Villanova University

May 14, 2004

By Jon Gust, Villanova Media Relations

Senior shortstop Brian Trotta

Over the last four years many players have come and gone as members of the Villanova baseball team and many shortstops have come and gone in the Big East Conference. Through all the changes and the passing of every season, one thing has remained the same - Brian Trotta starting at shortstop for the Villanova Wildcats.

Baseball ran in the Trotta family as Brian's father, Joseph, played shortstop for Saint Francis College in New York. He taught his son the game when he was only four years old and the love Joseph had for the game was quickly passed down to the younger Trotta.

"My dad has been a big influence on my life," said Trotta. "He signed me up for baseball when I was still pretty young and I just kept playing. I started off playing centerfield and shortstop, but I didn't become a full-time shortstop until I got to middle school."

Trotta played a number of other sports growing up in addition to baseball, including basketball and track, but it was baseball that won his heart.

"It is not even close - baseball is my favorite sport," said Trotta. "The thing I love about it is that baseball is a very humbling sport. You can go from hot to cold really quickly. Dealing with the mental aspects of the game is tough, and really challenging."

Trotta did not start during his middle school career, but kept working to improve his skills. The hard work paid off when he got to high school.

"I didn't start in middle school," said Trotta. "I knew I wanted to pursue baseball, but I didn't know that I had the talent level. When I got to high school, though, I started getting better and better."

During his freshman year at W.T. Clarke High School, Trotta started on the sophomore team.

"I think that's when I realized that I had the potential to play after high school," said Trotta. "That's also when I started to really learn all the in's and out's of the shortstop position. Playing shortstop, you are involved in a lot of plays. It is the most active position and also the most difficult in the infield. You need to play a leadership role when you play that position."

Trotta started on the W.T. Clarke varsity squad as a junior and emerged as one of the program's top players. His outstanding play earned him All-County honors in 1999. Towards end of his junior year, and during the summer following that season, college coaches began recruiting the young shortstop. Trotta did not find out where he was ultimately going, however, until late in the game.

"The whole process was really rough on me," said Trotta. "I didn't know where I was going until June of my senior year."

The first time Trotta talked to then-Villanova head coach George Bennett, the Wildcat mentor told Trotta that they were set at the shortstop position with Brendan Trainor and Brendan Mannix already on the roster.

Mid-way through Trotta's senior season, Bennett called the shortstop with some different news.

"I got a call from him halfway through my senior year," said Trotta. "He said that they needed some defense at shortstop that next year. That's when they started recruiting me heavily."

Trotta never made an official visit to Villanova and he never met the team. What he did do was meet with Bennett and talk about the possibility of him earning a scholarship. Trotta put his trust in Villanova and the Wildcats in turn put their future in him.

"I came here with the potential to get a scholarship and that pressure was kind of rough on me," said Trotta. "It was a good academic school and had Big East baseball. It all seemed like a good fit for me."

"What I really wanted to do was to focus on academics and get a good degree," added Trotta. "That's ultimately why I chose Villanova. But one of the things that Coach Bennett also told me was that I could come in right away have the opportunity to earn a starting spot. That was definitely a factor in me coming here as well.

Trotta arrived on the Main Line trying to earn a starting spot in a pressure position like shortstop as just a freshman. One of the things that helped the young Wildcat was the older players that took him under their wings and helped him adjust to baseball at the collegiate level.

"It was a lot of pressure, especially in the position that I play," said Trotta. "I knew that I couldn't become an everyday player by myself and that I needed the help of some of the other guys. A few of the guys that really helped me were my double play partner at second, Matt Longo, along with Rob Cafiero and Graz (Chris Graziano). They all helped me as much as they could."

Trotta started in 50 of the team's 51 games as a freshman in 2001. He batted .243 with three doubles, a home run, 16 RBI and a team-high nine sacrifice bunts - a solid effort for a rookie shortstop.

"Looking at my freshman year, I said, 'Alright...I missed my goals'," said Trotta. "But I was learning on the job and realized that I had to learn to set more realistic goals. More than anything, I just wished I fielded better than I did that season. I went through some rough times, stretches where I had eight errors in seven games. But I learned from my mistakes. I always have."

Trotta's perseverance was tested at the beginning of his sophomore season. He started the 2002 campaign in an offensive cold-spell that saw him go zero for his first 19, and two for his first 32.

"The beginning of my sophomore year was tough to deal with," said Trotta. "There were days when I was so frustrated that I didn't even want to come to the ballpark. I wasn't even playing well defensively which was what I was brought in to do. I just tried to stay as strong as I could mentally and fight through the tough times."

Trotta fought back to finish the year batting .204 with seven doubles, 20 runs scored, 20 walks, six stolen bases and 21 RBI. Even when the times were rough, he always seemed to help the `Cats offense out, drawing a walk or laying down a sacrifice - aspects of the game you don't always look at the next morning in the boxscore. Trotta tied the Villanova single-season record for sacrifices with 10 in 2002.

