NOT ONE TO BRAG

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by curt mckeever

Where Matt Hopper sought attention, Alex Gordon shuns it.

"I'm not going to put any expectation on myself," said Gordon, who last season earned freshman All-America honors playing third base for the Nebraska baseball team. "I'm just going to go out and play hard and hopefully good things will happen."

Excuse Mike Anderson for laughing.

As big of a fan of Hopper as there was, Anderson had a confident, just-you-watch attitude before Hopper's senior season of 2003. A two-time All-Big 12 Conference performer, Hopper was coming off a disappointing, injury-riddled junior campaign and wound up producing numbers that led to him being named the league's player of the year.

Now, Anderson sounds like Gordon could be ready for similar star status.

"Matt Hopper is gone, but Ifeel pretty good about Alex," he said at Tuesday's preseason gathering with local media.

Not only will Gordon start out this season entrenched as the Huskers' third baseman - something Anderson claimed he had to earn a year ago - but he's been penciled in to bat No. 3 in the lineup.

He's "an incredible hitter," said Curtis Ledbetter, the All-Big 12 designated hitter last season who will follow Gordon in the lineup.

"It does everything for you because they're pitching around him to get to you,"Ledbetter said.

Gordon, of course, sees it the other way, which is why he expects to see a lot of good pitches to hammer.

If that occurs, chances are good the Lincoln Southeast product will eclipse many of the impressive numbers he posted last season.

Playing in 61 games - 57 of which he started at third - Gordon hit .319 with seven homers and 48 RBIs. He tied for the team lead with 13 doubles.

But the best indicators of the kind of gamer he was came from his    team-best average of (.416) with runners in scoring position and his team-best .354 productivity when two were out.

"He did what freshmen do. He had great series, great stretches," Anderson said. "Now, you look for him to do that more consistently."

Gordon's first run through Big 12 competition had him hitting .299. But three of the four home runs he hit against league competition either tied games or put Nebraska ahead for good.

At the Big 12 Tournament, he went 9-for-20 with nine RBIs en route to being the only Husker named to the all-tournament team.

While Anderson already considers him a team leader and one of the marquee players in the league, Gordon plays down the praise.

"Idon't want to put any pressure on myself," he said. "Baseball's about having fun."

A year ago, his goal was to fit in.

"I wasn't used to that kind of baseball, that competitiveness, the travel," Gordon said. "But after a couple of weeks I was OK."

He's quick to credit Anderson for helping him make improvements at the plate and volunteer coach Brandt Vlieger, a former Husker shortstop, for developing him as a defensive player.

While he expects to have plenty of RBIopportunities hitting third in the lineup, he said he's just as excited about being able to contribute with his glove.

"Defensively, Iworked out on legs more (in the off-season)," Gordon said. "The coaches always make fun of me for having slow feet - but I'm a little quicker."

That's about as much bragging as you'll ever hear from Gordon.

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@;journalstar.com.