Meet Matt Padgett

Third baseman Matt Padgett, 34, is a jack of many athletic trades. While attending Clemson University on a baseball scholarship, the native of Newberry, S.C., spent two seasons as the football team's kicker. After being picked by the Florida Marlins in the fifth round of the 1998 amateur draft, Padgett had his best professional season with Triple-A Albuquerque in 2004, batting .267 with 24 home runs and 93 RBIs. Entering Sunday, Padgett was batting .270 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs in his second year with the Ducks.

What made you decide to come back for a second season with the Ducks?

"I was hurt for part of last season, so I wanted to come back and play a full season."

Talk about the experience of spending two seasons as a kicker with Clemson."It was great, actually. I grew up basically in Columbia, S.C., home of the University of South Carolina, but I was always a Clemson fan.

"It ended up that Clemson offered me a baseball scholarship and I was able to become the placekicker. It's something that I always wanted to do. I think it helped tremendously in my baseball career, especially the field-goal kicking; you have 1.2 seconds to get the kick off or it's blocked. As far as teamwork and pressure and everything that goes along with playing Division I football, it helped me in my baseball career."

In 1996, you missed a tying 37-yard kick at South Carolina with six seconds left. How did you overcome that type of disappointment?

"As a kicker, you are known for the one that you miss. That's just how it goes. Looking back, since it was against a rival, and me being from there, it was difficult at first. There were a couple of death threats. For me, it was never really a concern or anything like that. I just know how passionate and intense college football is and how these fans take it."

When you hit 24 home runs with Triple-A Albuquerque in 2004, did you feel like you were close to a major-league call-up?

"Looking back, the honest answer is yes. Why wouldn't you feel like you should get a chance at that point? The Marlins were always talking about needing a lefthanded bat. But my phone didn't ring."