CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the back of the clubhouse, off in a corner, a group of players sat around and waited for Tuesday's workouts to begin. It was early in the morning. Some of them ate breakfastoatmeal and bagels with cream cheese, fruit and cereal, juice and coffee. Others just leaned back in black leather chairs and chatted. John Mayberry was there. So was Hunter Pence.
There was another outfielder in the assemblya large man with a faux hawk. His hands rested on his head and his fingers were interlaced. He seemed at ease. It was the first time in a while that Dom Brown looked comfortable.
He was hyped as a cant-miss prospect by the media and the fans and the Fightins front office. Brown was going to be the next major talent to grow up in the Phillies minor league garden and blossom into a Big League superstar. Same as Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels and others before him. His destiny was so certain that Brown essentially became one of the organizations only untouchables over the last few years, a man the Phils refused to trade. Regardless of the circumstances or the potential return, they didnt deal him. Not for Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee. Not for Roy Oswalt or Hunter Pence. Not for anyone.
This will be Browns seventh season in the Phillies system. Hes 24 years old. By now, had everything gone the way it was supposed to, he would be an everyday outfielder for the Phillies. Everything, as you know, has not gone as anticipated. For much of his life, Brown said baseball was something that came naturally, something that he kind of breezed through. It has not been a breeze lately. Not at all.
That carefully-crafted script the Phillies had for him? Ripped up. Burned. Rewritten. He has hit just .236 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs during 280 major league plate appearances. Even more troubling, perhaps, was that he hit .261 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 41 games with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs last season. He has been moved from right field to left field. And, once more, people are talking about Brown starting the season in Triple-A to get more at-bats and polish the still-rough edges on his game.
Man, Ive been hearing that stuff for two or three years now, Brown said. It doesnt really matter. If you play hard and do things the right way, great things are going to happen for you. If you think great, youre going to be great.
He has not been great. Maybe part of that, as he suggested, was because he did not think great last year after breaking his right hand in spring training, an unfortunate accident that slowed his already arrested development. Brown said it was hard to get over the injury. Even after he recovered, things didnt get easier. Brown said he later reached a low point when he was shipped back to Lehigh Valley right before the playoffs.
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Baseball men often talk about five-tool players, but to hear Brown tell it theres a sixth tool thats just as important: his head. Brown has worked with all sorts of people over the off-season to improve his game, including Pence and former Major Leaguer Gary Sheffield. But Brown said his past performance issues werent mechanical, they were mental.
Pressure happens as you guys know, especially playing in Philly, Brown said. That comes with the territory. The more and more I play, the more Ill be relaxed. Thats a big key.
Where he will play is also a key, and, per usual, it is also a question. During the off-season, Ruben Amaro repeated a familiar refrain and said that Brown would probably benefit from more minor league at-bats, at least to begin the season. But last week, during an interview with NBC 10, Amaro reversed himself slightly and said its still possible that Brown could make the big-league club.
He could wow us in spring training and then all bets are off, Amaro said. If we feel like hes the best choice for us, I know hes looked good in the mini-camps weve had. I know thats a bit of a long shot, but we have to keep our minds open.
Thats how its gone with Brown so far. The Phillies keep hoping that hell suddenly figure it out and become everything theyve always dreamed. So far, it hasnt happened. Hes been like the baseball version of a futuristic concept carexciting as an abstract idea, but never quite ready for real-world production. Its getting to the point where you wonder whether Brown will ever realize his full potential and morph into a solid major league outfielder. After hearing him talk about how the pressure got to him a little, it made the reporters gathered around Brown wonder something else: did the Phillies rush him along too quickly?
I dont look at things like that, Brown said. I dont look at things like that at all. I think they made the right moves. They shouldnt look at things like that either. Theres going to be struggles. Theres going to be struggles throughout my career. I know that. Youve got to live and youve got to learn. All the ordeals make me a better person.
Before the interview ended, Brown said he thinks hes going to be fine. He said it more than onceI think Im going to be fineas though repetition alone might make it true.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com