Collecting hits name of the game for Stars outfielder

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

Let's start with the obvious, his last name.

The surname has earned Stars outfielder Ethan Faggett more than his share of snickers throughout his lifetime and is pronounced just how it looks.

Not "fah-jeh," as some have suggested to help alleviate the ridicule.

"I didn't want to change my name," said Faggett, a devout Christian. "I didn't want to change the enunciation because I wouldn't feel too proud if my parents came to the game wondering why they are pronouncing it like that.

"You can't hide it. You can't get around it. It's just a name. Not a label."

Faggett was 1-for-4 with two RBIs in the Stars' 6-4 loss to the Fresno Grizzlies Monday night before an announced 2,566 at Cashman Field.

If anything, he says his last name has taught him lessons that have helped him succeed not only in baseball, but also in life.

"There were many times I had kids that were trying to antagonize me as far as my name, but really, it's like, I can't fight everybody," he said. "I feel like it made me who I am today as far as my personality because it taught me there was a better way than violence to deal with things."

Things like toiling in the minor leagues for eight years.

Faggett, who celebrated his 26th birthday earlier this month, was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox in 1992, then traded to the San Diego Padres in 1998.

After joining the Padres, he spent the rest of the season at Class AA Mobile, Ala. He returned to Mobile last season hoping for a promotion to Las Vegas, but it never happened.

"Last year, there were some things I did well," he said. "And there were some things I didn't do so well.

"Looking at it as a whole, I figured there would be a chance that I would get a promotion, but if I didn't, it wouldn't be the end of the world because of the things I needed to work on."

During the off-season, Faggett, the 1998 Community Service Award winner at Mobile, worked on hitting more line drives and taking the ball the other way to spread out the defense.

He started this year at Mobile and on Aug. 3, he finally was called up to the Stars after batting .241 with 55 runs scored.

"When I did get promoted, it was pretty much a sense of joy to be able to move to a new place with new scenery, new players," Faggett said. "I'm just glad to be here."

The Stars should be glad to have him.

Entering Monday night's game, Faggett was batting .303 with five home runs and 12 RBIs.

"I think I've taken the focus off the results and focused more on the procedure and the way I want to do things," he said. "I know that if I have good mechanics, think things through the right way, then the results will come.

"In Mobile, maybe I was just pressing. The only thing that mattered was did I get it or not. Here, I'm trying to go about it the right way."