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Rounding the Bases with Brett Bateman
1/7/2021 9:10:00 AM | Baseball
There are six new faces in the fold for the Gopher Baseball program heading into the 2021 season, including five freshmen and one transfer. In order to get to know all of them better, Gopher Sports is sitting down with each newcomer and diving into the finer details of their baseball career.
Hailing from Arden Hills, Minn., freshman outfielder/left-handed pitcher Brett Bateman embarks on his debut season in Maroon & Gold after a remarkable prep career at Mounds View High School. Over his last two high school seasons, Bateman hit a combined .468 while leading the state in batting average (.484) and hits (44) as a junior in 2019. Overall, the speedy outfielder collected 73 hits, 50 runs and 18 stolen bases from 2018-19, powering him to countless honors: 2019 Pioneer Press Player of the Year Finalist, 2018-19 All-Section, 2018-19 All-Suburban East Conference, 2019 All-Area and 2019 Star Tribune All-Metro Second Team.
As the son of current Augsburg University head baseball coach Keith Bateman, Brett excels as a two-way player. In 2019, Bateman set a Mounds View record with a 0.38 ERA in 19 innings pitched, striking out 26 batters in the process. The versatile Bateman is also incredibly difficult to strike out, having gone down on strikes just twice in 52 at bats all summer long while competing for the Lyons Pub Warriors of the Minnesota Class A Amateur Baseball Association. While with the Warriors, Bateman batted .712 with three doubles, 11 RBI and eight steals.
GS: Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
BB: "I chose to come here because, growing up here for a long time, I went to a lot of University of Minnesota baseball games. Watching the guys play, there was that atmosphere that it always had. I feel like I've always grown up being a Minnesota fan. Playing for the Gophers has been a dream of mine and when the opportunity presented itself, it was hard for me to say no."
GS: What is your earliest baseball memory?
BB: "The most vivid one that I can remember was our Shoreview Area Youth Baseball League championship game to go into the state tournament. At 12, that's the whole Little League World Series thing. It was a really good game... I was in centerfield and there were guys on second and third with two outs, and the dude hits an absolute laser to me and I catch the ball, and on my transfer, and this is still an argument today, I drop the ball. It's still kind of a joke with a bunch of my friends, because I grew up playing with them all the way through high school. But, I definitely caught the ball and we ended up winning the championship for Shoreview Area Youth Baseball and representing them in the state tournament."
GS: What level of familiarity did you have with the Gophers growing up?
BB: "I knew a lot of players growing up. I had a lot of different sources of information, you could say. A lot of connections. My dad is the head baseball coach at Augsburg University, and they scrimmaged the Gophers about twice every year. Augsburg would always end up getting their butts handed to them, but I would always go watch that game because I looked up to my dad and he was my entrance for baseball. I knew Ben Mezzenga. I played high school baseball with Ike Mezzenga growing up. I knew John Anderson. Obviously, he has a lot of records, so being able to be coached by him is an opportunity in itself."
GS: When did you realize that Division I baseball was a possibility for you?
BB: "That click happened sophomore year of high school. I was really small. I remember talking to my dad, he was like, 'you have to start recruiting early, because you're not big and you won't catch as many eyes.' I ended up working with Justin Musil at Elite Sports Advising. My sophomore year, one of our starters got hurt, so I actually ended up taking his spot in the outfield. I played really well and turned a lot of heads. I think I hit .380 for half the year and we ending up winning the section for the first time in x-amount of years."
GS: What other sports did you play growing up?
BB: "I played three sports growing up: soccer, basketball and baseball. I started basketball in sixth grade or seventh grade for Mounds View. I played all the way through high school, all four years. I played soccer – until I stopped my junior year because it was taking up my fall season for baseball – from 10 years old to 16."
GS: How do you approach the demands of being a two-way player?
BB: "I know that I'm better at hitting than I am pitching. Knowing that, there's a piece of that that I need to be able to know that I need to work on pitching more than I do hitting. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop working on hitting, because I take pride in my hitting and that's one of the main reasons why I'm here. One of the most important things is, in my opinion, my arm. Being a two-way player, not do I only have to always be able to pitch this year, but I also have to make sure that I'm able to make throws to my best ability."
GS: What does it feel like to hit .484?
BB: "You get a lot of stuff thrown at you. This summer, I hit .712 as well, but that was also because no one knew who I was. My game is: I bunt. I rarely strike out. I take pride in that. I'm always going to put the ball in play and that's probably why my average is so high. Guys can't really get stuff around me. I take pride in my average. My approach is to think middle-away, hit the ball hard and run."
GS: What is the most memorable moment of your career?
