Hard Hitting

Ricky Manning Jr. thought he knew cool. Matt Ware thought he knew heat.

Manning, a three-year UCLA starter and two-time all-Pacific 10 Conference cornerback, boasts the fattest wallet of any Bruin thanks to a Minnesota Twin contract that pays him $70,000 every summer to spend a month with a minor league team.

Then in June he reported for his first season in Class A after three in rookie league. Pitchers had greater command, teammates had better swings and it was more than he could handle.

Cool? He batted a frigid .180.

Ware, a freshman All-American as a Bruin cornerback last season, covered the best receivers in the Pac-10 one-on-one every week and was rarely burned.

Then in June he reported to the Arizona Rookie League for his first season as a Seattle Mariner minor leaguer. It was 112 degrees. Swinging a wood bat for the first time, Ware faced live, erratic arms throwing 95 mph and eked out a .171 average.

Heat? More like a meltdown.

So it happened that perhaps the two best athletes on the UCLA team discovered that baseball frustrates and humbles anyone who supposes the game can be mastered by athleticism alone.

Manning and Ware readily admit they did not prepare sufficiently during the off-season, rarely taking batting practice or even playing catch.

“If I want to make the move, I can see that I have to put more time in,” Manning said. “The guys playing full-time, it’s hard enough for them. Seeing guys pass me up makes me jealous. I know why it’s happening, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I haven’t had the time to play the game.”

Not that either player is idle. Baseball was secondary only because of their prowess in the secondary. Football requires a tremendous year-round commitment, on the field and in the weight room, especially for players projected as NFL draft picks.

But they did sign the baseball contracts. The Twins and Mariners want a return on their investment, eventually anyway.

“Unfortunately, this is a game of consistency and repetition,” said Jim Rantz, the Twins’ minor league director. “In order to improve and climb through the system, you have to have playing time. It’s tough to evaluate a guy on [Manning’s] 24 games and 61 at-bats.”

Scouts signed them because of their tremendous tools, because they are proven competitors, because they hold the promise, however remote, of becoming the next Deion Sanders or Brian Jordan, the supremely rare two-sport pro athlete.

Ware was drafted in the 21st round last year and signed by the Mariners for $200,000 despite not having played since his sophomore year at Loyola High. Manning, a 22nd-round pick in 1999, had better credentials, setting CIF Central Section records for hits and stolen bases at Fresno Edison High.

Little did the players realize that upon cashing the checks, they were consigned to repeated humiliation in small towns all over America. Not to mention the rickety bus rides and greasy burgers.

“Getting used to the day-to-day failure inherent in baseball is difficult for anyone, and especially for someone who has known a lot of success in another sport,” said Benny Looper, the Mariners’ player development director.

Neither the Twins nor Mariners express disappointment in their Bruin ballplayers. Patience is a cornerstone of player development.

Manning batted .275 in 2000 and .253 in 2001 in rookie ball, although he had no extra-base hits either year. He has had only 256 at-bats in four seasons.

“Signing Ricky was an opportunity to get a heck of an athlete in the system,” Rantz said. “At the time, we weren’t sure if he was going to stay with football. We’d do it over again.”

Ware drove in a run with a sharp single in one of his first at-bats at Peoria, Ariz., legged out a double when he caught a right fielder napping and showed home-run power in batting practice.

Not exactly accomplishments on par with his team-high five interceptions last fall, but it’s a start.

“Matt showed no signs of discouragement; he has an extremely positive makeup,” Looper said. “Yes, he was crude in every aspect. But he showed the same thing that encouraged us to sign him in the first place--great athleticism.”

Both players enjoyed the summer despite their struggles. As in football, the outgoing Manning became a popular clubhouse leader. Ware also made friends easily, bonding so well that Dominican teammates who called him their brother cried when he left to report to UCLA.

Ballplayers accustomed to playing in front of a few hundred fans in sleepy towns wanted to know how it felt to take the football field in packed, thunderous stadiums.

“I told them it’s fun,” Ware said.

During a bus ride, Manning’s teammates at Quad Cities, Iowa, played a video of his Bruin highlights despite the good-natured protests of shortstop and USC product Seth Davidson.

Peoria outfielder Mike Wilson second-guessed his own decision to turn down a football scholarship to Oklahoma to focus on baseball after listening to Ware describe UCLA.

Limiting himself to one sport, though, made for a smooth debut. Wilson batted .264 with nine extra-base hits in 114 at-bats. Ware, meanwhile, was six for 35 with 14 strikeouts and developed a sore arm during the first week.

“It is really hard to hit a ball,” Ware said.

Even on the toughest days he remained upbeat during long phone calls to his parents and girlfriend. He didn’t mention his arm problems and didn’t breathe a word about getting hit in the head with a fastball from a 6-foot-6 Milwaukee Brewer prospect.

Manning and Ware commiserated upon returning to UCLA, hinting at their struggles without admitting much.

“We both told our little stories,” Ware said. “Ricky said everything he hit was right at somebody.”

Most of their UCLA teammates see only the nice cars and new clothes Manning and Ware can afford. But when freshman Jarrad Page was leaning toward signing with the Brewers and becoming the third Bruin defensive back to juggle both sports, a call from Manning changed his mind.

“Friends and people at home were telling me to sign, some of them even wanted me to give up football,” Page said. “Ricky said you’re in the middle of nowhere, riding on like a school bus, the heat’s unbearable and you’re eating fast food. He said it’s nothing like college football, playing in front of 90,000 people and living on a college campus.”

Although the specter of spending at least two more years in rookie league is daunting to Ware, he promises to return.

“Baseball is real difficult and I have a lot to learn,” he said. “Yes, I’ll be back. And I will definitely be hitting after football is over. I know what I have to do to be successful. I want to move up to [Class A].”

Manning, a senior, is under contract for one more season, but he might forfeit his last payday and retire if he is a high NFL pick. Yet the desire to master the game that has posed such a challenge continues to tug at him.

“If I had to say which is more rewarding, making a big hit in football or getting a big hit in baseball, I’d say baseball because it doesn’t happen as often,” he said. “It’s so difficult that when I really drive a ball, nothing in the world feels better than that.”