Gold Rush Feature: Game Changer
6/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 3, 2011
This article was originally published in the May 21 edition of Gold Rush.
By Sam Walker
When Tom Walter was named the next baseball coach at Wake Forest, Steven Brooks took "the jury is out" approach. He watched and waited. He withheld judgment until he could tell more about his new coach and just what changes would come. But it didn't take long for him to buy into Walter's approach, so much so that he returned for his senior season after turning down professional baseball and some significant money to be a Demon Deacon for one more year.
"Steven plays things very close to his vest, is very cautious, an intelligent person, but he kind a withheld judgment until he got to know me," Walter said. "Our (player-coach) relationship has grown by leaps and bounds on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Since I've gotten to know him, we've gotten closer and closer. He was very distant in the beginning just because that's the kind of person he is. Like I said he plays thing close to the vest, but we developed a mutual respect."
"One of the reasons I came back was because I thought we had a lot of talent coming back, and I thought we had a shot at doing a lot of good things this year, and we have." Brooks said. "It was a great honor to be chosen in the draft, but after going back and forth with negotiating, my best decision was to come back for my senior year. With a chance to play center field for Coach Walter and graduate this year, it was a very easy decision to make to come back for my senior year."
Brooks was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with the 520th overall pick. He had just completed a junior campaign where he had started every game and finished the season second on the team with a .349 batting average to go along with six homers and 39 RBIs. Brooks stole a team-high 23 bases, which ranked in a tie for second in the ACC at the end of the regular season and ranked 10th in a single season in Wake Forest program history. Brooks closed the year on a career-long, 12-game hitting streak. But by the time the season had ended and he had looked at his professional playing options he had already bought into Walter and his plan to rebuild the Wake Forest baseball program. He came back with the intentions of helping Walter take the team through the next steps.
"I think somebody in his situation, a player that was drafted and offered good money and turned it down ... a lot of guys would have a selfish outlook, but he hasn't done that," Walter said. "He has always put the team first, and I give him a lot of credit for that.
"Steven is not only a dynamic player, but he's a game changer. He can beat you in so many ways. He can beat you with his legs, he can beat you with his bat, he can beat you with is defense, so when he plays well, we play well. Not only is that person on the field, but been a great captain for us, really become the leader. He's been a great influence on our young guys, and I just can't say enough good things about Steven Brooks as a person or a player. He's not only one of the best all-around players I've ever coached, but maybe the best player I've ever coached as far as being a great leader for us."
Brooks is best known for his base-stealing ability. Entering the May 6 series against Boston College, Brooks had already become the program's second-leading base stealer with 73 stolen bases (24 this season). But base stealing is not all about speed, but more about strategy paired with speed.
"In the offseason, I made some strides with my first step because it's difficult to outrun a ball," Brooks said. "You aren't going to be able to do that. Making things happen on the bases, you take the attention off the batter, and it puts the attention to the guy on base and the batter then gets better pitches to hit, more fastballs, more balls located where guys may be taking off (to steal), so that helps the team. It all has to do with the jump you get and the read you get off the pitcher."
Although the stat sheet shows Brooks has been thrown out twice, Walter said that on both accounts they were due to overslides on the new Wake Forest Baseball Park Astroturf, which can produce hydroplaning if the turf is wet. In Walter's mind, Brooks has yet to be thrown out. As far as his ability to change a game, take into account his performance in the Deacons' 11-5 victory over NC State on April 1.
"The opening game against NC State, we were facing their No. 1 pitcher, and Brooksey hit a double down the line that really won that game for us," Walter said. "He stole a couple of bases and made a some catches out in center field and hit a home run. That one game stands out because he showed the ability and why he is going to play professional baseball. He showed why he can change a game in a lot of different ways.
"The thing I admire the most is his work ethic, and not just the baseball part, but the strength and conditioning and nutritional part of it. He is very careful about what he eats and getting rest. He takes care of his body and gets his baseball work in. There's really nothing he can't do. His No. 1 thing is his ability to run, but typically a guy who can do that is more frail. But Brooksey is a strong-bodied kid which makes him kind of unique and sets him apart."
Against Winthrop, Brooks tied the school record for most bases stolen in a single game with five. The Deacons lost that game 6-5 in 10 innings but nonetheless showed leadership and the ability to make his team better, which is what Walter expects of him now that they have a great coach-player working relationship.
"He now knows what I expect of him and what I expect of the team, and he has the same expectations for himself and the team," Walter said. "He is not a guy that makes excuses, and he's the first guy to look at himself when things don't go well. I'm the same way. When we don't play well, I look at myself first and that bodes well for our relationship."
Brooks sees progress in this year's team that doesn't necessarily show up on the stat sheet. He feels the talent level is better and that the team is beginning to do the little things, like moving the batter over, converting sacrifice fly balls, picking off runners and making fewer errors that have this team coming together and in position to win. He said those were the things they didn't do last year that are happening this year, so progress is being made that point to a brighter future.
"It is a process, and Steven is setting the tone for our ball club," Walter said. "He is the guy freshmen look to to know what they need to do to be great players, and he's the guy urging guys on to make the conference tournament and make a run this year. He is talking about not just futures as individual ball players but as a team, too."
"We still have an opportunity to make some noise and make the ACC Tournament at the end of this year," Brooks said. "Last year we beat teams in two of the last three series and actually beat the national runner-up in Clemson two of three. It's not over until the last pitch of the year. So we have the opportunity to do some great things and keep playing."
