University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Big Man on the Bases
March 31, 2006 | Baseball
March 31, 2006
This year's expanded Carolina baseball game day program includes more information than ever. There's a new program for each weekend and weekday series, and each edition includes a new column on the Diamond Heels plus up-to-date stats for both teams. The following story ran in the Charlotte game program--check out the latest edition this weekend at the Bosh against Florida State for a new column.
By Adam Lucas
Looking at him standing over there at first base, you can almost forgive the pitchers.
Matt Spencer stands 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. He reaches base, stands on the bag, and dwarfs many first basemen. So there's no need to throw over there, right? No need to keep him close. This big, rangy kid won't be going anywhere--can't be going anywhere.
And then he is gone.
Spencer leads the Tar Heels in stolen bases with 13 swipes in 15 attempts. He has tripled the stolen base output so far this year of lightning-quick Mike Cavasinni, the all-time prep stolen bases record holder in the state of North Carolina.
Surely Spencer is on the opposing scouting report. Surely they know about his dozen stolen bases, about the key role he is playing on a more aggressive running team that Mike Fox wants to steal 100 bags and already has 42 after nabbing just 61 in all of 2005. But then they look over, see the big kid, and can't persuade themselves he's a threat.
"Most of the time pitchers don't even throw over there when I'm on first," Spencer says. "I get a good jump, but I don't get a very big lead compared to some of the other guys."
He doesn't have to. His 6-foot-4 frame allows him to cover more ground than some of his smaller teammates, and he's developed a more instinctive feel for baserunning. Fox has essentially given him the full-time green light--if Spencer sees an opening, he's allowed to take off.
That's quite a bit different from his freshman campaign, when he had to lobby the head coach to get his only stolen base of the season. That came in a crucial eighth-inning situation against Georgia Tech at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels and Jackets were tied at 6 when Spencer arrived at third base. He looked at Fox in the third base coaches' box and said simply, "One time in Little League I stole home."
A couple pitches later, he was crossing home plate with the eventual winning run on a daring steal of home.
"I actually was wanting to do it again this year," Spencer says. "But the game situation wasn't right at the time."
At some point, it will be.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and provides color analysis on Tar Heel baseball radio broadcasts. He can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is also the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
