It’s All in the Family for Drew

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —  When he left Florida State in 1997, J.D. Drew was the hottest prospect in baseball. Five years later, many of the experts are wondering if his younger brother might be even better.

At the plate, Stephen Drew looks a lot like the star outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the field, Stephen’s a shortstop and plays that key defensive spot extremely well.

Although he missed 28 games early in the season with a broken foot, the 19-year-old freshman anchors Florida State’s defense and ignites the offense.

Drew has committed only four errors and leads the team with a .390 batting average. He’s hit 11 home runs and has driven in 41 in 32 games as the Seminoles’ leadoff hitter going into a weekend series at Clemson.

“He’s a guy who can beat you more ways than one,” Florida State Coach Mike Martin said. “He’s a difference maker.”

Drew has hit game-winning home runs twice this season. The first was a three-run shot to defeat Miami in a 13-inning game in April; the second was a two-run homer over the center field fence last weekend in the bottom of the ninth to beat Maryland.

A compact six-footer, Drew models himself after his older brother. At the plate, the two left-handed hitters have nearly identical swings. Both run out their home runs.

“I don’t like to showboat, and you never know if the wind takes it and it hits the wall or something,” Stephen said. “Something like that could be the difference in a game.”

J.D. hit 17 home runs as a freshman at Florida State in 1995, but played a full schedule. He finished his three-year Florida State career with 69 home runs.

“J.D. says he’s better, but I like to have a little fun and say I’m better,” Stephen said. “One day, I just hope I can be.”

While their styles may be comparable, their personalities are different. Martin describes Stephen as a more fiery player.

“J.D. would come back to the bench after popping up and calmly put his bat in the rack and be ready to go the next time,” Martin said. “There is a lot louder bat putting away and helmet putting away with the other one.”

Stephen doesn’t mind trying to live up to his brother’s reputation at Florida State.

“If I get thrown in the spotlight, then I get thrown in the spotlight,” Drew said. “I’m my own player.”

And he has a chance to do something neither J.D. nor any other Seminole baseball player has ever done at Florida State: win a national championship. The Seminoles begin postseason play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament that starts Tuesday in St. Petersburg.

“Winning seems to follow him everywhere he goes,” J.D. said of his brother.

Their middle brother, Tim, pitches in the Cleveland organization. The two oldest boys were both first-round draft picks.

Stephen was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 11th round last year, but he had dreamed of playing at Florida State, where he’d come to games as a junior high student to watch his older brother.

J.D. angered Phillies fans when he sat out a year in a contract dispute after Philadelphia picked him first in the draft in 1997. He’s happy his brother chose college.

“I know it’s going to make him a lot better in the long run,” said J.D., who re-entered the draft and was taken by the Cardinals in 1998.

“The pressures of a high schooler going to the minor leagues and playing 140 games a year, and if you ever lose yourself and get down on yourself, you might not ever make it to this level,” he said. “At least he’ll have something to draw from when he comes out of college.”

Tim Drew, who went straight from high school to the minors, has struggled at the major league level.

Stephen, known as “Dirt” to his teammates, liked nothing better than hanging out with his older brothers.

“Being the youngest, they gave me a hard time, but they also made me work to get where I wanted to get to,” Stephen said.

And for right now, that’s at Florida State.