LBSU center fielder has a knack for being hit by a pitch, and it's just fine with him.
Talking about Brennan Metzger's talents as a four-year starter at Long Beach State requires mentioning his speed on the bases (42 career steals), his average of a hit a game the last three seasons, being third on the all-time list in doubles, his superb defense in center field (three errors in four seasons), and that he leads the 2012 Dirtbags in virtually every category.
But one area always begins the conversation:
What's his special talent for being hit by opposing pitchers?
What is the favorite hit by pitch in his career?
Which HBP hurt the most?
Metzger has "taken a dose" of ball-inflicted pain 54 times in his career, leaving him two behind Bryan Kennedy on the program's all-time list.
Metzger was hit by a pitch eight times in 2009, 20 times in 2010 (tied for third all-time in a single season), 11 in 2011 and 15 times in 2012.
Metzger chuckled at the questions about his Craig Biggio-like ability. His talent comes natural, from his aggressive nature. He set the career record for HBP at Mission Hills High, too. He doesn't have a favorite because they all get him on base, though any that just nipped a piece of his jersey or the thick part of his shoulder were preferable to the few he took in the small of his back.
"I have a lot of favorites," he said. "They're all important because you get on base and that's a big part of baseball. There have been a few times I've crowded the plate looking for
one just because we needed a baserunner. But most just come naturally."The one that hurt was a 94-mile per hour fastball he took on his elbow in a game against UC Santa Barbara as a freshman that took him out of the lineup for a month.
Metzger has had as much to do with the Dirtbags turning the season around after a heartbreaking start to the season - nine one-run losses, several walk-off defeats - as anyone.
A leadoff hitter much of his career, this season he's hit in every spot in the order other than second, eighth or ninth. He moved into the No. 5 spot when Big West Conference play began and he leads or is tied for the lead in 10 different categories just for conference games, including a .416 average, 19 runs scored, 21 RBIs, eight doubles, .484 on-base percentage and .558 slugging percentage.
He's made just two errors in the last three seasons, and one of the calls was specious. With inexperienced outfielders flanking him in center this season, Metzger has covered more acreage in Blair than a herd of cattle at an Alta-Dena dairy.
This weekend's series is highly personal for him. The Dirtbags can win the Big West title and earn a trip to the postseason by taking two of three from the Titans. It would be his first postseason in his final season.
When Metzger arrived, the Dirtbags had just won the 2008 Big West title and made their seventh postseason appearance in the last eight years. He had every reason to believe he would help continue that streak. Instead, the Dirtbags fell in the dirt and didn't get up.
"That was the opportunity I was looking forward to when I came to the program," he said. "So it's hard to realize this is our first real opportunity to win a title and go to the postseason. I don't think some of my teammates can appreciate it the way (senior catcher) Kellen Hoime and I do. We've had four years of waiting. It's our last shot."
Metzger is one of the few players in the last quadrennial to fully embrace the Dirtbag ethos and play the game the way it was formed by Dave Snow two decades earlier. It showed on his always-dirty jersey and on his frustrated face at the end of each season.
"That first year (2009) I was just trying to find my niche," he said. "I don't think we appreciated the fact that we had 11 players drafted off the 2008 team. That year I didn't play under control. I was amped up too much."
The 2010 season was the one that disappointed him most. The team had nine players who are playing pro baseball now, but it was erratic all season and then swooned, going 3-14 the rest of the season and putting a disrespectful tag on the career of head coach Mike Weathers, who announced his retirement late in the season.
"I was so excited going into that season, the whole team had real high expectations," he said. "Instead we wore Weathers out. Just knowing we didn't live up to what we had or the program's tradition was disappointing."
He was a draft-eligible junior after the 2011 season and was prepared to start a pro career, but he wasn't drafted, a victim of the new BBCOR bats that sucked the power out of the game and left him with a .267 average.
Coming back for a senior season has worked in his favor. Buckley moved him from the top of the lineup to the fifth spot because he had extra-base power and was simply clutch. Once known as the guy who would get on base and score, he became the guy who is driving in runs.
"The difference between last year and this is that I'm out of my head," he said, referring to over-thinking and over-analyzing things. "I like hitting where I am now. It's given me a chance to contribute in different ways."
"He's always been strong at (pitch recognition)," Buckley said.
"He uses the whole field now and he's become the one guy we let steal on his own because he makes good decisions. And he's always been a quality center fielder, one of the best defensive center fielders the program has ever had.
"He's having a career year and moving him down in the lineup stretched out our lineup strength. He's been very productive and has been our best hitter in two-out situations."
Plus, he has that high tolerance for pain going for him. This weekend, he'll take as many pitches off his body as it takes to win twice and finally get to the place he came to Long Beach for, the postseason.
bob.keisser@presstelegram.com
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