Overbay settles into home away from home in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE – Lyle Overbay’s dreams aren’t this good – and he’s had some pretty good dreams over the years.

From a kid playing ball in Centralia to a minor leaguer who batted .352 to an Arizona Diamondback to being a Milwaukee Brewer to being on the brink of history, it’s hard to imagine life getting much better.

“The only thing better would probably be playing with the guys I watched and the team I grew up watching – the Mariners,” Overbay said.

At 27, he had to settle for playing against the Mariners for the first time Tuesday – and he beat them with a two-run double that gave him an 18-game hitting streak.

He’s now in the top ten in six National League offensive categories, and with 28 doubles is on pace for 74. That would break the major league record by seven.

A 1995 graduate of Centralia High School, Overbay was in the minor leagues by 1999, and played for Arizona’s Class AAA team, Tucson, in 2002. “We played a series in Tacoma during the week that season and I had about 50 passes I had to leave – and that was just for family,” Overbay said. “We had a kangaroo court the next night, and I got fined for having more fans at the game than the Rainiers.”

The Diamondbacks called him up three times in three years, including an 86-game stretch last season, and though he batted .276, Arizona traded him in December as part of a multi-player deal for Richie Sexson, a graduate of Prairie High School.

Overbay went 2 for 4 Wednesday to raise his team-leading average to .345 with 49 RBIs. He has hit seven homers.

Off the field, life is every bit as good. Overbay and his wife of three years, Sarah, just bought a new home – in Centralia.

Why not move to a bigger city?

“It’s a great place to raise kids, just a wonderful community, and both our families are there,” Overbay said. “And if I moved to someplace that was nicer in the winter, I’d just become a golfer.”