In the Hillenbrand family, the biggest grudge match used to center around Arizona high schools.
Now that Red Sox third baseman Shea Hillenbrand has established a foothold in the big leagues, he understands what the mother of all rivalries is.
“My wife went to a rival high school, and we still talk about it,” said Hillenbrand, a 25-year-old Mountain View graduate. “Growing up on the West Coast, there is no sport, nothing that can come close to anything [in New York].
“There’s no comparison to how they know baseball, the way they know baseball.”
Hillenbrand has handled third base so adeptly as a rookie, he’s bumped veteran John Valentin over to shortstop while Nomar Garciaparra rehabilitates from wrist surgery.
In the American League, he may be the best rookie next to Ichiro Suzuki. As of Wednesday, Hillenbrand was hitting .302 with four home runs and 20 RBIs. He’s scored 22 runs and made seven errors at the hot corner.
Valentin, the 34-year-old incumbent who came back from a knee injury on May 9, likes what he sees thus far.
“My perspective of it all is as long as the team wins, that is the main focus,” Valentin said. “To have a guy come in and do the job like Shea has is a big boost to a team.”
Last month, Hillenbrand visited Yankee Stadium for the first time in his life. He even took time to experience Monument Park, although he didn’t swab the Babe Ruth statue with sweat a la Roger Clemens.
“I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you can’t prepare to come and play in New York, especially when you’re playing with the Red Sox.
“All you can do is take care of your preparation and have enough confidence in yourself.”
Veteran Boston players like Hillenbrand’s confidence at the plate. Like Alfonso Soriano, Hillenbrand is loath to walk. He has one base on balls in 172 at-bats.
“He’s aggressive,” Carl Everett said. “That’s the only way you can play this game.
“There’s not a player in the history of the game who’s walked to the big leagues. The only way you can hit is to swing, and that’s what he does.”
The Red Sox have an interesting decision to make when Garciaparra comes back from the disabled list, sometime near the All-Star break.
Red Sox manager Jimy Williams uses more lineups than the NYPD, so it’s a good bet both Hillenbrand and Valentin (a career .283 hitter batting .190 in 21 at-bats) will see time.
“I didn’t expect to walk in and play on a daily basis, especially on a club like this,” Hillenbrand said. “It’s one of those things where I’ve always considered myself a role player and I still consider myself a role player.
“Regardless of what I think and regardless of what [Valentin] thinks, it’s [Williams’] decision to who they put out in the field.”
