NEW YORK — On a sleepy afternoon at Yankee Stadium, free of $18 beer-fueled hecklers and eardrum-rattling sound effects, Steven KwanRecorded a radio interview, did a TV interview, took up batting practice, and sat down with another reporter in the dugout.
The rookie has been accustomed to a packed schedule. His often-repeated first season began with an unexpected inclusion on the Opening Day roster. He will now be heading a playoff lineup, garnering as much media attention and playing in the Guardians’ clubhouse.
He insists he doesn’t mind the unrelenting requests, though he admitted the setting in the Yankee Stadium press interview room seemed a bit daunting, with him seated on stage in front of a microphone and reporters staring at him, a league official calling on them one by one and stenographers hanging on his every syllable.
It’s all new for him. He wasn’t speaking to a room full of nosy reporters when he was playing center field for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks for the first part of last season. But he has handled the New York-enhanced postseason spotlight with the same, grounded approach that has guided him through a season that has caught many — including himself — by surprise.
In spring training, Kwan didn’t expect to break camp with the big-league club, especially given the lockout-shortened spring schedule. Kwan anticipated that he would return to Triple A at the end of the regular season, given his limited minor-league experience. He was a scorching starter at the plate and he stressed that the law of averages would reduce his stats.
That’s typical Kwan, refusing to get caught up in his own hype.
