University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Heels Bulk Up, Go Deep
March 27, 2002 | Baseball
March 27, 2002
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
Adam Greenberg did two amazing things on Wednesday, one perhaps slightly more impressive than the other.
The Tar Heel leadoff hitter hit three home runs in the same game for the first time in his baseball career, sparking Carolina in their 17-9 rout over Towson. But even more astonishingly, Greenberg actually quieted Chris Maples. Three homers is nice, but getting the red-hot Maples to quiet down is akin to hitting for the cycle twice in the same game.
"He shut me up pretty quick," Maples said. "I had been talking a little junk about him in the dugout, telling him he was getting in his own head by trying to wait too late on the ball. Then he hits three homers."
The Heels, winners of 11 straight, are on a hitting binge that almost defies description. Pick your favorite stat: Maples is already halfway to the single-season Carolina record of 24 dingers, the Tar Heels hit six homers on Wednesday but still didn't break their single-game mark for this year, they've bashed 51 round-trippers in 25 games this year compared to 30 all of last season, and the list continues.
It's the kind of tear that had head coach Mike Fox telling his squad after the win over the Tigers that they were so fun to watch, he felt like he should buy a ticket.
"I've had teams that have been hot offensively with six or seven guys swinging the bat well, but not with this kind of power," Fox said. "I'm just sitting back and watching...People are going to look at this and say we must be playing every day with the wind blowing out at 20 or 25 miles per hour, but that hasn't been the case. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it as long as I can."
The streak has shown no sign of slowing down. Thinking that a letdown was possible coming off the weekend sweep of top-ranked Florida State, Fox sent his team to the weight room for a vigorous workout on Monday. The lifting only seemed to pump up the bats further, as they stacked up 35 runs in two days against Towson.
So what exactly is going on in the Tar Heel dugout? Are the batters chugging protein shakes before every at-bat?
A slight adjustment to the offseason weight program has paid big dividends. After a late-season series against Georgia Tech in 2001 left the Carolina coaches impressed with the physiques of the Yellow Jackets, Fox went to strength coach Greg Gatz and asked to bulk up his players. Gatz responded with a program that decreased the amount of offseason running the Tar Heels did while increasing the weight work.
"Most of what we're doing as a team has come because of our offseason weight program," Greenberg said. "With as many homers as we're hitting, it's not like the wind is blowing out or the balls or bats are juiced. We all got in the weight room and got after it, and that's been a big part of our success."
The speedy Greenberg, who also has stolen 18 bases in 19 attempts this year, especially benefited. He came into the season having never had a multi-homer career in his baseball life. He's already had two this year, hitting a pair at Auburn earlier in the season prior to the trifecta on Wednesday.
"It's fun to watch," Fox said. "I'm just sitting back trying not to mess it up."
Adam Lucas is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and a regular contributor to TarHeelBlue.com. He can be reached at jalucas@bellsouth.net.
