Baseball Guru
05-12-2003, 11:20 AM
http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news.jsp?ymd=20030509&content_id=311674&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- There were first basemen and then there was Keith Hernandez.
The winner of 11 consecutive Gold Gloves, Hernandez was the premier first baseman of his generation, setting a standard by which others would be judged. That said, no one expects Mike Piazza to be Hernandez when he eventually does start working out with a first baseman's mitt.
Yet Hernandez, who currently does television broadcasting for the Mets, sees Piazza's eventual move from behind the plate as a plus.
"This is a good thing and it should be received favorably," said Hernandez, who played for New York from 1983-89. "Everyone knows how close he is to becoming the all-time home run leader among catchers and he's still going to be able to catch enough games. I found one thing out. When you get older and you start getting injuries, they don't stop. It's a warning sign and that [catcher] is a very strenuous position. At this time the numbers start declining so it's a concern.
"People have to understand about this transition, it's a way to get him from crouching and get him into games where he doesn't have to catch. If he hurts the team in a couple of games he plays the field, so be it. No one can expect him to be a Gold Glover."
Hernandez said Piazza's transition likely wouldn't be an easy one. Because he has never seen Piazza field grounders at first, he can't render an opinion about how well he expects the move to go. He did admit, however, that there is work to be done.
"The hardest part is the footwork around the bag," Hernandez said. "It's just a whole different set of skills. The footwork is entirely different. It's not remotely like being a catcher. It would be like me going from first base to catcher. The transition to first base will not be easy.
"I'm surprised they have not worked with him in Spring Training for at least the last two years. That was very short-sighted. He needs more than Spring Training [to get prepared]. And I understand Mike's thinking that he doesn't want to be a liability to the team. But there have always been good players who have made moves."
Piazza, who will turn 35 this season, has seen his production decline steadily in each of the last two seasons. Yet he remains one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the National League and is just 12 homers shy of tying Carlton Fisk for the all-time mark among catchers. Of all the great catchers to whom he often draws comparisons, however, only Fisk was as productive after turning 34 as he was before turning 34.
The historical numbers certainly support the argument that the time has come for Piazza to make a switch. Hall of Famer and former Met Gary Carter turned 34 in 1988. He played 130 games that year, catching 119. Carter hit only 11 homers, though, and drove in 46 runs. During the final five years of his career, including '88, Carter hit .233 (29 points below his career average) while averaging seven homers and 29 RBIs.
Johnny Bench turned 34 prior to the 1982 season and played only two more years after that. He had long since gotten out from behind the plate, though, giving up full-time catching duties in 1980. Bench caught only six of the 129 games he played during his final two seasons. He hit 25 homers and drove in 92 runs those last two seasons while hitting .256, 11 points below his career average.
Yogi Berra played five years after turning 34, averaging 15 homers and 51 RBIs. He hit .271 during that time (14 points below his career mark) while catching only 260 of 570 games.
Fisk, meanwhile, was the exception. He played until he was 45 and his numbers during the 10 years before he turned 34 and after turning 34 were nearly identical. Fisk averaged 20 homers and 69 RBIs in the decade after turning 34, including career highs of 37 homers and 107 RBIs in 1985. He averaged 16 homers and 55 RBIs a season in the decade prior to turning 34. Fisk's numbers, contrary to popular belief, aren't skewed either by playing as a designated hitter. He was only a DH 166 times in a career that spanned three decades.
All the talk of such a move is still premature, however. For now, Piazza said his only intention is to get back behind the plate and that's what he did Friday night for the series opener against San Diego. There was still some concern early in the afternoon about whether he would be able to play because of the mole he had removed from his lower abdomen earlier this week.
The mole proved to be benign, removing at least one burden from Piazza's mind.
"I'm going to play tonight," Piazza said. And after a brief pause for effect, added, "Behind the plate."
The joke lightened the mood surrounding the whole affair just a little. Piazza reiterated what he had to say on Thursday, that he wants to help the organization any way he can but for the immediate future he's going to worry about getting healthy and just being able to catch.
"I just want to get back to playing ball and concentrate on getting prepared and doing my job on the field," he said. "I don't even have a [first baseman's] glove yet."
Manager Art Howe grew somewhat frustrated when pressed on the issue again Friday afternoon. He and general manager Steve Phillips wouldn't give a timetable as to when Piazza would begin working out at first base. When asked about the upcoming road trip, Howe only offered "we'll see." Phillips said that he would not be giving a daily update.
"We'll make a judgment on how he looks down there," Howe said. "We won't have him play a position if we don't think he's ready."
Howe said that his infield coach Matt Galante would be charged with getting Piazza ready. He said that Hernandez would not be asked for his input.
