There is a method to Texas baseball head coach Augie Garrido’s madness.
Every spot in the Longhorn lineup is carefully calculated, and every pitcher knows his duty. Garrido plans meticulously to build a team that can compete with the best, and, as the season approaches, he sees the team taking shape.
Senior second baseman Brooks Marlow knows it. Although Marlow is moving down in the lineup to the fourth spot, he knows Garrido’s intention is to help the team. While Marlow’s move from the lead-off to the clean-up spot puts him in a new role, he’s ready to embrace the change.
“I’m just glad I’m in the lineup,” Marlow said. “It’s not just for power because obviously I’m not the one who has the most power on the team. This whole lineup is just grinding it out, getting quality at bats and seeing good pitches and getting guys on.”
Marlow, a Giddings, Texas, native, has seen plenty of time in the Texas lineup during his four years on campus. The 5-foot-9, 184-pound second baseman made 51 starts during his freshman season, batting .214 with 29 RBIs.
He followed up his All-Big 12 freshman season with a solid sophomore year, hitting .250 in his second season with the Longhorns. Last year, Marlow was the leadoff batter and started all 67 games. He hit .268 and had a .383 on-base percentage last season. As a defender, Marlow was awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove at second base.
While Marlow had success in the leadoff spot last season, he has no plans to change his mentality at the plate this year.
“Just like I was leadoff last year, now I’m the four-hole,” Marlow said. “Nothing is going to change. I’m going to attack the ball before it attacks me.”
Now that the second baseman has accepted his new role in the lineup, Garrido knows every player needs to follow suit.
“We have a Division I player at every position,” Garrido said. “It’s been probably since maybe 2005 or 2006 that we’ve had every position with a Division I player. The players are good enough. It all gets back to how do the people accept … the things they don’t like and do them anyway for the good of the team. That’s what it comes down to.”
As the new season begins Friday, Marlow believes the team has bought into Garrido’s message. Everyone is prepared to accept their roles, he said.
“We’ve got to be ready,” Marlow said. “I believe everybody is ready. We’re swinging the bat pretty well, pitching well and playing defense well, so I would say we’re ready.”