BB: "It would probably be the 2018 sectional playoff championship... to go to state. We lost to Totino-Grace in our sections to go to the championship game, so we had three games to win to move on. We bounced back and won the next game, so then we had to beat Totino twice, and this was at CHS Field. The first game we won, 16-13. I set a record there. I was five-for-six. I had five hits in one game, which is a Minnesota state high school record. It's kind of funny because my dad set that record, too, so both of our names are right next to each other. We ended up winning that game and that was a really offensive game. And then we played them again and we won, 4-0. We piled. That's probably one of the best experiences."
GS: Who inspires you as a ballplayer?
BB: "There is no doubt in my mind. I would say it's my dad, and I don't want to leave my mom out of the equation, because she's the one that has always said, 'you got to keep playing ball, even if you fail, you got to keep going.' But, it's for sure my dad because he has always embraced me and had open arms and he's been my number one coach. He's given me the swing that I have and the mentality and he's not shy to tell me to work on this or that."
GS: If you could throw the final strike of the World Series or hit a walk-off, which would you choose?
BB: "Hit a walk-off. I don't think there's any doubt in my mind. Hitting a walk-off is a bit different than throwing the final pitch, don't get me wrong. For me, it's a pretty easy question. I like that feeling. I've had it a few times before and it feels like nothing else."
GS: What are your future plans with a degree from the University of Minnesota?
BB: "I'm going into communications. Public speaking, talking, I feel like I'm pretty good at that. I'm also going to be doing a minor in atmospheric sciences… Something that has to do with interviews for sports I think would be really fun. That would be the path I would go down if I could choose anything."
GS: What are your goals for your Gopher career?
BB: "Individually, I want to be known as a leader. I think that's what a lot of guys say. Everyone wants to be a leader and known for the way they showed leadership and confidence in bad times and being able to recoup the team and build them back into a good spot. This senior class, or upper class, shows a lot of leadership. That's who I'd want to be: a good example for everyone else. Team-wise, obviously a Big Ten Championship. Big Ten Championship comes first, and then an NCAA Championship. Just being able to be around the guys and hopefully, that can be our common goal and we can succeed one day."
Hailing from Arden Hills, Minn., freshman outfielder/left-handed pitcher Brett Bateman embarks on his debut season in Maroon & Gold after a remarkable prep career at Mounds View High School. Over his last two high school seasons, Bateman hit a combined .468 while leading the state in batting average (.484) and hits (44) as a junior in 2019. Overall, the speedy outfielder collected 73 hits, 50 runs and 18 stolen bases from 2018-19, powering him to countless honors: 2019 Pioneer Press Player of the Year Finalist, 2018-19 All-Section, 2018-19 All-Suburban East Conference, 2019 All-Area and 2019 Star Tribune All-Metro Second Team.
As the son of current Augsburg University head baseball coach Keith Bateman, Brett excels as a two-way player. In 2019, Bateman set a Mounds View record with a 0.38 ERA in 19 innings pitched, striking out 26 batters in the process. The versatile Bateman is also incredibly difficult to strike out, having gone down on strikes just twice in 52 at bats all summer long while competing for the Lyons Pub Warriors of the Minnesota Class A Amateur Baseball Association. While with the Warriors, Bateman batted .712 with three doubles, 11 RBI and eight steals.
GS: Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
BB: "I chose to come here because, growing up here for a long time, I went to a lot of University of Minnesota baseball games. Watching the guys play, there was that atmosphere that it always had. I feel like I've always grown up being a Minnesota fan. Playing for the Gophers has been a dream of mine and when the opportunity presented itself, it was hard for me to say no."
GS: What is your earliest baseball memory?
BB: "The most vivid one that I can remember was our Shoreview Area Youth Baseball League championship game to go into the state tournament. At 12, that's the whole Little League World Series thing. It was a really good game... I was in centerfield and there were guys on second and third with two outs, and the dude hits an absolute laser to me and I catch the ball, and on my transfer, and this is still an argument today, I drop the ball. It's still kind of a joke with a bunch of my friends, because I grew up playing with them all the way through high school. But, I definitely caught the ball and we ended up winning the championship for Shoreview Area Youth Baseball and representing them in the state tournament."
GS: What level of familiarity did you have with the Gophers growing up?
BB: "I knew a lot of players growing up. I had a lot of different sources of information, you could say. A lot of connections. My dad is the head baseball coach at Augsburg University, and they scrimmaged the Gophers about twice every year. Augsburg would always end up getting their butts handed to them, but I would always go watch that game because I looked up to my dad and he was my entrance for baseball. I knew Ben Mezzenga. I played high school baseball with Ike Mezzenga growing up. I knew John Anderson. Obviously, he has a lot of records, so being able to be coached by him is an opportunity in itself."
GS: When did you realize that Division I baseball was a possibility for you?
