By Heather Cavaliere
New Britain, CT – Brian Buscher was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule V Draft on December 15, 2006. In his first season in the Twins’ organization, he has provided the Rock Cats with a veteran bat in the line-up and a solid glove in the field. The 25-year-old ranks second on the team and is tied for third in the league with 16 doubles. He is batting .282 with 25 runs, one triple, four home runs, and 27 RBI. The Jacksonville, Florida resident has also shown a knack for hitting in clutch situations.
Buscher was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the 2003 draft after an impressive two-year stint at the University of South Carolina. Buscher was drafted twice in the 50th round –first by Boston in 1999 and then by Arizona in 2000. He opted to attend college and at first played for Central Florida Community College before transferring to USC. In four seasons with the Giants’ organization, Buscher batted .268 with 64 doubles, 13 triples, 17 homers, and 183 RBI in 391 minor league games.
Rockcats.com: You were selected in the 50th round of the 1999 draft by Boston and again in 2000 by Arizona. Why did you opt to not sign either time?
Buscher: Being drafted in the 50th round! I don’t know. My parents always wanted me to go to school and if we could do it and have it paid for. Growing up, we didn’t have all the money in the world. Plus, once I got there my freshman year at Central Florida Community College, I actually had a good time, a real good time and enjoyed it.
Rockcats.com: Did attending community College (Central Florida Comm. College) help make the transition easier to a school such as USC as opposed to going to USC right out of high school?
Buscher: For me, it was great, absolutely great. It was a smaller school. I don’t know if I had went to South Carolina if I would have been playing up to my junior year. I had to do a lot of maturing in junior college. Some of the things I wouldn’t have gotten away with probably at South Carolina.
Rockcats.com: You played at USC for two years. What was it like playing for a major program such as USC?
Buscher: Man, I’ll tell you what, it took me awhile to really appreciate it. I got an interview on being a junior college transfer guy and what I thought of the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry. I was like, well, it’s just going to be another game for me. I was from Florida, I didn’t know how the rivalry was. That guy interviewed me again after the game and playing in that game was just absolutely electric for me. It was just phenomenal.
Rockcats.com: USC made it to the College World Series in both years you played there (2002-03). In your junior year, USC made it all the way to the final game in the CWS (losing to Texas 12-6 in the championship game). What was that experience like?
Buscher: That was ten times better. That’s what you play for. From the first day you take B.P. in the fall, you want to play the last game of the year, which is the final game of the College World Series. It was awesome to play in front of 30,000.
Rockcats.com: USC is currently playing North Carolina in the NCAA Super Regionals. Do you still follow the team?
Buscher: Oh yeah, all the time. Me and (Altoona's) Chris Fernandez and Kip Bouknight were actually just talking about it. They went to South Carolina, too. So did (Altoona's) Steve Pearce. I keep in touch with Coach (Ray) Tanner a lot. I hope they pull it off again against North Carolina, which we did when I was there.
Rockcats.com: San Francisco drafted you in the third round of the 2003 draft. Had you talked to the Giants at all before the draft or did you just get the phone call that day?
Buscher: Got a phone call and was just absolutely shocked. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know anything. I called my parents. They were trying to listen to it on the internet, but the power went out.
Rockcats.com: What was it like in those two years to jump from a 50th round pick all the way to the third
round?
Buscher: Well, it kind of made me feel good that all the hard work I had been putting in and all the extra B.P. and all the ground balls and learning the game had finally paid off.
Rockcats.com: How was your experience playing in the Giants’ organization?
Buscher: It was great. It’s just like this one. Same guys. Baseball players all seem to be the same it seems like now. Basically, every organization, what they want to do is for guys to get their work done and to develop players in the minor leagues.
Rockcats.com: You played in Norwich last season and part of 2005. Did that make it fairly easy to come here, considering it’s the same league and same state?
Buscher: Yeah, I’ll tell you the easiest thing for me was the transition was with Steven Tolleson who went to South Carolina and is playing in Ft. Myers right now. He invited me down early for Spring Training. I got down there and got to meet these guys. Like you said, I knew where I was headed and it was a little bit comfortable. It didn’t take me long to fit in with these guys.
Rockcats.com: You were an Eastern League All-Star last year. What was that experience like?
Buscher: That was pretty cool. We went to Altoona. A lot of people want those two days off, but I loved it. I loved every minute of it.
Rockcats.com: This year, the All-Star game is in Norwich. Would you like to make it back again this year?
Buscher: Of course, I would love to play in the All-Star Game, but that goes back to the work and getting hits and working hard to get there and to be recognized.
Rockcats.com: You have been a clutch hitter all season (.320 and 23 RBI with runners in scoring position). You seem to come through right when the team needs you. Do you thrive on moments like these?
Buscher: Oh yeah, everyone does. Everybody wants to be up in the bottom of the ninth. I mean, when you’re little, every time you swung the bat, you imagined bases loaded, two outs, full count.
Rockcats.com: Currently, you are third in the league with 16 doubles. Your career-high was 23 last year with the Defenders. Actually, you seem to be on pace to set career-highs in several categories. Do you just feel good at the plate this year or does your experience in this league make a difference?
Buscher: I think experience might play a part in it. I’ve taken a lot of advice from the coaches here. They told me you can’t do too much, so don’t try to go up there and try to do too much. You can only do what the pitcher obviously gives you. If he throws hard, away, hard, away, you can’t try to pull that ball because you’re going to get out every time, so you take what they give you.
Rockcats.com: Most of the season, you have spent at DH or 3B. Do you have a preference? Do you change your mentality depending on if you are in the field or not?
Buscher: It depends, really. Especially when you DH because that’s all you’ve got to think about. You’re in the line-up just to hit. It starts to wear on you in your third or fourth at-bat if not you’re up there not doing anything, if you’re not producing. I like playing third because I have to clear my mind when I go out there every time because the ball is going to be hit to me and I’m not going to be ready for it.
Rockcats.com: Your father (Bernard) and uncle (Doug) both played baseball professionally. How far did they make it?
Buscher: Not very far, just playing rookie ball.
Rockcats.com: Your younger brother, Greg, also played pro ball. He signed with Texas in 2001. Is he still playing?
Buscher: He’s done now. He played with Texas for 2 ½ years.
Rockcats.com: So, baseball was a big part of your family?
Buscher: Yeah, a lot of it was soccer, too. Soccer and baseball. Whatever season it was.
