![]() ![]() But Brett could fly - he had that advantage going for him." He had the speed, which a lot of kids don't, a lot of guys don't - Dustin Pedroia is someone similar, without the speed. He's a great example for kids that love baseball. "He's that guy that, even being a third-round pick, he's just a classic, gritty baseball gamer. "Brett Gardner is a true baseball lifer, that's what he is," Masse added. Gardner's gritty attitude made coaches smile and kept him on the right path. His work ethic and determination was off the charts." He's the fastest kid I've ever coached - always willing to learn and willing to take any information I gave him or any coaches gave him. "The one word that comes to mind is 'determination,' period," Masse said. He's a great example for a lot of kids to follow." He made himself into an above average Major Leaguer. "He's a coach's dream no one's gonna outwork Brett Gardner, period - that's the bottom line. 298 with 24 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs and 58 stolen bases.īill Masse, now the Mariners' eastern scouting supervisor, managed Gardner with the Thunder that season. Gardner helped Double-A Trenton claim the Eastern League's Northern Division title in 2006 after starting the season with Class A Advanced Tampa. He's turned himself into a pivotal part of the Yankees' success." He wasn't, 'Hey, I'm going to try to do this - I'm in this for the long haul.' I think that's how it's played out. "He was a guy who was the first one to the park, last one to leave. I think he turned himself into a baseball player, not that he wasn't back then, but he's always had that mentality, a tough kid, no nonsense, 'Yes sir, no sir,'" Stankiewicz said. "His ability to run was the difference-maker, he really got down the line. He had something to prove in every at-bat. Stankiewicz recalled Gardner's attitude, one of a player who hadn't forgotten about being snubbed in college. 284 on a team that included five other future Major Leaguers, most notably infielder Eduardo Nunez, who reached the Bronx a year after Gardner helped the Yankees to the 2009 World Series. Gardner, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Yankees' 3-2 walk-off win over Auburn to win the crown that September, batted. There, he helped the Baby Bombers go 52-24 and claim the New York-Penn League championship under Stankiewicz, a former infielder who spent the first two of his seven big league seasons with New York. He began his pro career in 2005 in Staten Island, a few miles and a ferry ride away from Yankee Stadium. Gardner joined the Yankees after the organization scouted him as a senior, when he led all of college baseball in hits. He was a thin, speedy outfielder with no power, and yet last year, he at times led the historically high-powered Yankees in homers and stolen bases.īrett Gardner, a walk-on, was the College of Charleston's highest-drafted player in the school's history. Gardner's story is rare and heartwarming, a tale that countless Little Leaguers and high school kids believe can be their path to the Majors some day. "I was fortunate enough to get called back several weeks later to work out with the team, and it ended up working out." "If I was a coach, I'd be like, 'This kid's not going to cut it,'" Gardner told The New York Times in 2009 of his failed tryout at Charleston. Gardner, at 5-foot-10 and 135 pounds, didn't leave the team again until the Yankees selected him in the third round of the Draft four years later. Gardner got a second chance at his career several days later when Charleston's coach, moved by the note, invited the outfielder to show up for practice, with no guarantee of sticking around. So the legends goes, Gardner was aided by a late-night letter penned by his father, Jerry, who'd reached Double-A with the Phillies. One of 26 aspiring players, Gardner - not recruited in high school - tried out for the College of Charleston as a walk-on. "He was a little bulldog in the way he approached the game," Stankiewicz said.īut long before Gardner arrived at a tiny ballpark in Staten Island, New York, he was a 17-year-old kid with the goal of playing college baseball. Stankiewicz, who made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 1992, was Gardner's first professional manager after the 21-year-old outfielder from South Carolina was drafted by New York in 2005.
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