"Some times you just can't explain why you're not hitting, and then all of a sudden things start to click," said Trotta. "At one point, I just started seeing the ball better. No matter what happened, I just tried to keep helping the team out. The one thing I was most proud of my sophomore season was that I felt I became a player who my teammates and coaches could count on for defense."

Trotta helped the Villanova team to the 30-win plateau in 2002 - the first season for newly appointed head coach Joe Godri. It was the first year since 1995 that the Wildcats the 30-victory mark.

Senior shortstop Brian Trotta

The 2003 season saw the tides turn. Trotta batted a career-best .274 and added 19 runs, eight doubles, and 16 RBI. He also led the Villanova team in both walks (24) and on-base percentage (.413). But the Wildcats struggled as a team in 2003 despite Trotta's individual feats, as the `Cats posted just 14 wins.

"Junior year was difficult because it seemed like we just couldn't pull out any wins in the close games," said Trotta. "I was happy with my own play, but it is our team goal every year to put ourselves in position to have a shot at the Big East Tournament and we didn't do that."

"I am not one of the big guys who can hit the ball out of the park so I have to know what my role on the team is and concentrate on that," said Trotta. "I have always been a good sac bunter and I know that's something the team needed. And I have always drawn a lot of walks. If I am seeing the ball well, then I am not going to swing at bad pitches."

Trotta's toughness came into play at West Virginia towards the end of the 2003 season. On a check swing, he sustained a painful injury to his wrist - what would later be diagnosed as a broken wrist. Rather than take himself out of the lineup, Trotta taped up his wrist and ran back out to his customary position at short.

During the off-season, Trotta worked himself back into shape and was healthy heading into his final season on the Main Line.

Trotta looked to get his senior year off on the right foot, but his strength was tested yet again when a health problem concerning his biggest supporter, his father, put his mind on anything but the game of baseball.

"Dealing with family issues is more important," said Trotta. "And I was in a period where there was much more important stuff on my mind than baseball."

Trotta's struggles with times off the field led to struggles for the senior on the field. Although he continually hit the ball hard at the start of the 2004 season, base hits just didn't fall in.

"The beginning of my senior year was the story of my career," said Trotta. "Rod Johnson (Villanova assistant coach) and I always joke that I just don't get balls to fall in. When I was struggling at the beginning of the season, I kept thinking to myself, 'Now it's my senior year; there is no next year'. But Rod helped me out to much keeping me level-headed. He has so much knowledge. By far, he is the most knowledgeable person I've met. We have real close relationship and he has always been there for me."

Another individual who was there this season to help the senior shortstop was assistant coach Doc Kennedy, who Trotta credits for helping work on his batting stance. Thanks in part to the assistance of his coaches and his own strong will and perseverance, Trotta turned his season around. And he did so against a familiar foe - Notre Dame - a team he has excelled against during his career.

"You don't think when you face Notre Dame," said Trotta. "You know you are facing a good staff and they are going to be around plate. So you look for a good pitch to hit. It has been an unusual year with a lot of highs and lows."

Prior to the Notre Dame series, Trotta was batting .152 (10-for-66) over his first 23 games with nine runs scored, one double and five RBI. Over his last 24 games since facing the Irish, he is hitting .317 (26-for-82) with 19 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, one home run and 14 RBI.

The toughest aspect of Trotta's success is that there is just six games left in his collegiate career. A career that has seen him grow leaps and bounds, and learn a tremendous amount about himself both on and off the field.

"It is kind of scary thinking that it is almost over, because I have been playing baseball for 17 years," said Trotta. "To think that it is coming to an end is hard to believe. Villanova has been an unusual experience - but a good one. I just wish I knew freshman year what I know now...hitting wise and experience wise."

Trotta hasn't let his experience go unfulfilled. He has been a leader and a mentor this season for young infielders Alex Bardeguez, Craig Mirsky and Timmy Poydenis. It is a role he has taken seriously and a role he has enjoyed above any other.

"One of the things I have really enjoyed this year is being a leader for the younger players," said Trotta. "I really enjoy teaching. I am leaving here next year and someone has got to replace me. I have tried to really help Alex, Craig and Tim, teaching them what I have learned. I pride myself on that."

"I am thankful that I came in and has the opportunity to start for four years," said Trotta. "I don't know if it was ability or what just what the school needed. But I have always looked at myself as having different abilities to do different things. I don't do anything spectacular...I just do the little things. I make the routine plays and I do whatever I can to help the team win.

Trotta will graduate this weekend and have his final season end in just over a week. He will wave goodbye to Villanova having left a legacy of toughness, inner strength and perseverance for future Wildcats to follow. Trotta's willingness to sacrifice and his team-first mindset makes one realize just why baseball is the greatest team sport in the world.