The kid? He wore the kind of smile that comes on the first day of high school - thin and humble and maybe a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time brimming with the kind of quiet confidence that so many ascribe to him.
Domonic Brown might have entered the year as Baseball America's 15th-best prospect in the game, but he doesn't act like a player who has the world by the baseball cleats. The Phillies called him up to the big leagues yesterday after just 28 games at Triple A, and they felt comfortable enough in his ability to hit him sixth in a lineup that was riding a six-game winning streak. But after a quick conversation with Howard that consisted mostly of him nodding and smiling, Brown walked to his locker and slipped back into the process that has consumed the past 4 years of his life: preparing for his first game as a big-leaguer.
"It was a great day," the 22-year-old outfielder said before helping to lead the Phillies to a 7-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "One of the best days of my life."
The day came earlier than expected, thanks to a strained oblique that is expected to sideline centerfielder Shane Victorino for about 3 weeks.
Barely a month ago, Brown was still at Double A Reading, where he had been promoted late in the 2009 season. A 20th-round selection in the 2006 draft, the Phillies convinced him to forgo a football scholarship to the University of Miami, which had wanted him to play wide receiver. After he struggled in his first professional season, hitting .214 with a .557 OPS as an 18-year-old in the Gulf Coast League, Brown vaulted through the minor league system. In 2008, he hit .291 with a .798 OPS at low-A Lakewood. Last season, he spent his first 66 games at high-A Clearwater, hitting .303 with a .903 OPS and enduring rumors about a potential trade to Toronto for Roy Halladay.