"That's what we have an infield coach for," Howe said.
An award winner: Dave Howard, the Mets' vice president of business operations, was honored Friday night as the "Man of the Year" by the Long Island Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America in a ceremony at the Garden City Hotel. Former Mets star Rusty Staub emceed the affair.
He has been very active in charitable endeavors, earning the Long Island Youth Guidance "Light the Marketplace" Award in 1999. He serves on the boards of the Church of the Nazarene in Valley Stream (NY) as well as The Baseball Chapel.
Howard, who has been with the Mets since 1992, has been extremely active in many charitable and community organizations. He was the youngest general counsel in Major League Baseball when he was appointed in '92 and rose to his current title, to which he was named this year.
He has been influential in the redesign of the team logo and uniform and has overseen the expansion of the Mets' schedule to include international competition in Japan and Mexico. He also negotiated the purchase of the minor league franchise that eventually became the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones.
Howard is a Dartmouth College grad who quarterbacked his team to the Ivy League championship in 1981. He received a law degree from Fordham Law School and served as the managing editor of the Fordham Law Review.
Minor report: Aaron Baldaris is hitting .306 with three homers and 23 RBIs for Class A Cap City in the South Atlantic League. ... Teammate Alhaji Turay has 24 RBIs, tied for third in the circuit. ... Class A St. Lucie's David Wright is hitting .303 with 27 RBIs, which is tied for second in the Florida State League.
This and that: Phillips said that Mo Vaughn went to Georgia Thursday to consult with an undisclosed doctor about his left knee. The Mets originally announced that he would be going to Georgia sometime in the near future. Vaughn and the club have decided that the names of the doctors he will see will not be made public. Rather, they will wait until Vaughn has gathered all the information on his knee that he can before any decisions are made known. Vaughn was expected to get another opinion Friday evening. ... The Mets optioned catcher Jason Phillips to Triple-A Norfolk after Friday's game. A pitcher will be recalled, giving the Mets 12 pitchers, but the team won't announce who it will be until Saturday morning. ... Rey Sanchez had his left thumb wrapped after the game, saying that he hurt it when he slid into third base in the ninth inning. He added, however, that the thumb was fine. ... Port St. Lucie of the Florida State League received a no-hit effort from Wayne Ough and Mike Cox Friday night. Ough pitched the first seven innings, Cox the final two in a victory over Tampa. ... Piazza went 0-for-4, saying that having a few days off put his timing "back at square one."
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- There were first basemen and then there was Keith Hernandez.
The winner of 11 consecutive Gold Gloves, Hernandez was the premier first baseman of his generation, setting a standard by which others would be judged. That said, no one expects Mike Piazza to be Hernandez when he eventually does start working out with a first baseman's mitt.
Yet Hernandez, who currently does television broadcasting for the Mets, sees Piazza's eventual move from behind the plate as a plus.
"This is a good thing and it should be received favorably," said Hernandez, who played for New York from 1983-89. "Everyone knows how close he is to becoming the all-time home run leader among catchers and he's still going to be able to catch enough games. I found one thing out. When you get older and you start getting injuries, they don't stop. It's a warning sign and that [catcher] is a very strenuous position. At this time the numbers start declining so it's a concern.
"People have to understand about this transition, it's a way to get him from crouching and get him into games where he doesn't have to catch. If he hurts the team in a couple of games he plays the field, so be it. No one can expect him to be a Gold Glover."
Hernandez said Piazza's transition likely wouldn't be an easy one. Because he has never seen Piazza field grounders at first, he can't render an opinion about how well he expects the move to go. He did admit, however, that there is work to be done.
"The hardest part is the footwork around the bag," Hernandez said. "It's just a whole different set of skills. The footwork is entirely different. It's not remotely like being a catcher. It would be like me going from first base to catcher. The transition to first base will not be easy.
"I'm surprised they have not worked with him in Spring Training for at least the last two years. That was very short-sighted. He needs more than Spring Training [to get prepared]. And I understand Mike's thinking that he doesn't want to be a liability to the team. But there have always been good players who have made moves."
Piazza, who will turn 35 this season, has seen his production decline steadily in each of the last two seasons. Yet he remains one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the National League and is just 12 homers shy of tying Carlton Fisk for the all-time mark among catchers. Of all the great catchers to whom he often draws comparisons, however, only Fisk was as productive after turning 34 as he was before turning 34.
The historical numbers certainly support the argument that the time has come for Piazza to make a switch. Hall of Famer and former Met Gary Carter turned 34 in 1988. He played 130 games that year, catching 119. Carter hit only 11 homers, though, and drove in 46 runs. During the final five years of his career, including '88, Carter hit .233 (29 points below his career average) while averaging seven homers and 29 RBIs.
