I recently had the opportunity to do a little Q and A with former UNLV star and current Muckdog first baseman Xavier Scruggs. Thanks to the Xavier for taking the time out of his schedule to answer my questions.

Enjoy.

What is the baseball life story of Xavier Scruggs?

I guess the life story would basically be I grew up playing baseball ever since I was six years old. I’ve always loved the game and love watching people who have passion for the game. I got drafted out of high school by the Mariners, but I felt it was more important to go to college and try to earn my degree while playing ball at UNLV. I went to UNLV also because I wasn’t quite ready for professional ball out of high school, so I felt I would give myself three years to better myself and get drafted again. I learned a lot from my coaches in high school and college and that has gotten me to where I am today.

If you had to give a scouting report on yourself, what would it say?

It is hard to say, because scouting reports change on players depending upon the adjustments they make and I feel like I am a player who is able to make adjustments.

How would you describe your hitting style?

I would say my hitting style is very aggressive. I like to drive the ball into the gaps.

You had a good sophomore season, but put up just ridiculous numbers as a junior, winning the MWC triple crown. To what would you attribute your breakout?

I attribute it to hard work and staying focused on personal goals that I set for myself. I really wanted the team to do well and in the end I wanted to say that I did all that I could do.

Baseball America had you pegged to be drafted in the 4th to 7th round, yet did not get drafted until the 19th. I imagine that had to be at least a little disappointing for you. Did that make it a tougher decision to sign this year rather than going back to school?

It made me think about it a little bit more, but I was just excited to go and start my professional career. I had only heard good things about the Cardinal organization so I had a good feeling things would work out well.

How has it been working with hitting coach Jeff Albert so far?

It has been great working with Jeff this year. He knows so much about hitting, it’s ridiculous. I look forward to learning more and more from him each time I come to the ballpark. It is good to work with someone who has just as much passion for hitting as you do.

Is there a particular major league player you try and pattern your game after, or maybe just someone you watch real closely and try and learn from?

There isn’t just one, but actually I try to watch them all closely and learn from them all. I watch all of them because because they are all where I expect to be one day. There isn’t just one guy I want to be like, but if I had to name a favorite player it would have to be Gary Sheffield, just because he attacks and drives the baseball, just like I aspire to be doing one day for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Have you faced Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher yet?

I haven’t faced him this year, but I got a chance to face him last summer in the Northwoods League. He is very fun to watch, and it is crazy that he can pitch so well with both arms.

If you were not in pro-baseball, what type of a career would you be pursuing?

I would probably be pursuing something in business, most particularly human resources because it is something I am familiar with because as my Dad is a human resources manager.

Do you have a nickname, and if so what is it?

People call me “X” or X-Man.

Natch.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:58 am and is filed under Interviews, Xavier Scruggs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.