BB: "That click happened sophomore year of high school. I was really small. I remember talking to my dad, he was like, 'you have to start recruiting early, because you're not big and you won't catch as many eyes.' I ended up working with Justin Musil at Elite Sports Advising. My sophomore year, one of our starters got hurt, so I actually ended up taking his spot in the outfield. I played really well and turned a lot of heads. I think I hit .380 for half the year and we ending up winning the section for the first time in x-amount of years."
GS: What other sports did you play growing up?
BB: "I played three sports growing up: soccer, basketball and baseball. I started basketball in sixth grade or seventh grade for Mounds View. I played all the way through high school, all four years. I played soccer – until I stopped my junior year because it was taking up my fall season for baseball – from 10 years old to 16."
GS: How do you approach the demands of being a two-way player?
BB: "I know that I'm better at hitting than I am pitching. Knowing that, there's a piece of that that I need to be able to know that I need to work on pitching more than I do hitting. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop working on hitting, because I take pride in my hitting and that's one of the main reasons why I'm here. One of the most important things is, in my opinion, my arm. Being a two-way player, not do I only have to always be able to pitch this year, but I also have to make sure that I'm able to make throws to my best ability."
GS: What does it feel like to hit .484?
BB: "You get a lot of stuff thrown at you. This summer, I hit .712 as well, but that was also because no one knew who I was. My game is: I bunt. I rarely strike out. I take pride in that. I'm always going to put the ball in play and that's probably why my average is so high. Guys can't really get stuff around me. I take pride in my average. My approach is to think middle-away, hit the ball hard and run."
GS: What is the most memorable moment of your career?
BB: "It would probably be the 2018 sectional playoff championship... to go to state. We lost to Totino-Grace in our sections to go to the championship game, so we had three games to win to move on. We bounced back and won the next game, so then we had to beat Totino twice, and this was at CHS Field. The first game we won, 16-13. I set a record there. I was five-for-six. I had five hits in one game, which is a Minnesota state high school record. It's kind of funny because my dad set that record, too, so both of our names are right next to each other. We ended up winning that game and that was a really offensive game. And then we played them again and we won, 4-0. We piled. That's probably one of the best experiences."
GS: Who inspires you as a ballplayer?
BB: "There is no doubt in my mind. I would say it's my dad, and I don't want to leave my mom out of the equation, because she's the one that has always said, 'you got to keep playing ball, even if you fail, you got to keep going.' But, it's for sure my dad because he has always embraced me and had open arms and he's been my number one coach. He's given me the swing that I have and the mentality and he's not shy to tell me to work on this or that."
GS: If you could throw the final strike of the World Series or hit a walk-off, which would you choose?
BB: "Hit a walk-off. I don't think there's any doubt in my mind. Hitting a walk-off is a bit different than throwing the final pitch, don't get me wrong. For me, it's a pretty easy question. I like that feeling. I've had it a few times before and it feels like nothing else."
GS: What are your future plans with a degree from the University of Minnesota?
BB: "I'm going into communications. Public speaking, talking, I feel like I'm pretty good at that. I'm also going to be doing a minor in atmospheric sciences… Something that has to do with interviews for sports I think would be really fun. That would be the path I would go down if I could choose anything."
GS: What are your goals for your Gopher career?
BB: "Individually, I want to be known as a leader. I think that's what a lot of guys say. Everyone wants to be a leader and known for the way they showed leadership and confidence in bad times and being able to recoup the team and build them back into a good spot. This senior class, or upper class, shows a lot of leadership. That's who I'd want to be: a good example for everyone else. Team-wise, obviously a Big Ten Championship. Big Ten Championship comes first, and then an NCAA Championship. Just being able to be around the guys and hopefully, that can be our common goal and we can succeed one day."
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HIT & RUN WITH BRETT
Major: communicationsFavorite class: Intro to Speech and Communications Hobby: listening to music Athlete: Fernando Tatis Jr. Professional team: Minnesota Twins Musical artist: Juice WRLD Movie: The Sandlot Actor/actress: Will Ferrell Food: hamburger with mac & cheese on top Color: orange Biggest fear: heights Pet peeve: scratches on a chalkboard Hidden talent: cooking Person you'd like to meet: John F. Kennedy Tme travel destination: 1980s Coolest place you've played: CHS Field Dogs or cats: dogs Morning or night person: night Chocolate or peanut butter: chocolate TEAMMATE SUPERLATIVES
Most likely to be president: Andrew WilhiteMost dramatic: Ronald Sweeny Most gullible: Noah DeLuga Most talkative: Patrick Fredrickson or Kyle Bork Best dressed: Noah Berghammer Best flow: Drew Stahl Breakout player: Ronald Sweeny |
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