Minors might be where Tolbert fulfills obsession

FORT MYERS, FLA. - Twins teammates have seen Matt Tolbert, the perpetual-motion infielder, waiting for a pedestrian light on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, then breaking from the curb as if to steal second base.

They've seen him turning pillows into bases in his apartment; taking full swings with a bat in the team's spring training shower; and practicing his baserunning outside in hotel hallways, and even outside a convenience store when his minor-league bus stopped during a road trip.

"I really don't think about it a lot, but they say it's crazy," Tolbert said. "I'm just trying to get myself ready, so when I look back I can say I did everything I could to try to get better, to be the best I could be, so I wouldn't look back and say I could have done more.

"That's what's going on inside the ol' dome."

With that, Tolbert taps his head and smiles.

In that he wears No. 20 and makes his teammates laugh, Tolbert could be nicknamed "New Lew," in honor of Wrong Way Lew Ford. While Ford drove his teammates and manager crazy with his mistakes, Tolbert works on his fundamentals at all hours, earning confused looks from passersby and affection in the Twins clubhouse.

"Matt is all baseball, all the time, in a very good way," said pitcher Kevin Slowey, who roomed with Tolbert in the minors. "He's never satisfied with how well he's done or how far he's come. We would watch baseball all day. Sometimes, I'd have to sneak something else on, just for a break.

"There is no turning it off for him. You follow him around for a day, he does things off the field that most people do on the field, in terms of practicing and preparing. He can't control his love for the game. It's awesome."

Tolbert bats lefty and righty and wishes there were more options. He can play anywhere in the infield and outfield.

His Mississippi drawl, "Yessir, nossir" manners and overflowing earnestness seem to land his personality somewhere between Gomer Pyle and Forrest Gump, but there is nothing aimless or silly about his ambitions.

The Twins took him in the 14th round of the 2004 draft, and by last year he had positioned himself to play every day at third base before a thumb injury caused him to miss 96 games.

With the signing of Nick Punto to play short, the arrival of Joe Crede at third and the emergence of Alexi Casilla, Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris, Tolbert has gone from potential starter to roster longshot in less than a year, through no fault of his own.

"I'm not like a starter-type guy," he said. "I'm a level below, trying to fill in, be the 25th guy. That's the type of player I am.

"I just keep working hard, because you never know."

Tolbert's father, Moose, has pushed his son all his life.

"He coached me for a while, until I was 12 or 13, but he was always at the fence, or at home, waiting to give me the rundown on, 'Should have done this, should have done that, I raised you to do that,' " Matt said.

Tolbert's favorite player growing up was, of course, Pete Rose, a k a Charlie Hustle. Matty Motion might not make the Opening Day roster, but he is the kind of high-energy, versatile player the Twins value.

"His life is 24-hours-a-day of baseball," catcher Mike Redmond said. "It's fun to see a guy that hungry. On the other hand, man, how do you do that every day? I'd be a mess.

"Even the days he plays, it's hundreds of ground balls -- early ground balls, and ground balls during batting practice. It's endless swings. I'd be exhausted before the game even started."

For Tolbert, the game never ends.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com