Tigers#1
01-29-2003, 05:48 PM
Halter ready to play where needed
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
DETROIT -- Shane Halter has gone from good riddance to good soldier.
He was rolling grounders to kids at Skillsville youth center last week when the instructional portion of the Tigers' winter caravan visit came to a close. While most players spent the last half-hour signing autographs, Halter took the older kids to a distant corner of the facility, where he gave a serious lecture on the importance of a good attitude.
"The thing is if you have a bad attitude on a team," he said later, "you can be easily replaced."
Shane Halter knows. He's had a shortstop's range on attitude in the past year.
Most utility players don't want to make a career out of it. They make themselves useful at so many positions so they have a chance to play and, eventually, a chance to start. Shane Halter is among the best at that, having gone down in history as one of only handful to play all nine positions in a game. But in 2001, he had the one position he wanted -- shortstop.
When utility players become starters, the hardest thing to do is to go back to utility work. That was Halter's challenge last year, and while he excelled physically, he struggled with it mentally. An early-season run of errors, he believed, set scorekeepers against him on questionable calls, of which at least a few went for Halter errors. He dealt with veiled criticism from one starting pitcher on the club.
But last week, the man who once said he shouldn't be a utility player on the Tigers came to minicamp ready to embrace it.
"I don't mind being a utility player," he said last week during the Tigers winter caravan. "I came up as a utility player. Being a utility player is a great job to have in the big leagues. And I'll have an opportunity to play when somebody needs a day off or somebody gets hurt.
"Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to start. And that's not out of the question. But if that's what they need here in Detroit is a utility player who can give some team leadership and help the young guys in certain situations, then I'll do the best that I can with whatever they can give me."
To that end, Halter told president/general manager Dave Dombrowski at season's end he'd be back ready for whatever they wanted out of him. Further, Halter also went to manager Alan Trammell during a night out last week at a Red Wings game and told him he'd be ready to do whatever the skipper wanted.
In between those chats, he backed up attitude with action. Halter spent six weeks at an agility camp in Kansas City to get his range back.
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"Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to start. And that's not out of the question. But if that's what they need here in Detroit is a utility player who can give some team leadership and help the young guys in certain situations, then I'll do the best that I can with whatever they can give me."
-- Shane Halter
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"I knew going into this year that, being a utility player, I'd have to be agile," he said. "I'm going to be asked to play a lot of positions. Last year, I worked on coming into Spring Training and being a lot stronger. Now, I wanted to be a lot quicker and have my body in a lot better shape when I came to Spring Training [last year]. I told Dombrowski at the end of the season that I'd come in ready to go in Spring Training. I came into Spring Training probably too heavy last year, and I wanted to make a point this year."
Point well taken.
"He's on board, and he's willing to do anything we ask," Trammell said. "And that's what a manager wants to hear because I don't know exactly what's going to happen. Is he going to start at shortstop? Is he going to start at second? Is he going to start at third? I don't know. He knows that we would like to interject some youth."
But beneath the conditioning of a utility player remains the mindset of a starter. He insists he didn't lose his starting job at shortstop last year, though his stats early in the year didn't help. Rather, he says the Tigers went in a different, younger direction.
"I don't think you lose a job after 30 games," he said. "The organization went a different way. [Ramon] Santiago happened to be the guy they wanted to see what he could do. Omar happens to be another guy they want to see. With that, I have to welcome it with open arms.
"I have a two-year contract. What am I going to do, rip people in the paper and make bad comments? That's not my style. It had nothing to do with Santiago. It had nothing to do with Infante. It has to do with the organization making a change, just like they're doing this year."
Surprisingly, he wouldn't mind finishing his career in Detroit, which almost surely would be as a reserve. But he's also waiting for one more chance to start. He still has something to prove as a regular.
If he can play anywhere, he can start anywhere. A Dean Palmer injury, an Omar Infante slump or a Damion Easley injury, and Halter could be back in the lineup. He can lead by competition just as easily as he can lead by example.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to go into Spring Training like I'm the starter," he said. "I'm not going to let up. I want to start as much as anybody in that locker room. But if that doesn't happen, like I said, I have to give myself the best opportunity to be a utility player and be ready to go. I'm not ruling myself out of any position, because I can play anywhere."
