Thursday, February 22, 2001
Drew's talents are put to the test

J.D. Drew has to show this season that his game is more like how he played in 2000 than how he played in 1999.

JUPITER, Fla. - J.D. Drew entered the major leagues in September 1998, riding the wave of Mark McGwire's record home run run.

Drew's .417 batting clip for three weeks, in which he homered five times in 36 at-bats, went relatively unnoticed until the winter, when people suddenly started talking in Stan Musial terms, because Musial began in similar fashion in 1941.

But, came 1999 and a jolt of reality for all concerned. Drew hit .242 with 13 homers in an injury-plagued season that included his being left in the minors for a while after he had completed an injury rehabilitation program. Last year was more like expectations, as Drew popped 18 homers and hiked his average to .295.

Now, he is a veteran of two-plus seasons, and McGwire says, "It's all up to him. There's no more learning. He's had a few years in the big leagues, and it's not a learning experience any more.

"It's time to start establishing himself and start to become a name in the game."

Drew smiled when he heard that. "Man, pressure from everybody these days," he said, shaking his head.

At 25, Drew knows one thing - that he doesn't know it all. "There's so much to learn about this game. Everything's constantly changing. New faces. New pitchers," he said.

"But you've got a lot more knowledge and you understand the game and how to prepare yourself. It's better than coming in the first two years. Now you know how to apply everything. You're still going to learn a lot as you go along but the learning process will be a lot easier to apply."

Manager Tony La Russa, who has been not afraid to push Drew and not loathe to criticize him if the situation calls for it, admits, "He's got every bit of that talent that scouts raved about.

"It will just be fun to watch him grow as a player as he gains experience in all phases. But he's still at that developing stage. He's not at his prime yet."

As he draws closer to that level, though, Drew said: "Probably there's a lot more expected than there was the first two years. It's my turn to contribute a little instead of riding everybody's coattails."

Or as McGwire said: "If any player wants to become the best he can, it's up to him and not anybody else. Whatever his desire brings him, that's what he's going to get."

Drew basically had never failed until 1999. He was a first-round draft choice (twice) and a star in high school and college.

"Nobody knows how tough anything is until they've had failure," McGwire said. "If you've had success ever since high school and college and you've never had failure, how do you know how to handle failure?

"Handling failure on the big-league level is the toughest thing there is."

Having experienced failure, McGwire said, enables one to enjoy success even more - "because there's too many guys who can't handle it and you never hear about them again."

Of 1999, Drew said, "I was disappointed.

"But I learned a lot after 1999. I can't come out every day and take 200 swings in the cage and then try to hit (batting practice) on the field. You try to do that over 162 games and by August, you're just wiped out.

"In that sense, failure was good. In my faith and belief, you're going to have your trials and your troubles, but what you do with them is what makes you the player and the person that you are.

"I know this year exactly where I stand and how to go about things."

Technically, Drew is a veteran, but he said, "I'm still young on this squad. If you include (Rick) Ankiel, myself and Eli (Marrero), everybody else has five-years-plus (experience). I'm just still kind of taking it all in."

Drew said he would continue to learn from center fielder Jim Edmonds and others. "I just listen to them talk and suck it dry," he said.
A natural center fielder, Drew will be only a backup center fielder for the Cardinals with Edmonds signed for six more years. Drew will play mostly right field and some left field.

"That's kind of tough to swallow because I've played center field my whole life," he said, not with rancor.


"I guess Tony sees me as a utility outfielder," Drew joked. "But I'll accept that role in right field. I don't mind it one bit."

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