HIGH SCHOOLS: Drew living up to name
His older brothers pros already, Lowndes High shortstop is displaying a talent worthy of family.
Michael Lee - Staff
Friday, May 19, 2000

Hahira --- At a small pond some 100 yards from his home in this one-stoplight town, he can be fisherman Stephen Drew.

Drew can relax and reel in bass, like the 4-pounder he caught just before the sun set Wednesday.

"I can get my mind off of things," Drew said. "I can look at what God has made. The water. The trees. It's unbelievable. It's just as fun as being on the field, playing baseball."

But there, he can't just be Lowndes junior shortstop Stephen Drew.

He often has to deal with comparisons to his older brothers --- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew and Cleveland Indians farmhand Tim Drew --- who became the first brothers drafted in the same first round in 1997. On the field, he is targeted by pitchers who save their best stuff just to get him out. And by fans who try to distract him with taunts like, "You're not as good as your brother!"

"He probably gets more attention from his name than he'd like," Lowndes coach Danny Redshaw said. "But he has handled it well."

Brothers share triumphs

Last week, Drew, 17, handled it better than most. He awoke from a season-long home-run slumber with four against Walton in the Class AAAA semifinals. Drew also knocked in 10 of his 26 RBIs this season and boosted his batting average to .400. The elder Drews' cell phones were buzzing Saturday afternoon.

Tim, who was set to pitch for the Indians' Class AA Akron Aeros in a few hours, called Marietta about every five minutes for an update. Then he would call St. Louis, where a concerned J.D. was getting ready to play the Dodgers.

"We want to see him succeed," Tim, 21, said from a hotel in Norwich, Conn., Thursday. "A lot of people are saying he could be the best Drew of them all. Me and J.D. might have the pressure on us right now."

But not before J.D. put a little on Stephen. After finding out how well his little brother did, J.D. gave him a call.

"Man, it's about time you started hitting the ball," J.D. said. "You'd better bring me home a ring this week."

Lowndes (32-3) is ranked seventh in the nation by Baseball America and No. 15 by USA Today. It plays defending champion Lassiter at 5 p.m. today. The Vikings will try to win their first baseball state title since 1981. The football team just ended a 19-year drought with a championship in the fall.

As has been the case all year, Lowndes won't have to rely solely on Drew to win. He bats second between speedy center fielder Javon Moran, who has signed with Auburn, and Clemson signee Zane Green. But there is no denying Drew's talent.

Redshaw coached J.D. and Tim at the youth-league level, and saw them progress while he was coaching at crosstown rival Valdosta when both played at Lowndes.

"It's really unfair to say this, but hitting-wise, he's probably farther along than J.D. was at this age. He's a special talent with a great future ahead of him," said Redshaw, in his third year at Lowndes. "It's very refreshing to see a young man with that much talent as he has --- and the bloodlines --- that works as hard as he does."

Drew had little trouble adjusting to varsity baseball. Last year, he started the final 16 games as a 5-foot-4, 145-pound sophomore and hit .559 with six home runs and 23 RBIs. He finished the year in the cleanup spot. Then Stephen hit what he calls "the Drew growth spurt."

Stephen shot up to 6 feet before the season started, but with growth, pains followed. At the LaGrange Invitational Tournament in March, Stephen injured his shoulder diving for a grounder in a 7-6 victory over Lassiter. His arm nearly popped out of the socket, and he had to wear a brace for a few games.

Dealing with slump

Before practice Wednesday, Drew received treatment for lower back pain. It's a nagging injury that has been with him since he spun to make a throw in the middle of the year.

This season has been something of a struggle. Instead of the fastballs he feasted on a year ago, Stephen has seen more curveballs and change-ups. His faith in God helps him deal with the hard times. But if he is slumping, Stephen will call J.D. for advice. "See it," J.D. will say, simply. "Hit it."

"God has given him the tools," his father, David Drew, 52, said. "But I can't make him work. He's like, 'Don't refer to me as J.D.'s little brother.' But here he sits --- another Drew. He puts more pressure on himself than anyone. This year, he had his first slump. By most people's standards .400 wouldn't be a slump. But he's turned that around. Now, he's more relaxed than he's been all year."

In some ways, Stephen relishes being a Drew. At practice this week, he wasn't hard to spot. He was the only one in a navy Cardinals cap.

"I got little advantages. Scouts and recruiters know J.D. They know the Drew name. So that helps," said Stephen, who each week gets 40 to 50 letters that usually go unread.

J.D. and Tim used to take Stephen to the cow patch or the front yard to play baseball when he was barely out of diapers. And they never took it easy on him. Who do you think was one of the first to face Tim's 90-mph fastball?

Last June, Stephen stayed with J.D. in St. Louis and got to travel with him on road trips to Cincinnati, Colorado and San Francisco. He also got to take batting practice and shag fly balls with his older brother.

"It was just awesome," Stephen said. "I was thinking, 'I hope I can do this one day.' That's what I'm trying to do right now."

That, and win a state championship. For now, he's relaxed by the pond.

"I just hope we win," Drew said, throwing out his fishing line," so I can call J.D. and say, 'I got it. I got it.' "

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