He knew that he could never hope to live up to the legend of his predecessor. Yet, through the first two weeks of the season, remarkably few are ruing the day the icon left for greener pastures.

Mat Gamel and Ryan Braun were both selected by the Brewers in the 2005 June draft. It is not an understatement in the least to say that their careers have not intersected much between the day they were taken and now. While Braun has been winning accolades and racking up All-Star Game appearances, Gamel has languished in the minor leagues feeling he was ready for prime time, but blocked at every turn.

Remember, when Braun was selected with the No. 5 overall pick, he was a can't miss-stud. His powerful bat and unquestioned work ethic (along with the offensive failures of platoon third basemen Tony Graffanino and Craig Counsell) made his elevation to Milwaukee a necessity.

Meanwhile, Gamel, a fourth-round selection, just wasn't quite ready yet.

But that didn't mean the Brewers didn't still have big plans for him. After all, Gamel took the distinction of being the crown jewel of the Brewers farm system when the core crop of Braun, Weeks, Hardy, Gallardo, and Fielder graduated to the major leagues and Matt LaPorta was shipped off to Cleveland in the CC Sabathia trade.

Gamel figured he would get his shot to hold down third base in 2009; maybe 2010. After all, he was called up to the majors as a September call-up in 2008 and deemed all but untouchable by general manager Doug Melvin the following winter. All of this despite being sent home less than three weeks after his original call-up after declining to take extra batting practice and then complaining of a sore shoulder.

Despite the setback, the Brewers were not about to give up on the talented Jacksonville, Fla. native.

"We didn't have a lot of other choices," Melvin says of Gamel. "We felt that in a market like ours, the way we've done things in the past, we have to exhaust our efforts with our young players."

Gamel's road to "The Show" was derailed again the following spring. What had once been a cornerstone of the Brewers future with boundless potential became a player that committed the cardinal sin of rookies everywhere.

He acted entitled; or he at least gave off the impression that he was.

After the 2008 season, despite the Brewers historical and memorable run to October, the offseason brought an extraordinary amount of change. Gone was Ned Yost; in was Ken Macha. Sabathia was merely a memory swathed in pinstripes and dollar bills, and Ben Sheets was gone for good after having taken fans on an injury-riddled roller coaster the previous four years.

But 2009 also brought about a new era of accountability with Macha in charge. In 2008, third baseman Bill Hall struggled mightily, hitting just .225 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. If ever there was a chance to unseat an incumbent, this was it. As it turned out, that's exactly what happened.

The problem for Gamel is that it was Casey McGehee who got the inside track after he tore the cover off the ball (.328, 6 HR, 16 RBI) in spring training and forced the Brewers to keep him instead.

The spring of 2009 was also a time of upheaval in Gamel's personal life. His girlfriend, Julianne, was pregnant, and he was trying to balance out taking care of her with participating in his first big league camp.

But here's the thing with veterans: often times they don't care what your excuse is, you are supposed to act like you are grateful to be there at all times. In Gamel's case, this meant at the very least showing up on time every day. When he didn't, Gamel found his locker out in the parking lot, otherwise perfectly intact, courtesy of Jason Kendall and Mike Cameron.

Message sent. No matter how good you think you are, you still have to earn your stripes.

As 2009 progressed, and Gamel found himself at Triple-A Nashville, it had become apparent to Brewers brass that he had the talent to succeed. Whether or not he had the attitude to succeed was another story. At third base, he struggled with his defense, often airmailing otherwise routine throws across the diamond and not looking like he would be able to unseat McGehee in Milwaukee any time soon.

So the Brewers had a plan. Actually, they had a pair of plans. They had their once-future third baseman try a couple of different positions, an idea Gamel initially balked at. But the road to the bigs was blocked by the lightning in a bottle found in McGehee, and Prince Fielder's days in Milwaukee were numbered. Gamel had little recourse.

The first plan was to have Gamel learn to play first base and take over for whenever Fielder left; either via trade or after the 2011 season. The second plan was to have Corey Hart potentially move back to his natural infield position from right field and have Gamel move to Hart's old spot.

After watching Gamel struggle with fly balls, it was quickly determined that Plan A was their working model.

This spring, after toiling for three frustrating yet successful seasons in Nashville, Gamel led the club with six home runs and also knocked in 14 runs. After seeing an unmotivated and overweight Gamel the previous spring, manager Ron Roenicke continually remarked this year how much different he looked in even just the way he carried himself.

After all, the last impression Roenicke got of his new first baseman was a shocking rebuke from Gamel's former manager with the Sounds, Don Money.

"If he can get his head right, and that's the thing," Money told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy last September. "He's hard-headed. He doesn't carry himself well. You have to carry yourself like a professional, and he doesn't do it and I've said it to him."

Money also said that the only reason Gamel hit 30 home runs last season was because he was going for the personal milestone and that he was furious when passed over for another September promotion in favor of third baseman Taylor Green, another left-handed hitter.

"Maybe it's an awakening that, 'Hey, I'm not the big boy on the block anymore,'" Money said at the time.

Perhaps it was a wake-up call that Gamel needed. Perhaps the knowledge that he had a Major League job ready and waiting for him all winter long inspired Gamel to come into camp in shape and ready to make an impact. Perhaps his home life is now more settled than it was in 2008. He and Julianne are now married and have added another daughter to their family, and Gamel seems to not be brooding as much as in the past.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Gamel has been clutch, tying for the team lead in hits (16) and even leads all major league first baseman in stolen bases.

"Mat's done a nice job," Melvin says. "We knew he wasn't going to replace Prince Fielder. Aramis Ramirez wasn't going to replace Prince Fielder's (offensive production). We were hoping a combination of the two was what we were looking for; Ramirez and Mat to replace Prince and McGehee's production. But no one is going to replace Prince. That's why he got $200 million."

Moreover, Gamel is winning respect in the clubhouse as a worthy successor to Fielder. Not that anyone could make Brewers fans forget their former superstar who now plays on the other side of Lake Michigan. But still, Gamel, a player who has always thrived on every day at-bats, is showing that he belongs in the Major Leagues with not only his play but his attitude as well.

"As far as Mat goes, this is the first time that he's had an opportunity to play for an extended period of time," Melvin continued. "He's come up with some big hits for us, he's played well at first base, and he's been very good on the bases. He's starting to feel confident."

In other words, don't look for his locker out in the parking lot anytime soon.

"Mat has shown a lot of maturing along (the way)," Melvin concludes. "Previously, he would get discouraged playing behind Prince, and playing behind Casey McGehee at third base, but now he feels he belongs."