Breakthrough Season for Loretta

It took more than four seasons for Mark Loretta to get his foot in the door. When he finally did, he broke his toe.

Loretta, a utility infielder throughout his career for the Milwaukee Brewers, inherited the job as starting shortstop before spring training when Jose Valentin was traded.

The former St. Francis High standout was batting .305 when he fouled a ball off his left big toe on June 2, sending him to the disabled list for the first time in his career.

Today, while the Brewers complete a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, Loretta is working his way back into shape with Indianapolis, Milwaukee’s triple-A affiliate.

“It’s frustrating,” said Loretta, who played an average of 142 games during his first four seasons. “I had never gone through anything like this before.

“I’m just thankful that something like this didn’t happen at an earlier stage in my career, when it might have impeded my progress to the major leagues.”

Loretta might not have had to fight through injuries, but he has overcome plenty of obstacles.

He wasn’t drafted out of St. Francis. He was passed over again after his junior season at Northwestern. When he finally reached the major leagues, Loretta could never overcome the label of utility man under Manager Phil Garner.

Things began to turn around during the off-season, when the Brewers fired Garner and overhauled their front office.

The house-cleaning trickled down to the major league roster, where so many players were sent packing that Loretta, at 28 and with a little more than four years of major league service, became the senior member of the team.

On the first day of spring training, rookie Manager Davey Lopes called Loretta into his office and asked one question:

“Can you be the everyday shortstop?”

Without hesitation, Loretta answered: “Definitely.”

“We had a whole new regime come in,” Loretta said.

“It was like a fresh start to have new eyes looking at me.”

Loretta, who had played all four infield positions and the outfield, put away all his extra gloves and focused on shortstop for the first time.

“It felt good to get settled in and begin relearning the subtleties of the position,” he said.

It didn’t take long.

At the time of his injury, he had committed only two errors and was leading the National League in fielding percentage.

Since, Milwaukee has fallen 14 1/2 games out of first place in the Central Division and become one of the poorest fielding team in the league.

“He does so well defensively, he’s our stabilizing force,” coach Chris Speier said.

“And we need his bat at the top of our lineup.”

Traditionally a slow starter offensively, Loretta was off to his best start, collecting five home runs and 23 runs batted in through 51 games as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup.

In May, he hit safely in eight consecutive at-bats.

“Just knowing that I was going to be in the lineup and at the same position every day allowed me to get into a little better routine,” said Loretta, a career .294 hitter.

Loretta has found other routines since undergoing surgery to have a metal plate inserted near his toe.

“I’ve started doing a lot of crossword puzzles and gotten hooked on them,” he said.

“I’ve also spent a lot of time reading and being online. I’ve learned a lot about my computer in the last few weeks.”

Picking up hobbies is nothing new to Loretta.

An avid wine taster, Loretta and his wife, Hilary, traveled to Napa Valley last year to study the nuances of the art.

He also collects watches and began taking violin lessons during the off-season, a Christmas gift from Hilary.

“I think it’s important to have other interests than just baseball,” he said.

“You have to have your diversions. Otherwise, you’ll go insane.”

He is far from insane.

“He’s a very heady player, a very intelligent player,” Lopes told reporters.

“Heck, he’s just very intelligent.”

Before he left the Brewers, Garner predicted Loretta would one day become a major league manager.

That kind of respect has followed Loretta since his St. Francis days, when he was elected student body president and captain of the baseball team.

“This is a guy who, if he weren’t in baseball, would be a CEO of some company,” said Tom Moran, former St. Francis coach who is the school’s principal.

As a senior at Northwestern, Loretta was Big 10 Conference player of the year, an All-American and a seventh-round draft choice by the Brewers.

Most drafted seniors have little leverage in contract negotiations, but Loretta was different.

The son of an international banker, he graduated in four years with a business degree from one of the nation’s most respected academic schools.

Loretta entertained offers not only from Milwaukee, but also from several major companies for management positions. K-Mart, among others, wanted to train him as an executive.

He passed on those opportunities to pursue his dream of playing major league baseball, but that business background will come in handy for Loretta, who signed a three-year, $11 million contract in January.

But he isn’t focusing on those things right now.

He’s more interested in getting back to the business of baseball.

The rest are nothing but footnotes.