He doesn’t have to be here.
After suffering a neck stinger and a concussion during an ASU football scrimmage last Saturday, it would be understandable if Brandon Magee took a few days off from his duties to his other team, the Sun Devil baseball squad.
But he’s here on a Tuesday evening on the first step of the dugout at Packard Stadium cracking jokes with his teammates, taking in the rivalry with the visiting Wildcats.
He’s here because he enjoys the camaraderie, reveling in the nuances and the atmosphere of a sport far different than the one he plays on Saturdays in the fall as a linebacker on the ASU football team.
Magee has not played much on the diamond at ASU. With a deep pool of talented players on the Sun Devil roster, coupled with an injury he suffered before this season began, the southern California native’s opportunities have been limited.
But it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a valuable contributor to a team attempting to win its first national title since 1981.
“He is, hands down, an unbelievable teammate,” junior outfielder Matt Newman said. “He acts like he has been a part of this program since Day 1. To be honest, he’s not with us during the fall. You would maybe expect someone to come in and not feel a part of the team, but with his character, his attitude, he comes right in and gels with the team and gets to know all the new guys. The kid is just amazing.”
Though he was recruited to play football at ASU, Magee told The State Press last fall that he strongly considered turning professional as a baseball player after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 29th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft.
“It came down to the last day,” Magee said. “It was tough, but once I got here and [started playing] football and baseball, I knew made the right choice.”
And Magee isn’t one to reflect on “what ifs.” From the time he arrived in Tempe in 2008, those who play with him say the athlete’s demeanor has been impossible to ignore. His baseball teammates say Magee doesn’t the temper the energy he brings onto the football field when he is the in the baseball clubhouse.
“Brandon is a spark plug for us,” sophomore pitcher Jake Borup said. “He brings a lot of flavor to the locker room and he’s always happy. He’s willing to do whatever he needs to do, as a bench player, as a role player, to help us win. Sometimes it’s just making us laugh as a good way to get things going on a Sunday. Our team definitely wouldn’t be the same without Brandon.”
At times, Magee said, his devotion to both teams can make certain times of the year difficult. But teammates and coaches from both teams understand where Magee’s priority lies, and as a projected starter at linebacker for what figures to ferocious defense in the fall, that priority right now is on the gridiron.
The football coaching staff expects the linebacker to be at all spring practices, and while Magee appreciates and understands that command, he admits it hurts him to miss road trips with his baseball teammates.
Asked by a reporter a few weeks ago if he was upset about having to miss an upcoming road trip with the baseball team to attend spring practices, Magee replied: “Upset? I wish I was with the team. We’re on a roll right now. It’s fun with them.”
Magee isn’t the first athlete at ASU to play both sports. Recent graduate Mike Jones, one of ASU’s all-time leading receivers, also played baseball for the Sun Devils. But Magee may the most enigmatic to don both jerseys. He earns perhaps the highest praise from ASU baseball coach Tim Esmay.
“If I had a daughter, that’s the guy I’d want dating her, I’ll be honest,” Esmay said. “Brandon Magee is just a quality person. His attitude and the way he works and practices, and just the way he is around our guys, is just a huge positive for our program.”
And the positives aren’t one-sided. For his part, Magee said being part of baseball team with the tradition of ASU has taught him the ways to best approach competition.
“They want to win, and knowing we have the talent to win every day, it shows in practice,” Magee said. “Everybody gives it their all, everybody plays a role, and nobody complains about the role that they have. Everyone adds their pieces into the team when they can.”
While a team-record start to the season for the baseball team captured headlines and the start of the Pac-10 schedule has created an intensified atmosphere, one of the most memorable moments for ASU came on a cloudy Saturday in Peoria.
In the midst of an ASU romp of UC Riverside, Magee strode to the plate just as he had 14 times before, each of those times unable to record a hit.
“Every time we see Brandon go up there, everyone gets up on the [dugout] fence and just hopes the best for him because of the type of guy he is,” Newman said.
So when a Magee strolled to the plate as a pinch hitter, put a good swing on a pitch and watched it fall into center field, the moment was much bigger than a single in a blowout win.
“He got that hit and the dugout just erupted,” Newman said. “I think he even received a standing ovation from the crowd because they know what type of guy he is, so it was awesome.”
Said Magee: “That was the most memorable moment in my life, I would say. I worked so hard to get that hit, and it took me like a year and a half, so it was a big part of my life.”
Like the rest of his baseball teammates, Magee is anxious to make what the Sun Devils will be a second straight trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
And on the field or not, it’s safe to say Magee will play a big part if they do.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
