Weeks wins Rotary Smith Award
June 27, 2003
By Joseph Schiefelbein
Baton
Rouge Advocate sportswriter
Rickie Weeks never has said much about himself. Not that he
needs to.
The huge numbers he put up as Southern University's second baseman
and the national awards he's been getting lately speak volumes.
Weeks received his second collegiate baseball player of the
year trophy with the presentation of the Rotary Smith Award on
Thursday night in Houston.
Weeks already won the Dick Howser Trophy and was selected as
the national player of the year by two publications, Collegiate
Baseball and Baseball America.
The awards continue to underscore the amazing story of Weeks,
who went undrafted out of high school and offered scholarships
by only two colleges yet was, as the No. 2 pick of the Milwaukee
Brewers, the first collegiate player taken earlier this month
in baseball's draft.
"If you play hard, people are going to find you," said
Weeks, still in negotiations with the Brewers. "Coach told
me, when I first met him, that anything is possible."
Weeks, twice a member of the Baseball USA team and a three-time
All-American, let his play do his talking.
In three seasons he hit .467 and was caught stealing only once
in 70 tries as Southern went 135-29 with three NCAA Tournament
appearances. Southern didn't have a stadium at Lee-Hines Field
until this season and the team doesn't have a locker room, often
with players changing into practice gear in their cars.
"I'm just overwhelmed for him to win this great award," Southern
coach Roger Cador said. "To see Rickie come out on top,
with all the obstacles he faced at Southern, in terms of facilities
and other things ... That didn't stop him from believing in himself."
One more major award is still left. Weeks is one of five finalists,
along with former Tulane first baseman Michael Aubrey, for the
Golden Spikes Award.
Thursday night, Weeks, 6-foot, bested two hulking players: 6-9
sophomore pitcher Jeff Niemann from national champion Rice and
6-4 junior first baseman Billy Becher of New Mexico State.
This season, Weeks hit .483, becoming only the second player
to lead Division I in batting average for two straight seasons,
as the Jaguars went 47-7 and won an NCAA Tournament game.
Last season, when Weeks hit .495 for Southern (45-10), he became
the first player to lead the nation in batting average and slugging
percentage since the NCAA began keeping statistics in 1957.
The last two seasons, Weeks hit .488, with 36 home runs and
162 RBIs.
"The way Rickie's handled himself made a tremendous impression," Cador
said. "When you're a quality person, good news spreads fast.
"People knew about his reputation as a player and a person,
so that really aided him. He thought more about others than himself.
That's unique in the world. You see how athletes act today. But
in the long run, he's been rewarded."
Former LSU star Ben McDonald won the Rotary Smith Award in 1989,
then the award's second year.
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