rockin500
02-28-2003, 11:01 AM
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Ron Santo was relieved to talk baseball on Thursday, specifically third base. One day after missing out on election to the Hall of Fame, Santo was excited about the prospect of tutoring Mark Bellhorn for the Chicago Cubs this spring.
"I feel Bellhorn is very, very capable of being a very good third baseman," the former Cubs third baseman said. "I know they were thinking about him being a utility guy and getting 400 at-bats. Unless you've got injuries, that (utility) man won't get 400 at-bats."
Santo feels Bellhorn needs the regular playing time to be productive. He batted .241 left-handed, with 17 home runs, and hit .303 from the right side, with 10 homers last season.
"Bellhorn will tell you he hits (better) left-handed if he plays every day," Santo said. "If he's coming off the bench, he doesn't hit as well left-handed."
Bellhorn has always been considered a solid utility player. Last year was his first regular playing time.
"He'd be a great super sub if they went out and got a bonafide third baseman," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "You have to adjust to the personnel that you have. The only thing about Bellhorn being a super sub is, why not give him the opportunity to be a super regular?"
So the Cubs don't need another third baseman?
"What if Bellhorn's the man?" Baker said. "What if he's come up as the star the (Oakland) A's thought they had before? Sometimes guys get it later."
Plus, Baker is quick to point out that the Cubs bench is better this season compared to 2002.
"Last year, this team didn't have a (Mark) Grudzielanek or a Ramon Martinez. He's a super sub, too," Baker said. "Lenny Harris has been a super sub. Who else is super? Tom Goodwin and (Troy) O'Leary. Last year, (the Cubs) had Billy Mueller at third and Fred McGriff at first and (Alex) Gonzalez at short. Where else was a super sub going to play except as a super sub?"
Santo's role is to convince Bellhorn that third base is the place for him.
"He loves second, he loves short, he loves the outfield," Santo said of Bellhorn. "He doesn't really enjoy third. I wanted to let him know that's where he has the chance to play every day. They're very high on him."
Bellhorn welcomed the advice.
"He played there for so many years at Wrigley," Bellhorn said of Santo, who played for the Cubs from 1960-73. "Any time you can talk to someone who has that experience and baseball knowledge, you have to take advantage of it."
Cubs coach Wendell Kim will work with Bellhorn on the fundamental aspects of playing third base. Santo gets the assignment of helping the switch-hitter mentally.
"I'm more to get him to recognize how important it is to play third, to fall in love with it because in order to be good, you have to think every ball is going to be hit to you," Santo said. "All the good third basemen will tell you that. If you're not concentrating, if you're bored -- it can be a boring situation, you can go without a ball -- it's not going to happen.
"He's a very good student to work with," Santo said. "This kid's got a chance to be very good. It's just a matter of getting that comfortable attitude at third base."
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030227&content_id=205787&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp
"I feel Bellhorn is very, very capable of being a very good third baseman," the former Cubs third baseman said. "I know they were thinking about him being a utility guy and getting 400 at-bats. Unless you've got injuries, that (utility) man won't get 400 at-bats."
Santo feels Bellhorn needs the regular playing time to be productive. He batted .241 left-handed, with 17 home runs, and hit .303 from the right side, with 10 homers last season.
"Bellhorn will tell you he hits (better) left-handed if he plays every day," Santo said. "If he's coming off the bench, he doesn't hit as well left-handed."
Bellhorn has always been considered a solid utility player. Last year was his first regular playing time.
"He'd be a great super sub if they went out and got a bonafide third baseman," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "You have to adjust to the personnel that you have. The only thing about Bellhorn being a super sub is, why not give him the opportunity to be a super regular?"
So the Cubs don't need another third baseman?
"What if Bellhorn's the man?" Baker said. "What if he's come up as the star the (Oakland) A's thought they had before? Sometimes guys get it later."
Plus, Baker is quick to point out that the Cubs bench is better this season compared to 2002.
"Last year, this team didn't have a (Mark) Grudzielanek or a Ramon Martinez. He's a super sub, too," Baker said. "Lenny Harris has been a super sub. Who else is super? Tom Goodwin and (Troy) O'Leary. Last year, (the Cubs) had Billy Mueller at third and Fred McGriff at first and (Alex) Gonzalez at short. Where else was a super sub going to play except as a super sub?"
Santo's role is to convince Bellhorn that third base is the place for him.
"He loves second, he loves short, he loves the outfield," Santo said of Bellhorn. "He doesn't really enjoy third. I wanted to let him know that's where he has the chance to play every day. They're very high on him."
Bellhorn welcomed the advice.
"He played there for so many years at Wrigley," Bellhorn said of Santo, who played for the Cubs from 1960-73. "Any time you can talk to someone who has that experience and baseball knowledge, you have to take advantage of it."
Cubs coach Wendell Kim will work with Bellhorn on the fundamental aspects of playing third base. Santo gets the assignment of helping the switch-hitter mentally.
"I'm more to get him to recognize how important it is to play third, to fall in love with it because in order to be good, you have to think every ball is going to be hit to you," Santo said. "All the good third basemen will tell you that. If you're not concentrating, if you're bored -- it can be a boring situation, you can go without a ball -- it's not going to happen.
"He's a very good student to work with," Santo said. "This kid's got a chance to be very good. It's just a matter of getting that comfortable attitude at third base."
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030227&content_id=205787&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp