It's the dream scenario for any child who loves baseball.

Bottom of the ninth, Game 7 of the World Series, the score is tied and you're standing on third base.

In 1991, that's exactly the position UW-Parkside baseball coach Jarvis Brown found himself in.

Inserted as a pinch runner for Minnesota Twins designated hitter Chili Davis, Brown advanced to third with two outs and was standing 90 feet from baseball immortality.

Any hit, error, passed ball or wild pitch would have allowed Brown to end one of the most thrilling World Series in baseball history. Instead, Twins pinch-hitter Paul Sorrento struck out on a high fastball from Atlanta Braves reliever Alejandro Pena. Brown, who played for the Class A Kenosha Twins in 1987 and 1988, was left stranded.

Oh, what could have been for the young outfielder in his rookie season.

"I've thought about it all the time, even when I went into the dugout," Brown said. "I was like, 'Man that would have been … holy cow.' But, at that time, it's like all right it didn't happen, let's move on. Here we go, let's get back in the dugout."

The Twins won the World Series in 1991 and Brown has an individual World Series trophy and ring that many players - including some Hall of Famers - would give almost anything to own.

But it's what got him to the major leagues that will aid him in turning the Rangers into a winning baseball program again.

"I think about the whole experience of my first spring training," Brown said. "You had the organization teaching you fundamentally; it just gave you a solid foundation for the things you needed to prepare yourself to get better.

"The first thing was working - work ethic, work ethic, work ethic," Brown added.

That work ethic has let Brown ride "the circle of baseball."

Brown started out at Kenosha St. Joseph High School, then went on to Triton Junior College. He was the Minnesota Twins' first pick in the January phase of the 1986 draft and advanced through the Twins organization, making it to the major leagues in 1991.

After playing for the Twins, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves, Brown found himself with the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 - the year Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak. After his professional career, coaching led Brown all the way back to Kenosha.

"I guess that's how baseball is and it seems like that's how it happened for me," Brown said. "It's kind of weird. I've been lucky enough to get into certain situations and get into certain events that were, I guess, defining events in baseball."

But even in baseball, Brown didn't gravitate too far from home.

"Baseball just happened to turn and put me on that circle," Brown said. "In this game here, being a hometown guy it kind of fit. That's just how baseball had it for me. I can't complain about it, because it's something I love. But any which way it turned out for me baseball-wise, I would be pretty satisfied."

Starting young

Brown's satisfaction comes from a deeply rooted love for baseball which started when he was tagging along with his brother Jerome, who was eight years older and played baseball.

"At my age, being in first grade, I could only chase the ball, I couldn't throw it," said Brown, who grew up in Waukegan, Ill. "It just constantly progressed. When he played baseball, that's all they ever played in the neighborhood. The game was strikeout and you had block teams."

Of course it wasn't long until Brown's abilities grew in large part because he was constantly playing the game.

"In the summertime, I played baseball all the time," Brown said. "There was nothing else to do. I think I got to a certain age like high school where there were girls and whatever, but you know if you had a night game on a Saturday night or a doubleheader on Saturday and your girlfriend wanted you to come over, you would go over there after you finished playing baseball."

All the games, all the catches, all the work allowed Brown to hone his baseball instincts and abilities.

Sharing his knowledge

Trying to get players to work and become better is something Brown thrives on and it's among the reasons he entered coaching after his major league career ended.

"I guess it's something that I always loved because I guess I've always been around it," said Brown, who had a career .203 batting average in a major-league career that spanned parts of five seasons. "I believe in the way I was taught and I was a pretty good player. I had pretty good coaches and that allowed me to get chances … and it would be good for me to rub off on the next player or get them to improve."

Brown's coaching career hasn't always been easy. After starting out in the Twins' organization, he was not tendered a contract after three seasons.

"I guess they were just looking for a different guy in the position," Brown said. "I guess I didn't fit or they didn't feel that I was ready for that kind of responsibility. I can probably say there were a lot of things I could have done better."

Facing a challenge

After coaching in three different independent leagues, Brown returned to Kenosha as an assistant coach at Carthage College under head baseball coach Augie Schmidt. Three years ago, he became head coach at Parkside, where he's also working toward a degree in sports management.

"I'm definitely happy because I'm coaching baseball and getting my degree," Brown said. "I'm working and doing something I love. I still have a job in today's economy. So, I'm pretty happy.

"What I want to do is get this program to where you're talking about winning 10 in a row or 11 in a row," Brown added. "I just want the players developing where they should. Developing as young men and young baseball players and then seeing that on the field."

That's not going to be an easy task considering where the Rangers are this season. The young team is 5-42 overall and 4-28 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference heading into today's season-ending GLVC doubleheader at Lewis. This comes only four years after a 45-18 season in which the Rangers won the GLVC title and received an NCAA Division II Tournament bid.

After last year's 7-36 season, Brown made the decision to go young and stop counting on players recruited from junior colleges. The results are a young team taking its lumps.

"I decided to go with how we did it with the Twins; we're going to go young; we're going to develop the kids," Brown said. "Did I expect us to compete for the conference championship this year? I didn't expect it but I knew there was a lot of development coming."

Hindering that development is the inability to practice outside, play intrasquad games and even have home games because of the weather.

"It's a very young team with inexperienced players and when you play at Parkside you don't get outside," said Bob Lee, the former owner of the Kenosha Twins who has know Brown since he played for Lee's team. "It's very difficult to get them and have them work as a unit. I doubt that they've been outside much. … Eventually, it will work out if the players stay at Parkside."

The buy-in

Most importantly, the players are buying into Brown's system.

"I try to take everything I can from him," freshman catcher Nick Cozzi said. "I love his coaching style. He's very methodical. He believes in the players.

"He mentioned that he wanted me and the other freshmen to be the foundation of the team and we've learned. We're getting better and we're looking forward to next year."

Despite the Rangers' struggles, Brown remains focused on the future.

"I haven't accomplished anything here," Brown said. "As a baseball person who cares, that's what you want to do. And when you don't get it done, you take it personally and you really care about it. But, as long as you're allowed to, you have to do things to make it better. So, that's what I'm trying to do."