HOME-SCHOOLED
Some people take their work home with them. Reggie Willits takes his home to work with him.
In an effort to conserve costs while building a 3,000-square-foot house on a five-acre lot in Fort Cobb, Okla., the Angels' rookie outfielder, his wife, Amber, and their young son, Jaxon, have been spending off-seasons in a small, rectangular building that, when construction began in 2003, was supposed to be just a batting cage.
"Then we insulated it, sheet-rocked it and put some Berber carpet in there," said Willits, who built the structure with his father, Gene. "We added a little weight area, a bed, a couch, a television, a little kitchen area, a bathroom
Willits' home office, which is 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and from the outside looks like a metal utility building, includes a batting cage and pitching machine, so if it is ever said of Willits that he could roll out of bed and get a hit, well, it's true.
The 25-year-old spends about two hours a day in the cage over the winter, with his wife often feeding balls to the machine and Jaxon nearby, hitting off a tee.
"She's as supportive as a wife could be," said Willits, whose older sister, Wendi, played briefly with the WNBA's Sparks. "Not many wives would let their husbands build a batting cage and a weight room and allow them to live in it. I looked at it as an investment in my career."
One that is paying off. Willits opened this season as a reserve and had 20 at-bats through 24 games, but when Garret Anderson suffered a hip injury April 27, Willits took over in left field and has emerged as a force in the leadoff spot.
Entering tonight's game at Detroit, Willits is batting .352 with a .433 on-base percentage and a team-leading 10 stolen bases in 10 tries. Though he didn't start regularly until April 28, Willits ranks second on the team with 15 walks and fourth with 20 runs.
The scrappy Willits, 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds, has added patience to a lineup filled with hackers, an important element missing from the leadoff spot since David Eckstein left after 2004. Among American League players with at least 100 plate appearances, Willits ranks sixth with an average of 4.30 pitches a plate appearance.
Only one other Angel, Mike Napoli (4.11), averages more than four pitches a plate appearance. Against Texas on May 14, Willits saw 28 pitches in one game. That's a good week for Vladimir Guerrero.
