Despite nearing the top of the Pacific 10 Conference's statistical rankings, Trevor Crowe's contributions to the team extend beyond the box score.
While the junior left fielder ranks in the top 10 of 12 major statistical categories and leads the conference in many of these, his leadership has taken No. 9 Arizona (27-14, 10-2 Pac-10) to the top of the conference standings at the halfway point of the league season.
"Oh my gosh. I don't think words can really describe what Trevor has done both on and off the field," sophomore shortstop Jason Donald said. "He's a solid guy, and I think the quality he has as a person makes it very easy to follow him."
As a junior and team leader, Crowe said he leads by example.
"You just pick guys up," he said. "Guys don't have that great of outing, you tell them to hang in there, we're going to get this thing worked out, and you show your support for the younger guys and the older guys who are struggling."
On the field and in the locker room, Crowe paces a potent Arizona offense, leading the conference with 8.4 runs per game as well as a .328 team batting average.
He leads the conference in slugging (.727), runs (55), total bases (133), hits (76), doubles (20), triples (eight) by a wide margin and is tied for first in steals (18). Nationally he ranked in the top 10 in slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, triples and total bases entering last week.
Crowe said he has not even thought about the significance of leading so many categories.
"My whole concern is that I get the most out of my game, and if that turns into leading categories, great," he said. "If it doesn't, then I'm not going to put extra pressure on myself that I have to lead the Pac-10 in certain categories. My No. 1 goal when I'm at the plate is just to compete like heck and make sure that it's a quality at-bat."
While Crowe has always put up numbers, leading the team with a .350 batting average last season, the leadoff hitter's power numbers have shown the biggest increase.
With 15 regular-season games and the playoffs remaining, Crowe has already hit more home runs, driven in more runs, scored more runs and hit for more total bases than all of last season, while increasing his slugging percentage by .151.
"It's just my third year in the program, and the game's sort of slowed down a little bit for me, and for the first time I realize that if you work hard and you're prepared then there's nothing to be worried about in the game," Crowe said. "You go out, you play the game and enjoy it."
Crowe's summer experience as a member of the USA Baseball National Team has paid off this year. His team won the gold medal at the 2004 World University Baseball Championship in Tainan, Taiwan.
Crowe hit .295 with 11 runs scored and 11 RBIs while playing with top collegiate players such as Tennessee pitcher Luke Hochevar and Texas catcher Taylor Teagarden.
"It was a great experience," Crowe said. "I got to play in front of big crowds, huge games and a great atmosphere. Any time you can do that, exposure breeds composure."
Head coach Andy Lopez compared Crowe to Washington Nationals outfielder Brad Wilkerson as far as the best offensive player he has ever coached. Wilkerson, who Lopez coached at Florida, won the 2002 National League Rookie of the Year and is a budding star for the Nationals.
"Brad Wilkerson is probably the best offensive player I've ever coached, and Trevor is right there. He really is," Lopez said. "He runs better than Brad, and he's a switch hitter, and Brad's not a switch hitter. Trevor's a good player. Trevor's a very good player, and I think he's going to be very successful in the next step of life. I really do."
The next step of life likely involves the major league draft after this season. Baseball America projects Crowe as a late first-round draft pick in June's amateur draft.
He will be picked much higher than the 20th round, which is where the Oakland A's took him in the 2002 draft after being named Oregon Player of the Year by Baseball America and Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year before enrolling at Arizona.
Lopez called Crowe a real joy to coach and an outstanding young man.
"He's going to be sorely missed by me not (just) on the field, but off the field," Lopez said. "He's a young guy I hope to continue in close contact with. From a team standpoint, he's been outstanding because he plays the game the way you teach it. He plays at a hard pace."
Lopez said his hard-nosed approach and quality base-running skills have turned many singles into doubles, a reason he ranked in the top five nationally in both doubles and triples entering last weekend.
Due to his outstanding numbers thus far, Crowe had been named to the watch list for the 2005 Golden Spikes Award as one of the nation's 40 top players. Called "Amateur Baseball's Most Prestigious Honor," it serves as college baseball's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona is the only Arizona player to win the award, taking it home in 1980.
"That's something nice, a nice thing to be up for, but to be honest with you right now, after the last weekend, I just hope that our team gets on track," Crowe said.
In putting up all these numbers, everything goes back to the state of the team with Crowe, who hopes to turn things around for Arizona this weekend against No. 22 Southern California after losing twice to California Irvine and once to Sacramento State last weekend.
While Crowe produces one of the best statistical seasons in Arizona history, a year that puts him as a favorite for Pac-10 Player of the Year, unfinished team business remains before Crowe can start thinking about a professional career.
"My personal goals are to win the Pac-10, host a regional, host a super-regional and then go get a national championship," Crowe said.