Talk about a no-lose situation.
By the time Major League Baseball’s amateur draft begins on June 6, Chris Minaker may well have played himself into the top 10 rounds. He’ll also be a guy with a master’s degree in sociology from Stanford University.
Not bad for someone who thought it must be a joke when he got a recruiting letter from Stanford.
“It was always my goal to be a great college baseball player and get a degree from a great university,” said Minaker, a senior and product of Edmonds-Woodway High School. “And I never lost sight of that along the way. I always tried to stay humble and work hard, whether it was with baseball or in school. I put in all this time and work, I never thought I wouldn’t be successful. If you don’t expect success for yourself, how are you going to get it?”
Minaker, who plays for the final time as an amateur in his home state this weekend when the Cardinal (24-21 overall, 7-11 in Pac-10 action) play at Washington (32-20, 9-9), says he didn’t always have that winning attitude. He admits that his first year at Stanford was tough, but it made him into the player he is today. And who is that? Minaker, Stanford’s starting shortstop and third-place hitter, is the No. 41-ranked college senior in the country by Baseball America, and leads the Cardinal in nearly every offensive category.
He’s come a long way since struggling to realize that he belonged playing for one of the top college baseball programs in the country.
Minaker was a star at Edmonds-Woodway, hitting .509 as a senior and being named The Herald’s Player of the Year in 2002. But he went undrafted and was only considering Washington when Stanford started recruiting him. It seemed a perfect fit to Minaker; a strong baseball school with great academics. But it seemed too good to be true.
“When they started to contact me, I thought they’re probably talking to a ton of people, I’m not really who they want,” Minaker said. “But we talked each week and I started to realize they were serious. It didn’t really click until coach (Mark) Marquess came and watched me play at a tournament in San Diego. That’s when I realized it was going to happen.”
But as many prep stars do, Minaker struggled with going from the top to the bottom. He didn’t start a game his freshman year and hit just .167 in 18 contests. Minaker said the adjustment wasn’t so much physical as mental. It took awhile to realize that he belonged on the same field as All-Americans and first-round picks.
“It was a great lesson in patience and perseverance,” Minaker said. “Actually going through it was frustrating. But rather than being angry, I diverted my energy to the weight room, to hitting and to taking extra classes. It enabled me to prepare myself to be a good player and to graduate early.”
Minaker, a two-time Pac-10 Academic All-Star who completed his undergraduate degree last spring and will complete his master’s this quarter, finally broke into the starting lineup five games into his sophomore year, against national power Texas. He’s started every game (147 of them) since then. But his role has changed. As a sophomore, he hit .270 with four home runs but was asked to focus on defense. As a junior, he tied for the Pac-10 lead in doubles with 25. Now he is a legitimate hitting star.
Minaker leads Stanford in average (.349), home runs (8), RBI (48), steals (5), doubles (13), slugging percentage (.566) and runs (31). He’s also struck out just 13 times in 189 at-bats.
“The biggest thing was to be ready when the opportunity came,” Minaker said. “I never knew when that was going to happen, but I was determined not to let it slip away when it did.”
Minaker hopes that his big senior season will earn him a shot at a professional career. But he wants to finish this season strong, and that includes facing Washington ace Tim Lincecum at 6:30 p.m. today. Lincecum may be the best college pitcher in the country, and Minaker is 1-for-6 with “a few” strikeouts against the UW star.
“Facing him is an experience I don’t wish upon many hitters,” Minaker said. “He’s incredible. And he’s proved it for three years. You just hope he makes a mistake and you’re ready for it. If he’s on, there’s not much you can do.”
That’s an unexpected hint of concern from a player who seems to ooze confidence. But Minaker said if he envisions success, it will happen. He says he’s a perfect example.
“When I wasn’t playing (as a freshman), I watched the guys who were stars and asked ‘What is it about them that makes them so good?’” Minaker said. “They believed they were the best, and carried themselves like it. Even if you’re not the best guy on the field, if you carry yourself like you are, that will affect how you play.
“It’s all about believing in yourself, whether it’s baseball, school or anything else.”
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