Johnny Bench turned 34 prior to the 1982 season and played only two more years after that. He had long since gotten out from behind the plate, though, giving up full-time catching duties in 1980. Bench caught only six of the 129 games he played during his final two seasons. He hit 25 homers and drove in 92 runs those last two seasons while hitting .256, 11 points below his career average.
Yogi Berra played five years after turning 34, averaging 15 homers and 51 RBIs. He hit .271 during that time (14 points below his career mark) while catching only 260 of 570 games.
Fisk, meanwhile, was the exception. He played until he was 45 and his numbers during the 10 years before he turned 34 and after turning 34 were nearly identical. Fisk averaged 20 homers and 69 RBIs in the decade after turning 34, including career highs of 37 homers and 107 RBIs in 1985. He averaged 16 homers and 55 RBIs a season in the decade prior to turning 34. Fisk's numbers, contrary to popular belief, aren't skewed either by playing as a designated hitter. He was only a DH 166 times in a career that spanned three decades.
All the talk of such a move is still premature, however. For now, Piazza said his only intention is to get back behind the plate and that's what he did Friday night for the series opener against San Diego. There was still some concern early in the afternoon about whether he would be able to play because of the mole he had removed from his lower abdomen earlier this week.
The mole proved to be benign, removing at least one burden from Piazza's mind.
"I'm going to play tonight," Piazza said. And after a brief pause for effect, added, "Behind the plate."
The joke lightened the mood surrounding the whole affair just a little. Piazza reiterated what he had to say on Thursday, that he wants to help the organization any way he can but for the immediate future he's going to worry about getting healthy and just being able to catch.
"I just want to get back to playing ball and concentrate on getting prepared and doing my job on the field," he said. "I don't even have a [first baseman's] glove yet."
Manager Art Howe grew somewhat frustrated when pressed on the issue again Friday afternoon. He and general manager Steve Phillips wouldn't give a timetable as to when Piazza would begin working out at first base. When asked about the upcoming road trip, Howe only offered "we'll see." Phillips said that he would not be giving a daily update.
"We'll make a judgment on how he looks down there," Howe said. "We won't have him play a position if we don't think he's ready."
Howe said that his infield coach Matt Galante would be charged with getting Piazza ready. He said that Hernandez would not be asked for his input.
"That's what we have an infield coach for," Howe said.
An award winner: Dave Howard, the Mets' vice president of business operations, was honored Friday night as the "Man of the Year" by the Long Island Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America in a ceremony at the Garden City Hotel. Former Mets star Rusty Staub emceed the affair.
He has been very active in charitable endeavors, earning the Long Island Youth Guidance "Light the Marketplace" Award in 1999. He serves on the boards of the Church of the Nazarene in Valley Stream (NY) as well as The Baseball Chapel.
Howard, who has been with the Mets since 1992, has been extremely active in many charitable and community organizations. He was the youngest general counsel in Major League Baseball when he was appointed in '92 and rose to his current title, to which he was named this year.
He has been influential in the redesign of the team logo and uniform and has overseen the expansion of the Mets' schedule to include international competition in Japan and Mexico. He also negotiated the purchase of the minor league franchise that eventually became the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones.
Howard is a Dartmouth College grad who quarterbacked his team to the Ivy League championship in 1981. He received a law degree from Fordham Law School and served as the managing editor of the Fordham Law Review.
Minor report: Aaron Baldaris is hitting .306 with three homers and 23 RBIs for Class A Cap City in the South Atlantic League. ... Teammate Alhaji Turay has 24 RBIs, tied for third in the circuit. ... Class A St. Lucie's David Wright is hitting .303 with 27 RBIs, which is tied for second in the Florida State League.
This and that: Phillips said that Mo Vaughn went to Georgia Thursday to consult with an undisclosed doctor about his left knee. The Mets originally announced that he would be going to Georgia sometime in the near future. Vaughn and the club have decided that the names of the doctors he will see will not be made public. Rather, they will wait until Vaughn has gathered all the information on his knee that he can before any decisions are made known. Vaughn was expected to get another opinion Friday evening. ... The Mets optioned catcher Jason Phillips to Triple-A Norfolk after Friday's game. A pitcher will be recalled, giving the Mets 12 pitchers, but the team won't announce who it will be until Saturday morning. ... Rey Sanchez had his left thumb wrapped after the game, saying that he hurt it when he slid into third base in the ninth inning. He added, however, that the thumb was fine. ... Port St. Lucie of the Florida State League received a no-hit effort from Wayne Ough and Mike Cox Friday night. Ough pitched the first seven innings, Cox the final two in a victory over Tampa. ... Piazza went 0-for-4, saying that having a few days off put his timing "back at square one."