Miracle's Whitrock plays game with vigor

Outfielder willing to go all out on the field

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

Matt Whitrock, an aspiring firefighter turned professional baseball player, gets his uniform dirty.

"That's the guy he is," Fort Myers Miracle manager Riccardo Ingram said. "He goes after it every day. He plays hard. He'll be the guy who dives in the outfield or who tries to take the extra base. He covers a lot of ground out there."

The fun-factor when watching Whitrock play ranks high, according to his teammates and coaches.

"I'm not afraid to get dirty," said Whitrock, who has the word "ROCK" tattooed on his left arm. He also has a spider web tattoo on his right shoulder.

"I'm always hustling on every play," Whitrock said. "You never know who's watching."

Whitrock, 24, happens to be one of the older players on the Miracle, the Class A minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

The Miracle return home at 7:05 tonight for the first of a four-game homestand against the Brevard Manatees, the Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Memorial Day weekend series will include fireworks after Saturday night's game.

When Whitrock enrolled at Madison Area Technical College, he did so with visions of firetrucks, not fireworks.

Whitrock earned a degree in fire protection.

"It's something to fall back on, I guess," Whitrock said. "You don't want to think like that, but just in case..."

But after setting the junior college's career records for batting average (.425), home runs (31), RBI (101) and stolen bases (49), Whitrock grabbed the attention of the Minnesota Twins.

Three weeks ago, the Wisconsin Rapids native caught the attention of Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, who's now a roving minor league instructor for the Twins.

"I love how he plays the game," Molitor said of Whitrock. "He's aggressive running the bases. He plays all-out in the outfield. He's a worker.

"I like watching him play. He can break up a double play. He's got a football player's mentality playing baseball."

Or perhaps that of a hockey player. Whitrock played high school hockey in addition to baseball at Lincoln High in Wisconsin Rapids.

"He played a lot of hockey, but baseball was always his sport," said Bob Whitrock, Scott's father. "He was always outside. If you gave him a ball and a glove, he'd be outside. He constantly went from one field to another."

Whitrock has shown speed, power, fielding ability and plenty of enthusiasm according to Ingram and Molitor.

Now, Whitrock has to lower his number of strikeouts and raise his batting average.

A .246 hitter over the previous four seasons in the minor leagues, Whitrock hit .254 last season with 13 home runs.

But Whitrock also led the entire Twins organization in striking out — something he did 155 times. He's on pace to reach triple figures again, as he entered Thursday's double header at Vero Beach with a team-high 51 strikeouts and a .250 batting average.

The good news: Whitrock led the Miracle with 12 stolen bases, and he was tied with third baseman Matt Moses for second in home runs with six.

"I'm looking for better pitches in the strike zone," Whitrock said.

Ingram said he's not concerned by either Whitrock's age or his strikeouts, at least not yet.

"Once you take off and figure it out, you can move quickly," Ingram said. "I don't think it will be a long, drawn-out process for him. I don't think it's a major concern.

"He's a strong guy. He has some power on the bat. Once he finds a way to cut down on his strikeouts, his power numbers will go up. That's what we're hoping for him."