Accepting of role

Daily News: Aug. 10, 2013

SEMI-PRO BASEBALL

Accepting of role

Mike Mueller provides rare treat for 7 UP

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

Mike Mueller has been asked this question so many times he’s lost count: Why did you pitch and not hit?
Well, as a 20-something baseball player dreaming of getting to the major leagues, he believed it was his best way to get to “The Show.”
When the Atlanta Braves drafted Mueller in the 16th round of the 2002 MLB June Amateur Draft, the Braves wanted Mueller to pitch. At 21 years old, Mueller believed it wasn’t a time to be arrogant.
“I wasn’t going to pass it up,” he said.
He was a solid hitter for West Bend East, helping lead the Suns to a state championship in 1999. He continued to be a strong hitter at Triton College in River Grove, Ill., leading the Trojans to a NJCAA World Series appearance in 2000, and at Auburn University.
Still to this day, Mueller remains a threat with the bat in his strong hands.
From 2002-04, pitching was what propelled Mueller to a level most baseball players dream of.
“The ultimate goal is the top, whatever sport you play,” he said. “I would love to have hit, but I did what I could. No hard feelings or no regrets. Pitching may have been my only way in.”
Mueller reached the Advanced A level of the Braves’ organization, playing with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in South Carolina. In his three years of professional baseball, Mueller accumulated a 3-9 record with a 5.26 ERA in 79 games pitched (five starts).
Mueller was drafted twice before he signed with the Braves. He was drafted out of high school by the San Diego Padres in the 23rd round of the 1999 draft, and in the 34th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2000.
“My years of pro ball went well,” Mueller said. “It was pretty exciting to be a part of that. We had some really good teams.”
Mueller played with Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur, two players who have since gone on to Major League Baseball stardom. Mueller doesn’t chat with either player all that much these days. They’re busy and he’s busy.
He also played with Jon Schuerholz at Auburn and then again with the 2003 Rome Braves.
At the time, Schuerholz’s father, John, was the general manager of the Atlanta Braves, who won 14 straight division championships from 1991 to 2005.
Mueller was discovered by the Braves through the Schuerholz connection.
“You just want to get in,” Mueller said about becoming a full-time pitcher in the pro ranks. “You want to have the opportunity to play. I swung the bat well at different college levels, but I always seemed to be in that pitching role.”
Does he think about what might’ve been? Sometimes.
“I think anybody that plays a professional sport and doesn’t achieve that ultimate goal, they’ll ask what if?” he said. “I worked hard to be able to play at that level.”
Today at the age of 31 those experiences have been a benefit for the West Bend 7 UP.
“It’s been a great learning tool for a lot of kids,” 7 UP manager Craig Larsen said. “He can help you learn things in a way that has some serious credibility to it. When Mike Mueller says something, they know it’s legit.”
This season got out to a slow start for Mueller, but, in a way, it was almost expected. He was coming off knee surgery after tearing his patellar tendon at about the halfway point of the 2012 season.
“Right away I thought, we’re coming down the homestretch, two games out of first place,” Larsen recalled. “We were without Bryant Bullock pitching. I was wondering where the runs were going to come from. (Mueller’s) the leader by example.”
This year, after an offseason where it took almost six months to be able to walk up or down stairs, Mueller started 0 for 15 at the plate.
“I wasn’t really sure how my knee was going to react,” Mueller said, adding he wasn’t hesitant, but more conservative on how hard he pushed himself and his knee.
It wasn’t until about a month ago to where Mueller felt like he could step it up.
“I’m still working toward 100 percent,” he said. “When you don’t use a leg for several weeks, you lose a lot. It’s taken awhile to build it back up.”
He’s fared quite well since then.
Since he went hitless in his first three games, Mueller’s had only three hitless games in the next 26.
“Mike makes everyone in our lineup better,” Larsen said.
Since July 1, Mueller is 34 for 60, a .567 batting average with six home runs, 12 doubles and 26 RBIs. For the season, Mueller is 52 for 134 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles and 35 RBIs and a .455 batting average.
“He starts rallies,” Larsen said. “He has such an ability to be able to pick the team up.”
The 7 UP are also 12-2 since July 1 heading into today’s postseason game against Menomonee Falls.
“We’re finally starting to be able to play consistent baseball,” Larsen said. “If we can continue to hit the ball like we have been, good things could happen.”