Play on the field has Ryan Brett standing tall for Princeton Rays
Brett models his game after Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Like Brett, Pedroia stands 5'9" and weighs in at 180 pounds soaking wet. Lack of size hasn't stopped Pedroia from representing the American League in three All Star games, and Brett says he won't allow it to slow him down, either.
"Dustin's not a big guy, kind of like me," Brett said. "He goes out there every day and plays hard. I try to do the little things MJ (P-Rays' manager Michael Johns) harps on about the way that Pedroia does the little things for his team."
Brett has been showing off his athletic prowess for awhile. In one of his first swings of his first batting practice at Highline High School in Seattle, Brett hit a pitch so hard it left the yard and broke the windshield of his coach's truck. That was only the start of his journey. Brett has not stopped hitting since. As a junior, he was named a first team High School All America by Louisville Slugger, the only player from the state of Washington on the team.
There is a distinct Washington connection on the 2011 Princeton Rays. Jeff Ames represents the state on the mound, while Brett joins left fielder Josh Sale and right fielder Drew Vettleson in making the Evergreen State present throughout the P-Rays' starting lineup. Brett says there is a definite association between the Washington players. His relationship with Sale is especially tight. The two played summer ball in high school and Brett has remained close with Sale and his family ever since. Brett was set to join Sale after high school at Gonzaga University, where both players had signed letters of intent. Then draft day came and both were offered the chance of a lifetime: an opportunity to play professional baseball together. Sale was taken in the first round; Brett was taken just two rounds after that. The two had decided it was time to go pro.
Things are a little bit different for Brett now that he is no longer in the Pacific Northwest. Scouts had always talked about his old school, no batting gloves approach at the plate. Now that he is on the East Coast, Brett says that is no longer possible.
"I sweat a lot more here than in Washington," Brett joked. "Now I have to use batting gloves. I can't grip the bat without them. It's definitely a lot hotter here than back home. At home, I was used to playing in 60-degree weather. Now it's in the 80s with 80-90 percent humidity. It's okay, though. I've learned to like the batting gloves."
The batting gloves have clearly not derailed his play. Through July 17, Brett has hit .284 with eight extra base hits and eight stolen bases. He's only struck out nine times in 88 at-bats, something consistent with the aggressive approach Brett says he likes to have at the plate and on the base paths.
"My approach is the same every time. I'm trying to be aggressive early in the count. The coaches want me to take a lot of pitches being a leadoff hitter and everything, but that's not the hitter I am. On the bases I try to just get over and let the 3-4 hitters get me in. Stealing bases gets us out of double play possibilities and helps the team, so I'm all for it."
Brett has never had a problem with maintaining a solid work ethic. He is always the guy that gets to the clubhouse first and is the last to leave the stadium. Critics can scoff at his size all they want, but on the field Ryan Brett stands tall.
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