Roswell lefty gets it right
Prospect answers coach's wake-up call
Bill Sanders - Staff
Monday, March 7, 2005
Take one look at Roswell High School pitcher Miers Quigley and you're sold on a couple of things.
He's got all-American good looks on an intimidating frame. He talks a good game, comes off plenty mature for 18 and must have had a squeaky-clean, problem-free ride through high school.
The top pitching prospect in Georgia, and among the top in the country, Quigley figures to be a rich young man in about four months, when pro baseball has its draft. Most expect him to be a first-round selection, and he's being counted on to lead Roswell deep into the state playoffs.
But the ride has been anything but trouble-free for Quigley. And he has no one to blame but himself.
Two years ago, Quigley was a mouthy, lazy, self-centered kid with a good left arm who was in danger of being kicked off the team.
And things got worse before they got better.
Last summer, as he was getting serious about baseball and school, he made another mistake, one that left him with a juvenile criminal record.
Today, Quigley is closer to the squeaky-clean kid than the aimless kid getting into trouble.
The transformation of Miers Quigley is so complete that coach Mike Power, the one who nearly showed Miers the door, now calls him "one of my favorite players in 20 years of coaching."
Early red flag
Quigley was brash, cocky and better than most. And he knew it.
The first meeting with Power didn't go well.
Power had scheduled a 6 a.m. training session in the gym. Quigley had scheduled himself a little extra sleep.
Power saw him later that day on campus and recalled the conversation.
"Quigs, where were you this morning?" asked Power.
"Sorry, Coach, I overslept," Quigley said.
"Oh, no problem. Be on the track at 5:30 tomorrow morning running if you want play for Roswell," Power said.
Power followed that with an afternoon reality check.
"I talked to him in my office later that day and said, 'You're going to be a high draft choice someday, but I don't think you're going to make it here. You might have to transfer or do something.' "
Power, who won a state championship at Harrison and coached Cory Patterson and Adam Everett, wasn't going to change for Quigley. And he heard from the previous staff a bit about the tall lefty's less-than-stellar work ethic.
Quigley got religion quickly.
"It was extremely different when Coach Power got here," Quigley said. "He made all of us realize things were going to change for the better, but not for the easier."
What Quigley recalls about the first meeting with Power is simply that it wasn't good.
"He told me a lot of things that I needed to hear, but didn't want to hear," Quigley said. "We talked about work ethics, grades, conduct, areas on and off the field. I was taken aback at first. But it was a reality check."
Any bad blood between the two lasted only a couple of days. Quigley started earning Power's respect.
He started working hard --- during the season and offseason. Power's opinion was changing toward Quigley. His teammates began to see a new player.
"Miers is so focused now," fellow pitcher Brent Hallman said. "He straightened himself out and is way less of a cut-up. He's come into his own and has earned what he's getting."
Added Power: "He became the first guy to show up for practice and the last to leave. He was coachable and acting like a leader."
Maybe that's why it was easy for Power to stand by Quigley after the player was one of a dozen Roswell kids cited for underage drinking at a summer party.
Wrong kind of record
Quigley and several other Roswell students were at a summer party that included alcohol. Police were called and arrests were made.
Quigley was charged with underage drinking and ordered to do 50 hours of community service and serve 12 months of probation, after which his record will be expunged.
But major league scouts have ways of finding out every little thing about a prospect. So Quigley tells them, not waiting for them to find out on their own.
"Most of them tell me that it won't put too much of a damper on me," Quigley said. "They say they're more interested in what I do with the second chance. I think they realize I've matured.
"I still worry about that every day."
Former Parkview baseball coach Hugh "Buck" Buchanan is now a professional scout who has sat in the Quigley's living room. Now with the Philadelphia Phillies, Buchanan listened to Quigley's explanation of what happened that night and why an organization should be willing to spend a few million dollars on him.
"Look, kids will be kids," Buchanan said. "When an organization considers putting a lot of money on a kid, they are going to do a thorough background check on them. Character questions come up, and they are extensive."
Quigley's mother, Pattie Quigley, is proud of the way her son handled the situation.
"The incident was an incident that can happen to many kids. What we had to ask was what impact did it have on Miers and what is the underlying message," she said. "I think he's handled it very maturely, and we're proud of that."
Right kind of record
Last year, Quigley was 12-2 with a 1.38 ERA. He throws in the low-to-mid 90s with a good change-up. He's made many all-American lists, including Baseball America's.
Quigley pitched his first game of the season Friday against Harrison.
Scouts will be at every game Roswell plays this year.
"We talk about how every day is that job interview," Power said.
That can be a lot of pressure on an 18-year-old. Have an injury-free, dominating season and a $3 million signing bonus could be waiting for him. Blow out an arm and he becomes just another college kid with lots of stories to tell about what might have been.
"I think about the unknown a lot," Quigley said. "How would I cope? I'm good at coping with failure, but not being able to play? I don't know.
"I also worry about being the role model that I need to be. I realize now that people look at me that way, and I want to live up to it."
Power is convinced Quigley will handle the pressure of his senior year.
"He's not the same kid that he was two years ago," Power said. "He's real ready for this now. I don't really see that much pressure on him. Scouts don't care if he's 9-5 or 15-0. He cares, but scouts don't. They look at tools, velocity, rotation of the ball, the body.
"I'm going to be careful with him. I'd rather be watching him in the pros in three years and go out to dinner with him --- with him buying --- than have him pitch a ridiculous amount of innings this year so I can win a championship."
As for what the future holds, the Quigley family knows only this: A letter of intent to play baseball at Alabama has been signed.
"Whatever else happens, great," Pattie Quigley said. "We're advising him because we are adults and have certain life experiences, but we're a team in this. If June 7 something great happens, then great. We're doing our homework as a family, but other than that, we're not worried about what might happen."
Quigley, he has perspective.
"Worst-case scenario, I go to Alabama and get an education," he said. "That's not bad."
THE MIERS QUIGLEY FILE
> School: Roswell
> Position: Left-handed pitcher
> Low-down: One of the top high school pitching prospects in the country. Went 12-2 with 1.38 ERA as a junior.
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