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
DETROIT -- Shane Halter has gone from good riddance to good soldier.
He was rolling grounders to kids at Skillsville youth center last week when the instructional portion of the Tigers' winter caravan visit came to a close. While most players spent the last half-hour signing autographs, Halter took the older kids to a distant corner of the facility, where he gave a serious lecture on the importance of a good attitude.
"The thing is if you have a bad attitude on a team," he said later, "you can be easily replaced."
Shane Halter knows. He's had a shortstop's range on attitude in the past year.
Most utility players don't want to make a career out of it. They make themselves useful at so many positions so they have a chance to play and, eventually, a chance to start. Shane Halter is among the best at that, having gone down in history as one of only handful to play all nine positions in a game. But in 2001, he had the one position he wanted -- shortstop.
When utility players become starters, the hardest thing to do is to go back to utility work. That was Halter's challenge last year, and while he excelled physically, he struggled with it mentally. An early-season run of errors, he believed, set scorekeepers against him on questionable calls, of which at least a few went for Halter errors. He dealt with veiled criticism from one starting pitcher on the club.
But last week, the man who once said he shouldn't be a utility player on the Tigers came to minicamp ready to embrace it.
"I don't mind being a utility player," he said last week during the Tigers winter caravan. "I came up as a utility player. Being a utility player is a great job to have in the big leagues. And I'll have an opportunity to play when somebody needs a day off or somebody gets hurt.
"Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to start. And that's not out of the question. But if that's what they need here in Detroit is a utility player who can give some team leadership and help the young guys in certain situations, then I'll do the best that I can with whatever they can give me."
To that end, Halter told president/general manager Dave Dombrowski at season's end he'd be back ready for whatever they wanted out of him. Further, Halter also went to manager Alan Trammell during a night out last week at a Red Wings game and told him he'd be ready to do whatever the skipper wanted.
In between those chats, he backed up attitude with action. Halter spent six weeks at an agility camp in Kansas City to get his range back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to start. And that's not out of the question. But if that's what they need here in Detroit is a utility player who can give some team leadership and help the young guys in certain situations, then I'll do the best that I can with whatever they can give me."
-- Shane Halter
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I knew going into this year that, being a utility player, I'd have to be agile," he said. "I'm going to be asked to play a lot of positions. Last year, I worked on coming into Spring Training and being a lot stronger. Now, I wanted to be a lot quicker and have my body in a lot better shape when I came to Spring Training [last year]. I told Dombrowski at the end of the season that I'd come in ready to go in Spring Training. I came into Spring Training probably too heavy last year, and I wanted to make a point this year."
Point well taken.
"He's on board, and he's willing to do anything we ask," Trammell said. "And that's what a manager wants to hear because I don't know exactly what's going to happen. Is he going to start at shortstop? Is he going to start at second? Is he going to start at third? I don't know. He knows that we would like to interject some youth."
But beneath the conditioning of a utility player remains the mindset of a starter. He insists he didn't lose his starting job at shortstop last year, though his stats early in the year didn't help. Rather, he says the Tigers went in a different, younger direction.
"I don't think you lose a job after 30 games," he said. "The organization went a different way. [Ramon] Santiago happened to be the guy they wanted to see what he could do. Omar happens to be another guy they want to see. With that, I have to welcome it with open arms.
"I have a two-year contract. What am I going to do, rip people in the paper and make bad comments? That's not my style. It had nothing to do with Santiago. It had nothing to do with Infante. It has to do with the organization making a change, just like they're doing this year."
Surprisingly, he wouldn't mind finishing his career in Detroit, which almost surely would be as a reserve. But he's also waiting for one more chance to start. He still has something to prove as a regular.
If he can play anywhere, he can start anywhere. A Dean Palmer injury, an Omar Infante slump or a Damion Easley injury, and Halter could be back in the lineup. He can lead by competition just as easily as he can lead by example.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to go into Spring Training like I'm the starter," he said. "I'm not going to let up. I want to start as much as anybody in that locker room. But if that doesn't happen, like I said, I have to give myself the best opportunity to be a utility player and be ready to go. I'm not ruling myself out of any position, because I can play anywhere."