Newman quickly adjusting to pro baseball
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. 鈥� Kevin Newman celebrated his 22nd birthday Tuesday and was given a rare day off by manager Wyatt Toregas, but the West Virginia Black Bears鈥� shortstop and Pirates鈥� first-round draft pick in 2015 is eager to get as much playing time as he can in his first season as a professional baseball player.
Newman was drafted out of the University of Arizona by the Pirates on June 8 with the 19th overall selection. The Bucs are set at shortstop with Jordy Mercer and Jung Ho Kang doing the honors, but Newman had a strong collegiate career and is eager to, hopefully, become the shortstop of the future in Pittsburgh.
鈥淕oing to college and playing baseball for Arizona in the PAC-12 definitely helped me out,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淚 faced a lot of good pitching in that conference. When I came out of high school, getting drafted wasn鈥檛 an option for me at the time, so I had to go to college and play. However, even if I would have been drafted out of high school as high as I was drafted out of college, I would have gone to college regardless.鈥�
Newman admittedly struggled in his first month at the professional level, and is confident that the average will continue to climb as he gets more at-bats for the Class-A affiliate of the Pirates.
As of Aug. 4, Newman was batting .223 in 139 at-bats. He appeared in 34 of the Black Bears鈥� 44 games and had 31 hits, nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBIs and 22 runs and was tied for the team lead in steals with six.
鈥淭he first month at the plate was tough for me,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淭hat is something I had to work on and I feel like I am getting acclimated to coming out here every day. I feel like I have been swinging the bat well lately.
鈥淚 need to play better defensively and I am going to work on my arm strength during the offseason. It is a bit of adjustment but in the end, we are still playing baseball.鈥�
Newman is a California native and played collegiately in the desert but does not have a problem coming to a new climate and a new culture.
鈥淚 came here to play professional baseball and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淭his is my job and I鈥檓 here to work. You may think that we have a lot of downtime but we really don鈥檛. We come to the field at noon, grab a bite to eat, and are here the rest of the day until we go home at night. It really doesn鈥檛 matter if I am playing here, in California or Florida. In the end, we are all here to play baseball and get to that next level.鈥�
West Virginia plays its home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is a brand-new facility that is shared with West Virginia University. The field鈥檚 surface is turf, including the base paths and batter鈥檚 box and plays fast, but Newman does not feel that the field affects any aspect of his play when he gets back to playing on dirt fields, which is what PNC Park features.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 prefer turf fields and I would rather play on a dirt field, but this field is great,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淚t is an amazing park and brand new. It really plays fast, which is something I have not dealt with when I played on other turf fields but you get used to it. I believes it鈥檚 indifferent in regards to whether it helps or hurts you defensively. We all have to adjust to it and I am comfortable with this surface.鈥�
If Newman continues his progression, he could be destined to play on the natural surface of PNC Park.