'The best of them excel at adapting'

One thing baseball insiders stress is how tremendously difficult it is to get a hit in baseball. Some have called it the hardest feat in sports, and that’s not hard to believe considering even the best major leaguers fail at it two out of three times. It takes an adaptive ballplayer to recognize the type of pitch, its speed and its location. The best of them excel at adapting – the worst do not.

Brian Mason clearly does.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Wolfpack utility man has done just about everything for the ‘Pack in his career for Loyola baseball: hitting well, making constant position switches and even winning a second all-conference team spot.

But Loyola didn’t see results early in his career. After arriving on Loyola’s campus as a freshman, Brian was forced to deal with a new environment while being redshirted.

“I didn’t know I was going to redshirt my freshman year. I performed really well during fall practices at Loyola, and I was the only guy on the team to hit a homerun – with wood, might I add,” Mason said. “It came as a surprise to me that the coach at the time wanted to redshirt me, because I had performed so well.”

Not allowed to play the game he loves, he had to adapt to hitting the books rather than a ball. Impressions were, nevertheless, made.

“The first thing that stood out about Brian was his athleticism. His hands were better at the plate than most of the guys on the team,” coach Doc Beeman said.

Then, in his second year, he had to fight for playing time as a redshirt freshman. He won the battle before the season even began, starting 56 games while hitting .335. He was a roaring success, earning an average good enough for third best on the team.

That team, however, had just finished dealing with Katrina as the season opened. Mason had found it within himself to succeed and to adapt in the face of considerable challenges.

“There is no doubt that Katrina affected everyone on the team in different ways. We are all still feeling the effects,” Beeman said.

He’d continue his success into this year, but not before dealing with a serious blow to his personal life. On Dec.16, 2006, his mother died.

“My mom was everything to me. She was always smiling, putting others’ needs before herself and working hard to support the family,” Mason said.

But rather than letting her death consume him, Mason took something from the experience.

“One thing she taught me was that if you work hard and have faith, you’ll get what you deserve in the end. She wouldn’t have expected anything less from me just because of what happened, and it really has just made me a stronger person, more focused and driven than ever.”

Mason was asked to make a dramatic personal adjustment while playing on a team that had lost two key hitters – who accounted for 17 of the team’s 28 homeruns – to graduation.

He responded of course, putting up his usual fantastic numbers, hitting .333, and for the first time leading the team in batting. His 23 runs this season is also tops on the team.

This, all in the face of tragedy.

And while he has been superior with his bat, he’s been even better with his glove. This season he once again adapted, this time for nearly every game. He’d start at second some days, occasionally in the outfield.

The only consistency was his sterling performance.

“Defensively, Brian would be the best player we have at every position except shortstop if he were to play and practice there on a daily basis,” Beeman said. “This year, he has taken the role of utility player on and performed exceptionally well.”

His strong arm, instincts and smart head allow for him to make a seamless transition.

“I understand how to play every position and the responsibilities that go along with that position,” Mason said. “This means that I need to get extra work taking groundballs in the infield and getting reads on fly balls in the outfield in order to stay at the top of my game at all positions.”

“I get greedy because I love for him to play second,” said shortstop Andy Rodriguez, mass communication junior. “He’s so into the game I’ll get angry if he isn’t playing second base. You want him playing every position, playing everywhere.”

Off the field Mason can be described as quiet to some, but friendly to all. Just ask roommate and teammate Bobby Alvarez.

“He’s a real, warm-hearted guy. You can talk to him about anything,” mass communication junior Alvarez said. “He’s never content, always finding areas to improve. That’s one thing the team needs. He brings out all the other qualities we need to improve on.”

“It’s great to have a teammate as a roommate who understands what it’s like to play ball and go to school,” Mason said about his roommate. “We keep each other in check and make sure we’re both getting done what needs to get done both on and off the field.”

In retrospect, Mason’s career has been an astounding one. He’s managed to hit more than .330 in each year he has played, doing so during position switches and personal tragedies. But don’t think his career is definitely over when he graduates.

“I want to play baseball until I can’t anymore. Any opportunity to further my baseball career is my number one priority.”

If current results are any indication, he might be able to sneak his way onto a professional team should he choose to. Until then, he’ll have to focus on winning and making it to the first all-conference team.

“I didn’t work hard my whole life playing ball to be second best. I believe I have a good shot this year. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].