May 6, 2001
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Carroll Fadal appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
From the time he was a high-school junior, Chris Durbin has wanted one thing out of life: a chance to play major league baseball. And while his journey toward that goal has had some interesting twists and turns, the slender sophomore could be well on his way.
In his first year as a full-time starter, the BU center fielder has put up some impressive numbers. Entering last weekend's crucial series with Texas, Durbin led the team in doubles with 17 (third-best in the Big 12) and multiple-hit games with 20. He was second on the team in batting average (.349), runs (42) and hits (59), and third in home runs (6) and RBI (31). He's played a solid and sometimes spectacular center field, committing only two errors all season while also chalking up two outfield assists.
For most Baylor fans, such All Conference-type numbers might come as a surprise. Durbin wasn't highly recruited out of Wylie High School, and last year, he mostly split time in left field with Steve Dorneman. He played in 40 games as a true freshman, starting 28, and hit .288 with three home runs and 31 RBI. But his breakout season hasn't been a surprise to the man who brought him to Baylor, head coach Steve Smith.
"He's been as good as I thought he'd be," Smith said. "He's been very steady defensively. He's still a young guy, still figuring the game out, but he's a very talented kid, and he's got both an offensive game and a defensive game, which makes him a pretty good player."
DURBIN'S ATHLETIC ABILITY is obvious, he covers a lot of ground in center field, but he's a glider, seldom looking like he's running flat out. He displays good speed and judgment on the basepaths and generates tremendous bat speed despite his slight, 6-0, 165-pound frame.
"On most days, he's our best pure hitter, with the possible exception of Kelly (Shoppach)," Smith said. "He's probably our best overall athlete, as well."
For Durbin, it's all a part of his grand plan to play pro baseball.
"You've always got to try something new and try to get better," said Durbin, who saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end in the first game of the Texas series. "I started playing baseball when I was about four years old, and I've been playing year-round ever since. It's just always been my dream to go pro and make myself rich. I'm going to try and make this my career, I don't want to do anything else. It's what I enjoy."
Durbin said he decided he wanted a career in baseball during his junior year in high school. "I really started focusing on it, practicing every day," Durbin said. "I decided, hey, this is the thing for me. I'm coming to school to get an education, but I'm really here to go to the next level."
For a player with his high school stats -- he hit .473 with 10 homers and 42 RBI as a junior, .495 with 16 bombs and 54 RBI as a senior -- Durbin wasn't all that highly recruited. Perhaps it was because Wylie had never produced a Division I player. Or maybe his slim build scared folks off. Regardless, only TCU among major colleges expressed interest in him at the beginning of his senior season.
"I WANTED TO GO D-1," Durbin said, "and TCU was the first school to look at me. They saw me playing for the Dallas Mustangs in a showcase down in Austin, and they sent me a hand-written letter. I was like, 'Wow, a Division I school wants me to play for them.' But when I talked to TCU, they didn't offer me anything. My family's not really well off, so I couldn't afford to go to a private school without any scholarship. They said they'd send me down to Alvin Junior College, but I told them I didn't want to do that."
Next, Durbin had a brief flirtation with Blinn Junior College and then-head coach Ty Harrington (now at Southwest Texas), but Blinn backed off. Durbin then signed with Grayson Junior College.
"After Baylor saw me one weekend, I came down here on an unofficial visit," Durbin said. "After I toured the campus and really liked it a lot, I just told Coach (Mitch) Thompson, 'I'll be really honest with you. I've done a little research on Baylor, and I know it's an expensive school. I won't be able to come here unless you give me a really good offer.' They gave me an offer I couldn't refuse."
END OF STORY, right? Wrong. Durbin almost found the grass greener -- or should we say more orange -- on the other side of the fence. With Baylor's letter of intent on his desk, Durbin went to Austin with his Dallas Mustangs teammates to play a tournament at Concordia College.
After he hit over .600 with four home runs in a four-game series, Durbin suddenly was the darling of the Texas Longhorns.
"Texas was kind of going behind everybody's back," Durbin said. "They were like, 'Hey, if you haven't signed anything yet, you're fair game. What do you think about us flying down here tomorrow and you taking a visit?' I thought, 'Cool, free trip.' Well, within two or three hours, Coach Thompson knew about it, and he was flaming. He was red hot. He called my dad, and said, 'Hey what's Chris doing down at UT? I thought we had a deal.'
"My dad called down there. He was upset. Texas was wining and dining me, and I wasn't used to that. They promised me a position in center field and said they'd match Baylor's offer. I kind of thought I'd go there. Everything would have been paid for, so it was looking good for me and my family. But my dad said, 'You need to go to Baylor, because you made a commitment.' Then Baylor called me up and said, 'If you don't have the scholarship papers in the mail by tomorrow, the scholarship's off.' I don't know if he was bluffing or what, but it got my attention."
So did Durbin end up in Waco under duress?
"No. Now, when I look back on it, I'm so happy I didn't go there, because I can't stand them," Durbin said. "I'm really I came here. I like everybody, and I like this atmosphere."
Baylor's glad he came, too. Even though he's a youngster, Durbin has emerged as a team leader. He's one of the Bears' best two-strike hitters, showing a remarkable ability to make adjustments, even during an individual at-bat.
"I WOULD CONSIDER him to be a selectively aggressive guy," Smith said. "He wants to swing the bat, he wants to swing early in the count, and a lot of people know that, so they try not to give him a good pitch to hit early in the count."
Because of that, Durbin often ends up with two strikes before the bat leaves his shoulder. But once down in the count, he usually manages to put it in play.
"Lately, they've been pitching me differently," Durbin said. "I see lots of off-speed stuff, very few fastballs. Really, I've never really hit curveballs in the past, so I'm just learning."
He's learning on the field and in the classroom. Majoring in business, Durbin finds himself drawn to management and finance.
"If I don't go pro, I think I want to be in sports management," he said. "I kind of maybe even want to go into finance, but it's a lot of math. But I'd learn how to invest and manage my money, just in case I get that big contract."
Ah, yes. He's using his college education to try to achieve his dream.
It's just that his favorite class is outdoors.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Carroll Fadal appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
