The Associated Press

PHOENIX - Milwaukee Brewers reliever Brooks Kieschnick didn't even bother bringing his golf clubs to spring training this year.

He's too busy trying to make the club as a right-handed pitcher and a left-handed power hitter.

"When I get done doing all the work with the pitchers, I grab a bat and a helmet," Kieschnick said.

New manager Ned Yost is rooting for Kieschnick to complete this unorthodox double because it would provide him incredible flexibility in determining his roster and managing his ballclub.

"The toughest decision when you break camp is do you take that extra pitcher or do you take that extra bench player?" Yost said. "With Brooks, you don't have to make that decision because you get the best of both worlds."

Kieschnick could also play first base or the outfield.

"There's a bunch of ways I can use him if he makes our club because he can do so many things," Yost said. "He can hit one a mile and then he can pitch you one or two innings."

The real benefit would come in the middle innings.

Instead of suffering through a big inning, Yost could bring in Kieschnick to get out of the jam, let him bat and then send him back out to the mound, saving both a pitcher and a pinch-hitter.

"It would allow Ned to manage an American League game in the National League," general manager Doug Melvin said.

There's been plenty of pitchers in the major leagues who can hit but not really on an everyday basis.

"You could conceivably use Mike Hampton to pinch hit and not embarrass yourself," Yost said. "But Mike Hampton is a starter. He's got no chance of playing four days out of five. Brooks Kieschnick you can use every day."

Kieschnick, 30, was a slugger and a pitcher at the University of Texas in the early 90s.

He went 16-4 and hit 17 homers his junior year. The Chicago Cubs liked him better as a hitter and selected him with their top pick in the 1993 amateur draft.

"I thought I was done with pitching forever," he said.

Kieschnick asked his agent to shop him around as a pitcher last year after he failed to make the Cleveland Indians roster.

"I just didn't want to be sitting at home 40 years old wondering, 'What if I had gotten my chance to pitch?"' Kieschnick said.

The Chicago White Sox signed him and sent him to Triple-A Charlotte, where he batted .275 with 13 homers and 40 RBI in 60 games. In 25 mound appearances, he walked 10, struck out 30 and had a 2.59 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He pitched 12 scoreless innings in Puerto Rico last winter.

Melvin, taking over a team that lost 106 games last year, signed him to a minor-league contract, and the Brewers like what they see so far.

"Brooks has been very impressive on the mound and at the plate," Yost said. "He's much more polished than I thought he was. He's a pitcher."

Kieschnick threw one hitless, scoreless inning in an intrasquad game Monday. But the real test comes during the exhibition season.

"Then, we'll get a better barometer of what we have with him," pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "But I'd say right now, having been at the plate and knowing how difficult it is to hit will be one of his strengths as a pitcher."

Kieschnick said he's a smarter pitcher now than when he was in college because he knows what pitches he doesn't like to see at the plate. He's seen his fair share of pitchers make the mistake of trying to trick hitters instead of trusting their repertoire.

"So, when I'm pitching, I'm going with my best stuff because I know how hard it is to hit," he said. "It's not easy."

Kieschnick always studied pitchers whenever he served as DH, wondering how he'd measure up on the mound. He'd mess around during warmups, too.

"Oh yeah, absolutely, all the time. I'd say, 'Squat down a little bit, let me throw it to you,"' Kieschnick said. "I wouldn't totally cut it loose, but I'd put a little on it and throw a few breaking balls. Mainly just to go through the windup again. It's something I've done since I was 5 years old."

Twenty-five years later, he's playing for his seventh organization and still chasing his dream of pitching in the big leagues.