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02-16-2003, 01:23 AM
Well, no figures, but they've usually been landing in between with all the guys that were nearing arbitration, so I bet it's a good deal. After all, he does have all those babies to feed! :D
Plus some other tidbits. Note the bit at the end about Jay Gibbons trying to gain a couple of pounds. :D
02/15/2003 1:32 pm ET
O's, Mora avoid arbitration
By Becky Dubin Jenkins / MLB.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Melvin Mora and the Orioles avoided arbitration, agreeing on a one-year deal Saturday.
Mora, 33, had been asking for $2 million, and the Orioles had offered $1.425 million. The team did not release numbers Saturday afternoon.
Mora, who made $350,000 in 2002, broke camp last season not knowing where -- or even if -- he would play every day. The additions of outfielders Marty Cordova and Chris Singleton during the offseason -- and with Mike Bordick essentially cemented at shortstop -- meant Mora would likely have to sit on the bench and plug in where manager Mike Hargrove deemed necessary.
But Mora responded by hitting .265 and driving in 37 runs, fourth on the team, and homering 11 times, third on the team, before the All-Star break. He also tied for the team high in runs scored, with 52, and was second in hits, with 81, before the break.
In total, Mora played five positions and also served as the designated hitter last season. He batted .233 in 149 games, hit a career-high 19 homers, drove in 64 runs and stole 16 bases.
In 330 games during three-plus seasons with Baltimore, Mora has batted .258.
Mora's signing means all arbitration-eligible O's players are under contract for 2003. Right-hander Sidney Ponson signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $4.25 million on Friday, and outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. and lefty B.J. Ryan signed one-year deals last month. Jerry Hairston agreed to a one-year deal on Wednesday.
Still a no-show: Catcher Geronimo Gil was due to arrive at the Miami airport at 3:20 p.m. Saturday, then drive to Fort Lauderdale. Gil, who had remained in his native Mexico to be with his ill mother, is expected to report to the Orioles' facility on Sunday morning to have his physical and meet with coaches.
In his second Major League season last year, Gil beat out Brook Fordyce for the No. 1 catching job and played in 125 games. He hit .232, drove in 45 runs and threw out 37 percent of would-be base stealers.
Gil is expected to be the team's No. 1 catcher again this year.
He said it... Fordyce on what he did to get past his subpar 2002 season, when he hit .231 in only 56 games: "I prepare myself mentally and physically the same each year, like it could be my last. Last year, I had a pretty good Spring Training, but things didn't work out the way I expected. I think mentally you just have to keep going, keep plugging. This game is peaks and valleys. I haven't played 14 years, 15 years to quit now. I'm not about to let anybody tell me that."
By the numbers: 192, the weight of Jay Gibbons, who reported early to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The Orioles slugger said he'd like to be up to about 195 or 200 by the time Spring Training ends. With the help of Jeff Conine, he said, that will be easily accomplished. That's because Conine takes Gibbons out for steak all the time.
Becky Dubin Jenkins is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Plus some other tidbits. Note the bit at the end about Jay Gibbons trying to gain a couple of pounds. :D
02/15/2003 1:32 pm ET
O's, Mora avoid arbitration
By Becky Dubin Jenkins / MLB.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Melvin Mora and the Orioles avoided arbitration, agreeing on a one-year deal Saturday.
Mora, 33, had been asking for $2 million, and the Orioles had offered $1.425 million. The team did not release numbers Saturday afternoon.
Mora, who made $350,000 in 2002, broke camp last season not knowing where -- or even if -- he would play every day. The additions of outfielders Marty Cordova and Chris Singleton during the offseason -- and with Mike Bordick essentially cemented at shortstop -- meant Mora would likely have to sit on the bench and plug in where manager Mike Hargrove deemed necessary.
But Mora responded by hitting .265 and driving in 37 runs, fourth on the team, and homering 11 times, third on the team, before the All-Star break. He also tied for the team high in runs scored, with 52, and was second in hits, with 81, before the break.
In total, Mora played five positions and also served as the designated hitter last season. He batted .233 in 149 games, hit a career-high 19 homers, drove in 64 runs and stole 16 bases.
In 330 games during three-plus seasons with Baltimore, Mora has batted .258.
Mora's signing means all arbitration-eligible O's players are under contract for 2003. Right-hander Sidney Ponson signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $4.25 million on Friday, and outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. and lefty B.J. Ryan signed one-year deals last month. Jerry Hairston agreed to a one-year deal on Wednesday.
Still a no-show: Catcher Geronimo Gil was due to arrive at the Miami airport at 3:20 p.m. Saturday, then drive to Fort Lauderdale. Gil, who had remained in his native Mexico to be with his ill mother, is expected to report to the Orioles' facility on Sunday morning to have his physical and meet with coaches.
In his second Major League season last year, Gil beat out Brook Fordyce for the No. 1 catching job and played in 125 games. He hit .232, drove in 45 runs and threw out 37 percent of would-be base stealers.
Gil is expected to be the team's No. 1 catcher again this year.
He said it... Fordyce on what he did to get past his subpar 2002 season, when he hit .231 in only 56 games: "I prepare myself mentally and physically the same each year, like it could be my last. Last year, I had a pretty good Spring Training, but things didn't work out the way I expected. I think mentally you just have to keep going, keep plugging. This game is peaks and valleys. I haven't played 14 years, 15 years to quit now. I'm not about to let anybody tell me that."
By the numbers: 192, the weight of Jay Gibbons, who reported early to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The Orioles slugger said he'd like to be up to about 195 or 200 by the time Spring Training ends. With the help of Jeff Conine, he said, that will be easily accomplished. That's because Conine takes Gibbons out for steak all the time.
Becky Dubin Jenkins is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.