VERO BEACH, FLA. — Don Fields always knew when Juan Pierre was back home in Alexandria, La., because when he'd pull into the parking lot in front of his gym, there would be Pierre, huddled by the door in the predawn chill.
"He would already be there at 4:30 in the morning," Fields said.
Jodie White, who runs the recreation department in Alexandria, knew Pierre was home when he'd drive by the high school field on his way to work and find baseballs strewn all over.
"Early in the morning, 5:30 in the morning, he always goes and works out," White said. "When I need him, I generally drive to Ash Stadium and find him."
And when Steve Kittrell, who coached Pierre in college at South Alabama, needed to find his center fielder, all he had to do was look out his office window toward the batting cages -- provided he had gotten to work very, very early, that is.
"He was out there religiously every day at 7:30 in the morning, having a workout before his class," Kittrell said.
All of which proves two things about the Dodgers' new $44-million man:
1. He's an incurable morning person.
2. He's not going to be outworked.
"We preach to our guys every day about Juan Pierre, about how hard he worked," said Kittrell, who also coached Dodgers outfielders Luis Gonzalez and Marlon Anderson at South Alabama. "Nobody in the big leagues could have worked harder."
Added former Florida Marlins teammate Dontrelle Willis: "He actually gets me kind of upset because he works out so hard. It's kind of unrealistic. He's a rechargeable battery every day."
Willis isn't the only National League pitcher Pierre makes uneasy. Over the last four years, no NL player has collected more hits than Pierre, who has averaged 203 a season, leading the league twice. The Dodgers haven't had a player get that many since Steve Sax had 210 in 1986.
And Pierre has averaged more than 56 steals a season in that span. The last Dodger to do better was Davey Lopes, who stole 63 in 1976, the year before Pierre was born.
"He gives us some added versatility," Manager Grady Little said. "We got us a good little player that knows what it takes to win. We like what [he] brings to this team."
And Pierre likes what the Dodgers are bringing him -- namely, a chance to win.
"I just hope to get them over the top," he said. "I'm going to try to be out there every day, play hard. And the numbers will be there if I'm healthy and out there."
