It’s Tough for Mathis to Mask His Excitement

Jeff Mathis is not one to shy from a challenge, so don’t expect the Angels’ rookie catcher to wilt under the pressure of replacing a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and handling a predominantly veteran pitching staff on a team with World Series aspirations.

It was Mathis’ fearlessness that launched him down the path to where he is today, on the verge of replacing departed veteran Bengie Molina as the Angels’ starting catcher, or, at the very least, sharing the job with Jose Molina this season.

Mathis, who turns 23 on March 31, was a promising junior shortstop and pitcher at Marianna (Fla.) High in 2000 when Scott Miller, the coach of the team, had a problem.

“I had a right-handed pitcher named Alan Horne who threw 95 mph with a nasty breaking ball, and no one else could catch him,” said Miller, who is now the coach at Bainbridge (Ga.) High. “Jeff said, ‘I’ll catch him,’ and lo and behold, the scouts who came to look at Alan were saying, ‘Who’s this kid catching him?’ ”

Horne was a first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2001 draft by Cleveland and turned down a $1.8-million bonus to go to Mississippi, and Mathis, who probably would have been a late-round pick as an infielder, soared all the way up to the 33rd overall pick and signed with the Angels.

Five years later, after Mathis’ steady progression through the farm system, the Angels thought so much of his defense, maturity and offensive potential that they let Bengie Molina go.

“I’ve been waiting all my life for this opportunity, and I’m pretty excited,” said the 6-foot, 185-pound Mathis, who hit .276 with 21 home runs and 73 runs batted in at triple-A Salt Lake last season before spending most of September with the Angels.

“I’m a little nervous -- it is the big leagues -- but I got a little taste of it last year, and that’s going to help. I’m going to try not to put too much pressure on myself, to just do what I’ve done in the past.”

There is no guarantee Mathis will be a rookie sensation, or a success, for that matter. Even the best prospects -- remember Troy Glaus’ first season? -- can be overwhelmed, especially by opposing pitchers, at the start.

But Angel Manager Mike Scioscia doesn’t need Mathis to hit like Mike Piazza; he wants Mathis to focus on defense, on refining his ability to block balls in the dirt and throw accurately to second, on handling pitchers, sizing up batters and, most important, calling a game.

“That’s the big monster you worry about, pitch selection, knowing what a pitcher wants to do in certain counts,” Scioscia said. “You can’t be intimidated by it.”

Mathis caught most of the Angel relievers in the bullpen last September and several of the starters in spring training the last two years, but he’ll still spend much of this spring “getting to know these guys even better, learning what they like to do and how to communicate with them, trying to gain their trust,” Mathis said.

The fact that five of the team’s projected 11 pitchers are expected to leave camp for the World Baseball Classic in early March will make that task all the more difficult.

But Mathis also has the benefit of having a manager who was an All-Star catcher and a teammate who, despite being a backup for years, has developed into one of the American League’s top defensive catchers.

“Part of the reason I’ve gotten better is I’ve been able to watch those guys,” Mathis said of Jose and Bengie Molina. “Having Jose is awesome. We’ve had a great relationship the past few years, and I’m looking forward to working with him and picking his brain.”

Pitchers rarely shook off Bengie Molina, whose game-calling abilities earned the respect and admiration of Scioscia, who might be the game’s most demanding manager on catchers. Mathis may eventually reach that stature, but not without some growing pains.

“Because we have a veteran staff, a young catcher might put too much pressure on himself,” said new Angel starter Jeff Weaver, who worked with Dodger rookie catcher Dioner Navarro last season.

“He might want to throw down signs he’s comfortable with instead of going with what that situation is asking for. But as long as he stays relaxed and is not afraid to ask questions, and learns what makes you comfortable and what you’re thinking, he’ll speed up that process.”

With Scioscia putting so much emphasis on defense and the pitcher-catcher relationship, it might seem offense is an afterthought. But no matter how much time he spends on defense, Mathis, who has decent power and above-average speed for a catcher, will find time to work on his hitting.

Mathis’ work habits in Marianna, a rural panhandle town of about 6,200 located 70 miles west of Tallahassee, were almost legendary.

Mathis loves to hunt and fish, but when his buddies were roaming the woods in search of white-tail deer or casting into the Chipola River, Mathis was usually in the batting cages behind the school, with a bag of balls and a tee, chasing what his mother, Bunnee, called “his passion and dream since he was a little bitty boy.”

After every practice, Mathis would spend an extra hour in the cage. When he got bored around the house, he’d go to the cage.

And when there was nothing to do around town, which was often -- “We’ve got a Super Wal-Mart,” Mathis said. “That’s our main attraction, I guess” -- Mathis headed for the cage.

“He had an unbelievable work ethic as a high school player,” Miller said. “He had a drive to be the best, a quality you seldom see in kids today.”

Mathis led Marianna to the Class 3-A state title in 1999 and was an option quarterback who took Marianna to one state championship game in football.

“Jeff spoiled me,” Miller said. “He’s one of those types of kids who come along once in a lifetime.”

Mathis’ upbringing was blue-collar all the way. His mother is a third-grade teacher, his father, Danny, is a lineman for a power company, and he grew up among a number of peanut and cotton farmers, folks who know the value of a hard day’s work.

One of Mathis’ grandfathers played competitive softball until he was 70, and his father played junior college baseball.

“They were always on me about hustling, working hard, and it paid off,” said Mathis, who still spends winters in Marianna. “I’ve worked hard every season to get to the next level.”

Now that Mathis apparently has reached the highest level, the anticipation is building in Marianna. Already, folks are organizing bus trips to St. Petersburg for when the Angels play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in June and July.

The Jeff Mathis folks see in Tropicana Field probably won’t be much different from the one whacking baseballs off a tee in back of Marianna High.

“The thing that sets him apart is his character -- he’s so humble,” Miller said. “I spent a day with him [two weeks ago], and he is today what he was in high school. The status of baseball hasn’t changed him. He’s a class kid. He comes from very good stock.

“He understands that what got him here is a lot of hard work, and he has a lot of hard work in front of him. He has a good head on his shoulders. He’s going to make the Angels proud.”