Hart secure with Brewers after big season

Hart hit .360 over the 20 games with two homers and 17 RBIs by staying patient. His patience paid off in negotiations, too.

The Brewers agreed to the three-year contract extension through 2013 a few weeks later, the biggest reward for the former 11th-round pick in 2000.

“It’s very stressful trying to deal with what happened last year and all of a sudden, I’ve got this offseason, it’s hard to explain, it’s so stress free and relaxed and I was able to step back and look at what happened and do my own thing this year,” he said.

It’s all the more gratifying for him that he did it himself and didn’t take an easy way out by whining or demanding a trade last spring.

“It was a learning experience more than anything. You looked at how things could’ve played out,” he said. “Pressure’s tough. Everything can get to you. To be able to fight through that, I thought it was pretty cool I could bounce back like that.”

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