Major league Adjustment

Growing up in the Valley, Jeff Cirillo made sure he was parked in front of the television for the start of major league baseball’s All-Star game.

More than the game interested him. He was mesmerized by the pregame introductions--the way the camera followed the players as they trotted nonchalantly from the dugout to the foul line, slapping palms and acknowledging the cheering crowd.

“The introductions were really neat, I always made sure I watched that,” Cirillo said. “I didn’t watch the game as much as I watched the guys tipping their hats beforehand.”

Cirillo, 27, a former Providence High star, has now experienced the ceremony firsthand. Last month he was among the players doffing a cap to fans in Cleveland’s Jacobs Field.

Although Cirillo modestly says he wasn’t deserving of his first all-star selection, it was an exhilarating moment for the Milwaukee Brewers’ third baseman, an 11th-round draft pick in 1991.

The all-star appearance came not long after the Brewers signed him to a four-year, $12.65 million contract extension.

But if he was on a high then, what’s happened since quickly grounded him.

“I made the all-star team, they gave me a four-year contract, and I’ve felt weird ever since,” said Cirillo, whose batting average has dipped below .300 for the first time since early in the season. “I’ve got to get back to what I was doing. I’m pretty lost right now.”

Cirillo has operated so long as an underdog perhaps a motivational adjustment is in order.

The accolades he earned as Southern Section Small Schools player of the year in 1986 and 1987 didn’t account for much once he began competing for a starting job at USC. Cirillo didn’t play regularly for the Trojans until his senior year, and his low-round draft status meant he would have to battle for playing time in the minor leagues.

Even after a breakthrough major league season last year, Cirillo didn’t shed all of his skeptics. Despite setting two club records--his .325 batting average was best for a second-year player and his 83 runs batted in was the best by a Brewers’ third baseman--team management apparently wasn’t convinced of his worth.

The club’s best contract offer before the season included a clause that paid him differently if he was sent to the minor leagues.

“That hurt a lot because I felt I did a lot for this team last year,” Cirillo said. “But they made up for it.”

The contract that Cirillo signed June 27 is the longest awarded to a Brewer position player and a lavish reward from a franchise whose $22 million payroll ranks 24th among 28 teams.

As an underdog made good, Cirillo has become a favorite among Milwaukee’s blue-collar fans. That status, however, has caused his own expectations to intensify.

“I probably get the loudest cheers when I go out to the field,” Cirillo said. “I think the small-market fans are more loyal to you, so when I’m not hitting I feel I’m letting them down.

“The pressure has gone from, ‘No one expects me to do this, I’m going to show them,’ to ‘I have to show these people I’m worth this.’ It’s been a tough adjustment.”

Brewer manager Phil Garner said his third baseman needs only to return to playing the way he did before the all-star break.

Cirillo, batting .278, leads the team with 32 doubles and is second on the club with 115 hits and 61 RBIs. He was batting .300 and led the Brewers in all three categories before the break.

“That will be our biggest problem in the next month; getting Jeff to feel he’s pulling his weight,” Garner said. “He’s very hard on himself, probably too hard.

“But a lot of people like him, that’s what makes them successful. It’s also what gives them ulcers and hypertension, but you hope they don’t back off because that’s what takes them to the next level.”

The lowest Cirillo batted in four minor league seasons was .299 and he was voted the American Association’s top defensive third baseman at triple-A New Orleans in 1994. His work ethic and a willingness to seek advice helped him to continue to improve at the major league level.

After platooning with Kevin Seitzer in 1994 and 1995, Cirillo won the third base job and is part of a promising young infield that includes shortstop Jose Valentin, 27, second baseman Fernando Vina, 28, and first baseman Dave Nillson, 27.

Its potential notwithstanding, that group led American League infields with 85 errors last season. Cirillo, with 18, Valentin and Vina were tops at their positions in miscues.

Cirillo, 6 feet 2 and 188 pounds, has committed 12 errors this season but he and Garner agree that his fielding has improved.

“His errors are down, his range is up, his defense is better,” Garner said. “He’s becoming one of our anchors, where he can settle the infield down if something goes wrong and be aware of what everyone else in the diamond needs to do.”

Cirillo is most highly regarded with a bat in his hands. He also has shown a knack for delivering when challenged.

In early June, both Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox intentionally walked the batter before him to load the bases. Cirillo responded with a two-run double against the Indians and a grand slam against Chicago.

Angel Manager Terry Collins wasn’t about to make the same mistake earlier this week. Before the series, Collins leafed through a scouting report on the Brewers and read part of the brief on Cirillo:

“Still one of the best third basemen in the league. . . . will take a hit by going to the opposite field. . . . is starting to hit for power.”

“Our coaches regard him very highly and when [hitting coach and former American League batting champion] Rod Carew says this guy’s a good hitter, that’s a pretty good compliment,” Collins said.

Earlier this season, Garner said he expected Cirillo to eventually challenge for a league batting title and compared him to Yankee third baseman and five-time American League batting champion Wade Boggs.

“Jeff’s concentration level is one of the best in the league,” Garner said. “We’ve had Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, and he’s in that mold. You could set off a nuclear bomb and it’s not going to deter him from what he wants to do at the plate.”

That focus has been blurred of late. Cirillo struck out to end a game Sunday against Seattle and again Tuesday against the Angels. Milwaukee lost each game by a run, but Cirillo takes solace in the Brewers’ recent strong play that has them in contention for the Central Division title.

“I just need to feel I’m providing, if not with offense, then with defense,” Cirillo said. “There have been a lot of trials and tribulations but you have to find something to keep you in it.

“I’ll be the first to admit I need to find something that pushes me in the right direction.”

And, he hopes, back to many more all-star introductions.