July 12, 2007

Wehrle making way in rookie league
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star

The rookie shortstop from Nebraska looks around the mostly-empty stadium at the spring training complex of the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla., and remembers the good times of Haymarket Park.

This is “definitely not as nice,” Ryan Wehrle said.

Then again, when you’re someone who essentially feels like you’ve been given a second chance at playing the only game you ever really took seriously, you tend to forget about the meticulously manicured fields, fancy clubhouses and rock star-like attention.

Where Wehrle is right now might as well be Yankee Stadium.

Two months have passed since he was dismissed from the Husker baseball team for reasons that coach Mike Anderson never completely spelled out. At the time, Anderson only said a combination of issues prompted him to take the action he did.

Wehrle — in the midst of a disappointing junior season in which he was hitting just .241 — had returned to NU after being drafted by Cincinnati in the 18th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.

A third-team All-American as a sophomore, when he hit a team-high .367 and drove in 48 runs in 57 games, Wehrle had turned down a six-figure signing bonus in hopes of helping NU make another run at the College World Series like he did in 2005.

There also was the matter of trying to improve his position for the 2007 draft, which was a sticking point for Anderson whenever the topic of Wehrle’s future came up.

Being dismissed from the team during a time when scouts were making final recommendations to their organizations left Wehrle questioning why he’d turned down the Reds’ offer last summer.

No wonder, then, that when the Yankees took him in June with a 20th-round pick, “it was definitely a relief,” he said. His sour parting with Anderson “definitely motivates me, because I really don’t know exactly what the reason was for (being dismissed).”

Had the draft not worked out, Wehrle had planned to play his senior season at Cal State Fullerton.

Now 15 games into his professional career, he’s regaining some confidence and showing some of the form that led to his big sophomore season.

Monday, one day after former Husker teammate and now fellow Yankees minor-leaguer Joba Chamberlain (who’s advanced to Double-A) played in the All-Star Futures Game, Wehrle hit his first home run for New York’s Gulf Coast League rookie team. The two-run shot sparked a four-run eighth inning that rallied the Yankees to a 7-6 win. And, yes, as competitive as minor-league ball can be, Wehrle enjoys the winning feeling.

“The first day here, they make sure we know what the tradition is, and that they want to win,” Wehrle said. “If we win this league you get a big ring.”

Wehrle has gone back to utilizing a batting stance in which he taps his front toe as a timing mechanism. It was something he did as a sophomore, but was persuaded to give up to try and shorten his stride. He never caught on to it.

Now being tutored by 11-year major-leaguer Jody Reed, Wehrle entered Wednesday’s game hitting .309 (best among his teammates with more than 10 at-bats), with six of his 17 hits going for extra bases. Currently hitting No. 3 in the lineup, he says the Yankees haven’t altered his swing because they monitor players for 30 days before suggesting any changes.

Wehrle, who played second base as a freshman at NU, is playing third once every seven games, and also taking a turn as the designated hitter during the same cycle.

His typical work day begins before 7 a.m. and concludes after games that usually begin in late morning or early afternoon.

“I like it a lot. It’s a big change,” said Wehrle, who spent most of the time after his dismissal and before the draft helping coach his younger brother’s American Legion team. “I do feel like I’ve started fresh.”