Playing ball down under

BY MATTHEW FOX 1-13-06
Paso Robles Press

Paso Robles High School senior Matt Drummond took the break from classes to play a little baseball on the other side of the world. After impressing scouts at the area code showcase held over the summer at USC, Drummond was invited to compete on an under 18 (U-18) United States team that competed in the Goodwill Series 2005 in Australia over Christmas break. It was an incredible experience. "It was a lot of fun," Drummond said. "Everyone was really friendly there. The people were really nice, they'd do anything to make you happy."

The 18-player squad was comprised of a number of players from California, mixed with players five other states, including Nevada, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

The team was coached by Stewart Smothers, pro scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and a former major leaguer, Mickey White, former scouting director for the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates, Gary Wheelock, Seattle Mariners pitching coach, and Fred Mack, a scout for the Houston Astros and a former minor league catching instructor.

Each of the Australian teams was coached by former Major League Baseball players and trained at the Major League Baseball Academy in Brisbane, Australia. The team had little time to come together after meeting for the first time as the trip began.

"The first time we met was at LAX," Drummond said. "I was the only one from Central California, most of them were from Northern California."

The team left for Australia on Dec. 16, 2005, and returned Wednesday, Jan. 4. Drummond's odyssey began in Adelaide, in Southern Australia, where the team played seven games. Next, followed six games in Perth and lastly four games in Sydney, including playing in the Olympic Stadium.

"The field isn't as great as I thought it would be but the stadium is nice," Drummond said.

Drummond and his teammates played against Australian teams, currently competing in summer leagues. He also got a chance to compete against teams comprised of players who had spent time in the minor leagues in the United States.

"We actually played two 23 and under games against people who played in the minor leagues," Drummond said. "We actually beat the first team we played then lost to the second team, from Perth, by one run." Though it was a packed schedule, playing 17 games over the course of the 19-day trip, there was time for players to take in some of the sights. For Drummond, that included spotting several exotic animals.

"We played a game everyday besides Christmas, so we didn't see as many things as we could have," Drummond said. "But we had free time to go to the beach and went to downtown Sydney. I saw some kangaroos and koala bears."

The trip cost $2,500, which Drummond was able to raise thanks to the contributions of his friends and some local businesses.

"It wasn't too bad, the money just kept coming in," Drummond said. "It was nice to see that people really cared. People I didn't even know sent me checks." The fact Drummond was selected to compete in Australia is amazing in itself, but it's even more incredible considering all he's had to overcome. Just prior to the first game of the varsity season last spring, Drummond suffered an injury that kept him out for the entire year.

During a routine practice Drummond, a pitcher, was shagging fly balls in the outfield. He climbed the chain link fence in left field to make a catch and, on the way down, his right cleat stuck in the fence, causing both bones in his lower leg to break and his ankle to become dislocated.

"I couldn't believe it at first," Drummond said. "I was really bummed at first. It took a little while for it to set in that I wasn't going to be able to play the rest of the year."

The injury required surgery to repair and a great deal of physical therapy and training to recover from.

"I had a cast for a month and a half, then I went to physical therapy and had that three times a week for two weeks," Drummond said. "Then I started off with slow jogging and finally worked myself up to sprinting. The first time I was on the mound was a little different because my right leg was a little weaker." The injury meant that Drummond, who'd been a solid starter for the Bearcats as a sophomore, had to miss his crucial junior season.

But the worst part, for Drummond, was having to watch his team struggle to the end of the season and miss the playoffs.

"It was tough," Drummond said. "We started off well but eventually just wore down. It was hard to watch us lose those last few important games that dropped us out of CIF."

Despite his injuries, Drummond has bounced back strong and is looking forward to a return to the field for Paso Robles this spring.

"I just want to play with my team," Drummond said. "I just want to play together and play good baseball." Which is why being selected to represent the United States in competition in Australia was so special. "It means my hard work paid off," Drummond said. "All the pain and all the time I spent trying to get back to 100 percent paid off."

Drummond hopes that his baseball playing career will continue even after his time at Paso Robles High School ends.

"I want to play in college for sure," Drummond said. Though he didn't get a chance to play during his junior season, Drummond hopes his experience playing over the break will make an impression with college scouts.

"All our coaches were professional scouts," Drummond said. "They said if we needed contacts for college coaches, we could just give them the number."

Now, it's just a matter of continuing to put in the time and effort that brought Drummond from the injured list to the field in Sydney's Olympic Stadium.

"I just need to keep working hard," Drummond said. "I need to keep working hard in the weight room and throwing strikes." After experiencing something that most players at the high school level can't even imagine, Drummond is excited about his prospects in the future.

"It proved to me that baseball can take me somewhere," Drummond said. "Without baseball, I never would have been to Australia. I don't know if it will take me somewhere else, I can now hope to do that for a living."