Legend Of The Fall

Bryan Corey’s name was announced as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 32nd pick in the expansion draft and some experts wore puzzled looks. However, the crowd of Diamondbacks’ fans outside Civic Center Plaza in Phoenix erupted in applause.

Those folks must attend Arizona Fall League games.

Pitching for the Grand Canyon Raptors, Corey had four strong starts and earned player of the week honors Nov. 15.

“People here are totally excited about baseball,” Corey said. “I saw that every day.”

Fans flocked to Raptor games in part because the team’s first baseman was the Diamondbacks’ top prospect, first baseman Travis Lee. Manager Buck Showalter of the Diamondbacks, who said he wanted to draft only players with impeccable character, watched games as well.

Apparently, Corey passed the Showalter character test.

“That’s important,” Corey said. “I don’t say much when I’m going about my business. I do my thing and keep my mouth shut.

“I worked hard for a long time. A lot of people counted me out long before now. Slowly and surely I’ve been rewarded for busting my butt.”

Corey’s elevation to prospect status is remarkable because he has pitched for only three seasons.

Drafted out of Pierce College in 1993 by the Detroit Tigers as a shortstop, he fielded well but did not hit in two pro seasons.

The Tigers gave up on him as an infielder and told him he would be released unless he reported to camp throwing 90 mph consistently.

Corey, a 1991 graduate of Thousand Oaks High, spent the off-season working with personal pitching coaches Lou Birdt and Alan Jaeger. Corey, 6 feet and 170 pounds, went from 85 mph to consistently hitting 92 mph in a matter of weeks.

A scout for the Tigers clocked him on a radar gun and put his contract in the mail the next day.

“Nobody I’ve known has a work ethic like Bryan,” Birdt said. “He’s humble and he does his job with pride and respect for the game.”

Corey’s breakthrough came in 1996 when he had 34 saves and an earned-run average under 2.00 in the South Atlantic League. Last season, he had nine saves at double-A Jacksonville.

His role with the Diamondbacks is undetermined, but he probably will begin the season at triple-A Tucson.

“I got a second life when I became a pitcher and I have a second life again with the Diamondbacks,” Corey said. “All my friends in baseball are with the Tigers so I’m a little sad, but I admit I really did want to be picked by the Diamondbacks.”

Watching the draft on television, Corey heard this announcement: “With the 32nd pick, the Diamondbacks take, from the Detroit Tigers, right-handed pitcher Bryan. . . .

The Tigers have a right-hander named Brian Moeller, so Corey refrained from celebrating until he heard his entire name. Now his name is on the Diamondbacks’ short list to the big leagues.

“I’ve been downtown and looked at the stadium,” he said. “It’s awesome. This is where I want to be.”

*

It was just another sunny day in the offensively bright yellow uniform of the Peoria Javelinas, but for Brad Fullmer it was something precious.

Another chance to hit a baseball.

As pregame batting practice wound down, Javelinas Manager Mike Scioscia said: “One more round of two swings.”

Fullmer got frantic. “We’ve got time for more than two swings,” he said, taking practice swings.

No matter that he would get four at-bats in the game.

No matter that he was the only Arizona Fall League player batting over .400.

Fullmer, the Montreal Expos’ second-round draft choice out of Montclair Prep in 1993, wants to squeeze as many swings as possible into every day.

“I need to prove myself on a consistent basis at the big league level,” he said. “I feel I will hit for power and average.”

He’s already proven he can hit. In a 19-game stint with the Expos in September, Fullmer batted .300 with three home runs. He was the runaway Arizona Fall League batting champion with a .414 average.

“Fullmer is the best hitter I’ve ever seen,” said David Lamb, a Peoria infielder from Newbury Park High. “He takes it to another level. He’s working on his defense here. He knows he’s ready to hit.”

The Expos sent Fullmer, 22, to the fall league to become a better first baseman. Never considered a great fielder, he has played his way off of third base and out of the outfield.

First base is Fullmer’s ticket to the Expos’ lineup.

“Brad has good agility and he’s using it at first base,” Scioscia said. “It’s a matter of getting used to the position. Eventually he will be a major league first baseman.”

Fullmer has taken the challenge seriously.

“Footwork, reading hops, playing through the ball, double-play feeds,” he said. “I’ve had a lot to work on. I’m learning where to be at all times.”

If the lessons stick, he’ll be where he really wants to be: Playing first base in Montreal.

*

Lamb was not chosen in the expansion draft, but Aaron Ledesma was, and that’s good for Lamb.

Ledesma, a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, batted .325 as the shortstop of the Rochester Red Wings, the triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

Lamb batted .331 splitting time at shortstop and second base for the Bowie Bay Sox, the Orioles’ double-A team.

The loss of Ledesma is a gain for Lamb, who has one less infielder blocking his way to Baltimore. After playing second, shortstop and third, and batting .290 for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, Lamb believes he is ready for the big jump.

“I still think shortstop is my natural position, but being versatile will help in the long run,” he said. “I worked a lot on my hitting [in Peoria] and I think I’ve kept improving.”

Scioscia believes the time for Lamb to break in to the major leagues is close.

“He can play defense at three positions in the big leagues right now,” Scioscia said. “That’s quite a statement for a youngster. His asset is his versatility. But you can’t rule him out as a every day player.”

*

J.P. Roberge, a utility player from St. Francis High, is perhaps a year away from getting a shot with the Dodgers.

Roberge has hit well at every step on the ladder, and the Arizona Fall League was no exception.

He batted .336 with 21 runs batted in and eight stolen bases and probably will start in left field in for triple-A Albuquerque in the spring.

“He’s proven he can bat anywhere from one through five in the lineup,” Scioscia said. “And he’s versatile and he runs well. He’s played first, second and all three outfield positions for us.”

*

Prospects not invited to play in the Arizona Fall League fall back on the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, which completes its season Dec. 12.

Poor guys.

Robert Fick, Gabe Kaplar and Keith Evans endured well enough to be invited to play in the league’s all-star game today in Wailuku, Maui.

Fick, an All-American catcher at Cal State Northridge in 1996, played first base while leading the Midwest League in batting last summer. He is catching in Hawaii and his hitting has suffered no ill effects. He is third in the league with a .336 average.

Kaplar, an outfielder from Taft High and a Tiger farmhand, is fifth in the league with a .307 average.

Evans, a right-handed pitcher from Crespi High and Cal, ranks second in earned-run average at 1.69 and third in strikeouts with 42 in 37 1/3 innings.