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02-24-2003, 03:36 PM
And, it would be really nice to have a healthy Chris Richard all season! :thumbsup:
Richard ready for new season
By Becky Dubin Jenkins / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2002/07/24/9dp3FheJ.jpg
Chris Richard has a career .259 average over four seasons with Baltimore. (Roberto Borea/AP)
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Chris Richard the injured and unhappy has turned into Chris Richard the mostly healed and optimistic. He can thank his left shoulder for cooperating.
Nearly 16 months after undergoing surgery to repair the injured rotator cuff in his left shoulder, Richard is eager to start a full season for the first time since 2001. He arrived at Orioles camp in an upbeat mood last week and has pronounced himself almost healed.
"I feel a lot better this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this spring," said Richard, 28.
The fact that Richard is eager to start the season is a change from the Richard who showed up last July 31 for his first game back with the team after spending the first four months of the season rehabbing.
Richard's first game back was in Tampa, Fla., against the Devil Rays, and his pre-game mood matched the tumultuous thunderstorms outside Tropicana Field. He wasn't eager to make small talk with members of the media before the game, and he was even less enthused about discussing his shoulder.
Even after he unleashed months of rehabilitation frustration on the Devil Rays that night by homering on the first pitch he saw and driving in two more runs in the seventh inning, Richard was succinct in his post-game assessment, saying: "It was nice to get that one out of the way."
Richard acknowledged with a smile that he was a bit on edge then.
"It's tough when you're struggling with yourself physically [to] be happy all the time," Richard said. "I feel a lot better this year."
Add the fact that he got married in November and that he and his wife purchased a house in the Tampa area, and it's easy to see why Richard is feeling more settled.
"I get to play. I'm back," he said. "I can go out there, and I can play. I just feel like more of a complete player."
Richard's three-RBI night in his first game back commenced his torrid return to the team. His career-high (nine-game) hitting streak from July 31-Aug. 9 lifted his average to .455, and he finished the year batting .232 in 50 games. Richard scorched minor league pitchers during his rehab stint at Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A, batting .390 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs in the 17 games.
But he didn't have his full range back, so throwing from the outfield was not an option. Instead, manager Mike Hargrove had him serve as the designated hitter in 41 games and play first base nine times.
This spring, Richard is in competition for a starting outfield spot with Marty Cordova, Gary Matthews Jr. and Jay Gibbons. The three are expected to start in left, center and right fields, respectively.
"[Richard's] throwing is getting better and better, and that will dictate how much outfield he can play," Hargrove said. "Chris is in competition for one of those spots. If he has a big Spring Training and shows he's healthy, then you've got to look at giving him an everyday job somewhere. If not, you're looking at him as a left-handed bat off the bench and a utility guy. He's kind of in-between right now."
Richard's offseason workouts commenced in late October, when he started doing some light weightlifting. He didn't start testing the shoulder's mobility by throwing until December.
" took some time off to kind of let my shoulder calm down, let some things happen naturally, try and heal itself a little bit," Richard said. "Then I got back into it."
He wasn't exactly pleased when he first started, though. While working out with teammate Jason Johnson, who also lives in the Tampa area, Richard said his early assessment was negative.
"The first day I was out there, I was like, 'This is terrible,' " he said. "It got a lot better and kept improving. I got to gauge my limitations, what happens to my shoulder when I do certain things."
Now, Richard continues to work on his shoulder each day, lifting five-pound weights and doing rotator cuff exercises that involve stretching. He estimated that his shoulder is at about 80-90 percent. The Orioles' crowded outfield and the team's abundance of guys who can play first base and be the designated hitter is something Richard fully understands. But he's relaxed and ready to take on the challenge.
"We just have a lot people everywhere, especially with the positions I play. It's baseball, and things happen," he said. "You've just got to go out and do the things you can control and play well."
[i]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.
Richard ready for new season
By Becky Dubin Jenkins / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2002/07/24/9dp3FheJ.jpg
Chris Richard has a career .259 average over four seasons with Baltimore. (Roberto Borea/AP)
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Chris Richard the injured and unhappy has turned into Chris Richard the mostly healed and optimistic. He can thank his left shoulder for cooperating.
Nearly 16 months after undergoing surgery to repair the injured rotator cuff in his left shoulder, Richard is eager to start a full season for the first time since 2001. He arrived at Orioles camp in an upbeat mood last week and has pronounced himself almost healed.
"I feel a lot better this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this spring," said Richard, 28.
The fact that Richard is eager to start the season is a change from the Richard who showed up last July 31 for his first game back with the team after spending the first four months of the season rehabbing.
Richard's first game back was in Tampa, Fla., against the Devil Rays, and his pre-game mood matched the tumultuous thunderstorms outside Tropicana Field. He wasn't eager to make small talk with members of the media before the game, and he was even less enthused about discussing his shoulder.
Even after he unleashed months of rehabilitation frustration on the Devil Rays that night by homering on the first pitch he saw and driving in two more runs in the seventh inning, Richard was succinct in his post-game assessment, saying: "It was nice to get that one out of the way."
Richard acknowledged with a smile that he was a bit on edge then.
"It's tough when you're struggling with yourself physically [to] be happy all the time," Richard said. "I feel a lot better this year."
Add the fact that he got married in November and that he and his wife purchased a house in the Tampa area, and it's easy to see why Richard is feeling more settled.
"I get to play. I'm back," he said. "I can go out there, and I can play. I just feel like more of a complete player."
Richard's three-RBI night in his first game back commenced his torrid return to the team. His career-high (nine-game) hitting streak from July 31-Aug. 9 lifted his average to .455, and he finished the year batting .232 in 50 games. Richard scorched minor league pitchers during his rehab stint at Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A, batting .390 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs in the 17 games.
But he didn't have his full range back, so throwing from the outfield was not an option. Instead, manager Mike Hargrove had him serve as the designated hitter in 41 games and play first base nine times.
This spring, Richard is in competition for a starting outfield spot with Marty Cordova, Gary Matthews Jr. and Jay Gibbons. The three are expected to start in left, center and right fields, respectively.
"[Richard's] throwing is getting better and better, and that will dictate how much outfield he can play," Hargrove said. "Chris is in competition for one of those spots. If he has a big Spring Training and shows he's healthy, then you've got to look at giving him an everyday job somewhere. If not, you're looking at him as a left-handed bat off the bench and a utility guy. He's kind of in-between right now."
Richard's offseason workouts commenced in late October, when he started doing some light weightlifting. He didn't start testing the shoulder's mobility by throwing until December.
" took some time off to kind of let my shoulder calm down, let some things happen naturally, try and heal itself a little bit," Richard said. "Then I got back into it."
He wasn't exactly pleased when he first started, though. While working out with teammate Jason Johnson, who also lives in the Tampa area, Richard said his early assessment was negative.
"The first day I was out there, I was like, 'This is terrible,' " he said. "It got a lot better and kept improving. I got to gauge my limitations, what happens to my shoulder when I do certain things."
Now, Richard continues to work on his shoulder each day, lifting five-pound weights and doing rotator cuff exercises that involve stretching. He estimated that his shoulder is at about 80-90 percent. The Orioles' crowded outfield and the team's abundance of guys who can play first base and be the designated hitter is something Richard fully understands. But he's relaxed and ready to take on the challenge.
"We just have a lot people everywhere, especially with the positions I play. It's baseball, and things happen," he said. "You've just got to go out and do the things you can control and play well."
[i]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.