Pac-10 transfer leads Valley in homers, RBI

It is safe to say SIU baseball head coach Dan Callahan was thrilled when Grant Gerrard decided to transfer to the Salukis from Washington before the 2004 season.

At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Gerrard is a big guy, and as far as baseball speak goes, the former high school pitcher and current right fielder has a plus arm to go with plus speed around the base paths and plus bat speed.

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“He’s what pro scouts look for,” Callahan said.

But in his first year as a Saluki, Gerrard struggled at the plate, hitting just .242 in 66 at-bats. He also struggled with his confidence, with Callahan saying that Gerrard’s “body language [last year] would lead you to believe he wasn’t a confident person.”

A Staph infection that developed after getting hit in the ankle by a pitch against Vanderbilt early last year didn’t help matters. Looking back, Callahan said he probably should have red-shirted the then-sophomore, whose injury became more serious than anyone had initially thought.

But nonetheless, Callahan thought last year was a fluke, saying he was positive Gerrard was better than he showed a year ago. Determined not to let such a talent go to waste, Callahan constantly stayed on Gerrard to improve his game, as well as his confidence.

“One day I just put it point blank. I said Grant, you’ve got pro tools and you’re playing like a below average player,” Callahan said. “That’s how you’re carrying yourself, and your body language is indicative of how you’re playing.”

Extra hours spent with hitting coach Ken Henderson during the summer and fall has led to a much improved and more self-confident Gerrard in 2005.

12 games into this season, Gerrard is hitting an improved .308 and leads the Missouri Valley Conference in both home runs, with four, and RBI, with 16. The Salukis’ clean up hitter has already equaled his hit total from a year ago (16), and he has exceeded his home run [he didn’t hit any last year] and RBI numbers – all in 14 fewer at-bats.

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The increased power numbers aren’t a surprise to Callahan, who said Gerrard “has hit some of the longest home runs that have probably ever been hit [at Abe Martin Field],” during batting practice and inter-squad games.

The soft-spoken Gerrard credits his success early in 2005 to Callahan and Henderson for sticking by him.

“I had a bad year last year. Nobody’s going to say I didn’t,” Gerrard said. “I struggled, but Hendu and Cal never quit on me, and that means a lot to me. They could have just cut me loose and that would have been that, and they might have never heard from me again and I’d be out of the game right now.”

Instead, Gerrard has never been more a part of the game. The Salukis (7-5) are seven games improved from last year’s 0-12 start, and Gerrard’s pro interest is increasing each week.

Scouts watched him and junior Matt Brewer hit back-to-back home runs in last Friday’s 6-3 come-from-behind victory against Northern Illinois, and they stuck around until Sunday to watch him get more at-bats.

Callahan, who said he gets calls from scouts every week about Gerrard, said he has a gut feeling that the junior outfielder will be selected in June’s Major League Baseball draft.

But all of this success seemed miles away to Gerrard a year ago when he was struggling with the nagging ankle injury and ineffectiveness at the plate.

Saying he just didn’t fit in at Washington – he’s not a city guy – Gerrard settled on his second choice out of high school, SIU, for his second chance at baseball. But when the change didn’t go perfect for Gerrard, he didn’t panic or even think about transferring.

Instead he buckled down and went to work with Henderson on his hitting form, dissecting hours of video and spending a lot of time in the batting cages. Among other things, Gerrard discovered he needed to get started quicker so he wasn’t always catching up to fastballs.

“Not being able to figure it out last year was frustrating for him and it was frustrating for me too,” Henderson said. “But he stayed at it and he cares. He’s a tremendous worker.”

Gerrard will likely encounter another slump at some point this season. It is just a fact of the game. But Callahan is convinced that Gerrard’s new sense of self-confidence will help him recover quickly from any struggles that may arise.

And Henderson is certain that Gerrard will only continue to get better.

“His best days are ahead of him,” Henderson said. “He’s got a bright future in this game, in my opinion not only here, but beyond SIU.”

Reporter Adam Soebbing can be reached at [email protected]