Barely two years removed from his playing days at the University of Washington, Brent Lillibridge will walk onto the field at San Francisco’s AT&T Park Sunday as part of next week’s All-Star Game festivities.
No, Lillibridge isn’t a major leaguer. Not yet anyway. But the Everett native is a lot closer to his childhood goal than he could have imagined when he left college as a junior for the 2005 draft.
Lillibridge, a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School, will be on a major league field Sunday in the Futures Game, an All-Star showcase for some of baseball’s most promising prospects.
In his third season of professional baseball and second full season, the speedy shortstop has climbed all the way to Class AAA, on the doorstep of a shot at major league baseball.
“It’s beyond expectations to be in Triple-A,” the 23-year-old Lillibridge said. “I hoped I’d move up one level every year, but I couldn’t expect to be here in my second full season in baseball. It’s been awesome. I’ve learned a lot as a baseball player. Now I’ve got the hunger to make it in the big leagues.”
Lillibridge was selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, and played in short-season Class A ball that summer. He played in two levels of Class A ball in 2006, but during the off season, was traded to the Atlanta Braves organization as part of the deal that sent Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh.
A new team did nothing to slow Lillibridge, who started 2007 in Class AA before making the jump to Class AAA Richmond.
“Going into low A last year, the last thing on my mind was the big leagues,” he said. “Now I’m sitting here in July, I’m looking at the big leagues wondering when I’m going to get there.
“With any goal setting, the goals have to be adjustable. You want to reach a goal and go beyond that. I’ve had to adjust my goals, which is a great thing. I’m never happy were I’m at. I want to get better.”
People who watch Lillibridge play have no doubts about his physical skills or mental makeup.
“Looks can be deceiving with him,” Richmond manager Dave Brundage said. “You see a young looking young man with a boyish face, yet he’s got a great desire to compete. Lilli is a guy who may not wow you on the first day, and he may not impress you on the second day, but the more you have the opportunity to see him, the more impressed you are with the things he can do.
“There’s no question in my mind that he’s going to be a major leaguer.”
Playing in the Future’s Game will give Lillibridge a chance to play on the west coast for the first time since his junior year at Washington. After a lifetime of playing baseball in the state of Washington, Lillibridge estimates that he hasn’t played a game west of Ohio since leaving college. On Sunday, several family members and friends are expected to be in San Francisco for the Future’sGame.
When Lillibridge does miss home, he at least has a fellow Northwesterner in the clubhouse who feels his pain. Brundage is an Oregon native who played at Oregon State and coached in the Mariners system for 12 years.
“Every once in a while we’ll talk about how much better the weather in the Northwest is, especially when it gets hot and humid down here,” Lillibridge said.
Then again, sometimes Lillibridge doesn’t want to hear what Brundage has to say. Not after the Beavers won a second straight national title last month.
“He gets on his high horse a little bit now,” he said. “It’s good to have a guy from the west coast, though.”
Lillibridge thinks his major league future will be at shortstop, but he also knows the Braves are in good shape at that position with five-time All-Star Edgar Renteria, who was batting .321 with 10 home runs through Wednesday. While he wants to be a shortstop, Lillibridge is willing to be flexible if it means a quicker call up to the bigs.
“I really think that the organization believes I’m going to be a big league shortstop, and that’s exciting for me,” he said. “But at the same time, as long as I’m up in the big leagues, that’s the most important thing.”
That’s not talk Lillibridge can’t back up. When he arrived at Washington, Huskies coach Ken Knutson already had a senior shortstop but wanted Lillibridge’s speed and bat in the lineup. Knutson asked the freshman if would be willing to try center field, and Lillibridge not only agreed to the move, but excelled once he got to his new position.
“From the first game to the last, he was a dynamic center fielder,” said Knutson, adding that some of his favorite memories of Lillibridge were over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays-like catches.
Also, as his trade from the Pittsburgh organization showed him, there is little certainty for a minor leaguer. There’s always the chance he will be a major league shortstop for another team.
Whatever route Lillibridge takes, a promotion to the major leagues would give the South Everett Little League some serious bragging rights. When Lillibridge was 11, he played on the same All-Star team as Grady Sizemore, now an All-Star center fielder for the Cleveland Indians.
Lillibridge and Sizemore kept in touch as they starred at Wesco schools, Lillibridge at Jackson and Sizemore at Cascade. They reconnected last summer when Lillibridge was in Cleveland for the South Atlantic League All-Star game.
The two met before an Indians game to catch up, talk about home, and little bit of baseball. Sizemore said he didn’t need to offer much advice to his former Little League teammate.
“He’s doing great. I’m sure he doesn’t need too much advice from me,” Sizemore said. “I told him to keep doing what he’s doing. We were mostly just catching up.”
Sizemore also played in the Futures Game as a minor leaguer and says Lillibridge is in for a treat.
“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” he said. “For a lot of them it’s the first time really playing in a big league ball park. I’m sure he’ll just want to make the most of it, try to soak in as much as possible.”
Sizemore will play in his second-straight All-Star game on Tuesday, and would love to someday play against Lillibridge in a major league game.
“We played together in Little League. You don’t often see … that two guys from one league get this far,” the 24-year-old Sizemore said. “I’m sure he’ll do great. I wish him the best of luck.”
Lillibridge and Sizemore don’t know yet if they’ll cross paths during this week’s festivities, but if they miss each other, Lillibridge hopes to see Sizemore sometime soon when the two can both call themselves major leaguers.
“I want to be in his shoes soon,” Lillibridge said. “I want to make Everett proud.”
And if his professional career so far is any indicator, Lillibridge might be doing that a little bit ahead of schedule.
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