one thing that struck me the most when we recruited
him was what a beautiful swing he has, even for the highest levels
of the game,” Adams said. “Hitting coach Vince
Beringhele has helped him a bit with his approach, but let’s
face it, we can’t take credit because the basic fundamental
swing was there, and the credit goes to his father.”
Brett’s father’s lifelong involvement in baseball is
palpable in his son’s “beyond his years intelligent and
mature approach to hitting,” in the words of Adams.
His father, Doug, entered the minor leagues right out of high
school and toiled for seven years, never quite reaching the majors.
From there, he went straight into scouting, which he continues to
do to this day.
Like his father, Brett had the major league option upon
graduation after he was drafted in the 21st round by the
Philadelphia Phillies.
“It would have taken something life-changing to enter the
draft,” McMillan said. “I knew I wasn’t going to
be a first round pick, and from my dad’s experience, I
understood how important college is.
“After playing, he didn’t really have the background
in anything other than baseball because that’s what he spent
most of his life on. He wanted me to have more options when this is
over.”
Now at UCLA, Brett can concentrate wholly on college life and
college ball, as the big leagues cannot come calling again until
after his junior year.
Thus, for the next few years, he will be a major component of a
core group of hitters that includes freshmen Chris Denove and Sean
Carpenter and sophomores Wes Whisler, Matt Thayer and Billy
Susdorf, who collectively have proved themselves capable hitters at
the college level.
“We’re at a crossroads now where we can either pack
it up or play to our potential which we’ve shown in beating
some top teams like Texas and Tulane,” McMillan said.
“But the most important thing if the postseason doesn’t
work out this year is that we continue to improve now, so later on
we’ll be able to win a lot of the close games we’ve
been losing.”
It indeed appears the Bruins will need to begin angling toward
developing for the future, as they have had a frustrating start to
the Pac-10 schedule, suffering through six conference losses by no
more than three runs.
“The morale has gone down, but it shows me the guys
don’t like to lose,” Adams said. “We’re not
a bad team. We’re a young team and have been in every game.
We’re just going to have to learn how to finish.”
Fortunately for Adams, his best hitter has already gotten
started.