Brent Brewer will be heading to Arizona on Monday, starting his professional baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The humor of Brewer being chosen by the Brewers isn’t lost on the Sandy Creek graduate. While numerous Major League Baseball teams were scouting him for the past two years, including Oakland, Florida, Cincinatti and both teams from Los Angeles, Brewer wanted to play for Milwaukee and even had a Brewers jersey that he would wear from time to time. On Tuesday, his hopes became a reality, a little earlier than he expected.

Brewer sat around with his family and began watching the major league Baseball draft. He was resting on a couch and was prepared to drift off to sleep, thinking that he may not be picked until the later rounds on the first day.

Milwaukee made their selection of Brewer official with the 60th overall pick, coming in the second round of the draft and the former Sandy Creek shortstop was excited. His life since that phone call has been hectic, filled with a constantly ringing phone, visits from Milwaukee Brewer officials to sign contracts and thoughts of a life that includes playing baseball in Arizona for one of the Brewers minor league teams starting next week.

One of the attributes that scouts like about Brewer is his speed. In 2005, he was an outfielder for the Patriots, but he was needed in the infield this year, so he made the transition to shortstop.

“I just worked at the position every day of the week and tried not to focus or worry about who might be in the crowd on any given game day,” said Brewer, who hit .497 in 2006, with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The team made the state playoffs this year.

To sign with Milwaukee meant not going to Florida State University in the fall, where he had signed a scholarship to play football. The Brewers will pay his college tuition when he decides to go and some reports have stated that Brewer inked a deal with Milwaukee that included a $500,000 bonus.

Brewer is excited about the opportunity that awaits him and he has received a lot of advice from his coaches.

“They told me that I should lay low, don’t spend all my money and hang out with the right people,” Brewer said, adding, “they also said that I might struggle but if I work hard every day, it will be O.K.”

Any one who knows Brewer, knows that he is a gifted athlete and a hard worker. If he carries over his work ethic to his baseball career, the sky is the limit.

login to post comments