NICOLE MILLER/ Daily Bruin Senior Brian
Baron says his main goal is to help his team win.
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Reporter Brian Baron knows this is a special season.
The UCLA designated hitter knows he is flirting with history. He
knows his gaudy .480 batting average leads the nation and puts him
in position to reach that vaunted number: .500. And he knows that
his team, his coaches and his family expect him, more than any
other UCLA player, to produce with every at-bat. But judging from
his relaxed and humble demeanor, you’d never know it.
“That was pretty unexpected,” the redshirt senior said
of a feature USA Today wrote about him. “I had certain goals
I set for myself but I never imagined hitting close to .500.
I’ve always been a high-average hitter, but I didn’t
know it would be like this. I’m still a little shocked
myself.” Not that Baron should be. He batted over .350 his
first two years at Northwestern and this past year he drastically
augmented his training regimen, bulking up to nearly 200 pounds.
And then there’s his work ethic. It’s almost inhuman.
Baron routinely hangs around well after the crowd has left and
relentlessly refines his already lethal swing. “I don’t
care if I went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, I’m still at the batting
cage working on my swing,” he said. UCLA Coach Gary Adams
considers Baron a coach’s dream. “I’m elated for
him because everybody’s seeing a guy where hard work, sheer
hard work, has paid off,” Adams said. His 84 hits lead the
team by 27, he has enjoyed a hitting streak of 21 games, and
he’s still 16 points ahead of the all-time single season
Pac-10 batting record of .464 set by Don Lovell in 1985. Like any
athlete having a year that may rewrite the record books, Baron is
attracting attention. The L.A. Times, L.A. Daily News, Orange
County Register, and USA Today have all have published features on
the once unknown Bruin. “I really didn’t know I was
hitting that high and then next thing you know, (UCLA baseball
sports information director) Carolyn French says, “˜USA Today
and the Times and Baseball America want you,'” Baron
said. “I really don’t like to do that too much,”
he said of talking about himself to the press. “They say,
“˜You’re hitting really well’ and I go,
“˜Yeah, that’s the rumor.'” Senior second
baseman Josh Canales, Baron’s best friend on the team, has
seen opposing pitchers adjust to Baron’s torrid batting run
this season. “Teams are starting to pitch around him,”
Canales said. “They’re throwing him junk balls and
pitches six to eight inches off the plate.” But perhaps the
most common consequence of such a personal renaissance is the
pressure to keep the magical season going. Adams has seen Baron
maintain focus to manage the new burden. “He’s a unique
character in the fact that he believes and has so much confidence
in his swing,” Adams said. “If he made an out the time
before, we’re expecting a hit the next time.” With so
many eyes fixed on him ““ and number .500 ““ Baron
sometimes wonders who he is getting hits for. “I think it is
more important to some other people than to me,” he said.
“As far as hitting .500, that’s really high. For every
two at-bats, I have to get at least one hit. Any other sport,
you’re out of there. If you’re a doctor and seven of
your 10 patients die, you’re not that good.” But in a
sport where players who succeed on four of ten tries become
immortal, Baron’s accomplishments simply cannot go unnoticed,
especially by certain UCLA periodicals. A week ago the Daily Bruin
began printing the “Baron Watch,” a game-by-game
tracking of his batting average. Baron first got word of it last
weekend on the bus to Kansas State. “I didn’t really
see the paper that day because I was running around packing,”
Baron said. “The next thing you know we’re on the bus
to Kansas State and they just talked about the “˜Baron
Watch’ and I was like, what the hell is the “˜Baron
Watch’? Then I saw the paper.” But the high jinks are
reserved for time off the field. On the diamond Baron is all
business. His pregame ritual speaks volumes about the lack of
influence of external stimuli. “I usually sit on the edge of
the bench, and I’ll sit there and put my hat over my
head,” he said. “I’ll do some visual breathing
and say, “˜Hey, you’re still human.’ It would be a
great honor if I did (hit .500), but I wouldn’t be as happy
if I won this thing and we didn’t make playoffs.”
Baron’s concern for team first and individual accolades
second shone through after a game against Washington. After
noticing that freshman Preston Griffin was struggling with his
hitting, he stuck around for an extra hour to toss Griffin
baseballs and offer some pointers on his swing. On the horizon for
Baron is the Major League Baseball Draft in June, but he has some
records to chase and some baseball games to win before worrying
about the big leagues. Not that the whole batting average thing is
getting to him. Aware that Roger Maris’ hair come out in
chunks from nervousness during his bid to break Babe Ruth’s
home run record in 1961, Baron ran his hand through his own black
hair. “There’s a lot to fall out, but it’ll be
intact whether or not this happens,” he said. “What
really matters is if we win. I might pull my hair out if we
don’t win. Never mind the .500 batting average.”
Original by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin Web Adaptation by HERNANE
TABAY/Daily Bruin Senior Staff