- August 1st, 2006, 9:41 am
#22902
Nice read in the SD area paper:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08 ... 8_1_06.txt
STORM FEATURE: Super backups prove valuable
By: ED WEHDE - Staff Writer
LAKE ELSINORE ---- One of the most important players on any baseball team is also one of the least visible. The utility man plays a vital part of any successful squad, but he seldom receives recognition.
"You rarely find their name in the headlines, but they're always going to be in the box score," Storm shortstop Skip Adams said.
The player who fills the utility role might not get a lot of ink, but he does get the appreciation of his teammates and coaches.
Storm manager Rick Renteria said that having a player who can spell others at a number of positions is invaluable and every team he's managed has had someone to fill that role.
"If we didn't have one (at the start of the season), we would develop someone who's versatile," Renteria said.
The plight of the utility guy is to never know if he's going to be in the lineup, or where. He might go a week or more without getting on the field. He might play a different position every night for a week. Or if a teammate gets hurt, he might be asked to hold down one spot for an extended time.
Adams, who played 82 games at six different positions for the Storm last year, said the uncertainty makes the role difficult.
"The toughest part of being a utility guy is the first 15 seconds coming into the clubhouse, walking up to the lineup card to see 'Am I in right field? Do I need my outfield glove today? Or am I coaching first base?'" Adams said. "Mentally, that was definitely the toughest part. I don't want to say you get used to it, but you learn to deal with it."
Matt Hagen is listed at catcher on the Storm roster but has taken the jack-of-all-trades job Adams filled last year. This season, he has played 54 games, manning every position except pitcher, shortstop and centerfield for the Storm. In one series in Rancho Cucamonga, he played the opener at first, two games at second, and the finale at third.
Hagen said the toughest part for him is not having just one job to master.
"If you're only playing one position, you can spend the time working on it and really refine your skills," Hagen said. "When you're bouncing around, you have to have more faith in your athletic ability. You just have to believe, 'If it comes to me I'm going to make he play.'"
According to Renteria, the ideal utility guy is in an athletic middle infielder who then adapts to the corner infield spots and the outfield. The 6-foot, 200-pound Adams fits that mold, but Hagen doesn't necessarily.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Hagen doesn't appear to be the prototypical player for the role, but early this season, Renteria noticed how smooth Hagen was while fielding ground balls around second base.
"He looked very natural," Renteria said. "For a big guy, his feet were moving good, and he had good hands. I asked him if he ever played middle infield and he said he was a second baseman in high school."
Hagen said he was a 5-6, 125-pound leadoff guy as a freshman, before growing eight inches between his sophomore and junior years and moving to the corner infield spots.
"I said that makes sense because he still moves like a little guy ---- good feet, good action," Renteria said. "I thought why not take advantage of it."
Adams and Hagen, both 26, differ physically, but not mentally. Like many who fill the utility role, both have a positive attitude, a love of the game and a desire to play as long as they can.
Hagen, for example, first began catching at Liberty University ---- because "I didn't want to get cut," he said. He tries to stay upbeat even when he's not playing.
"It's easy to see you're not in the lineup and sit around and whine and mope and be a cancer," Hagen said. "I've seen plenty of those guys. They're not the kind of teammates you want to have."
Said Adams, who earned the Storm's every-day shortstop job this season: "Playing baseball is better than any nine-to-five job out there. As long as I have a uniform on my back, you won't find me in a bad mood or complaining, whether I'm sore from playing every day or bored from not playing enough.
"I'm happy to be here."
-- Contact staff writer Ed Wehde at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2633 or ewehde@californian.com.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08 ... 8_1_06.txt
STORM FEATURE: Super backups prove valuable
By: ED WEHDE - Staff Writer
LAKE ELSINORE ---- One of the most important players on any baseball team is also one of the least visible. The utility man plays a vital part of any successful squad, but he seldom receives recognition.
"You rarely find their name in the headlines, but they're always going to be in the box score," Storm shortstop Skip Adams said.
The player who fills the utility role might not get a lot of ink, but he does get the appreciation of his teammates and coaches.
Storm manager Rick Renteria said that having a player who can spell others at a number of positions is invaluable and every team he's managed has had someone to fill that role.
"If we didn't have one (at the start of the season), we would develop someone who's versatile," Renteria said.
The plight of the utility guy is to never know if he's going to be in the lineup, or where. He might go a week or more without getting on the field. He might play a different position every night for a week. Or if a teammate gets hurt, he might be asked to hold down one spot for an extended time.
Adams, who played 82 games at six different positions for the Storm last year, said the uncertainty makes the role difficult.
"The toughest part of being a utility guy is the first 15 seconds coming into the clubhouse, walking up to the lineup card to see 'Am I in right field? Do I need my outfield glove today? Or am I coaching first base?'" Adams said. "Mentally, that was definitely the toughest part. I don't want to say you get used to it, but you learn to deal with it."
Matt Hagen is listed at catcher on the Storm roster but has taken the jack-of-all-trades job Adams filled last year. This season, he has played 54 games, manning every position except pitcher, shortstop and centerfield for the Storm. In one series in Rancho Cucamonga, he played the opener at first, two games at second, and the finale at third.
Hagen said the toughest part for him is not having just one job to master.
"If you're only playing one position, you can spend the time working on it and really refine your skills," Hagen said. "When you're bouncing around, you have to have more faith in your athletic ability. You just have to believe, 'If it comes to me I'm going to make he play.'"
According to Renteria, the ideal utility guy is in an athletic middle infielder who then adapts to the corner infield spots and the outfield. The 6-foot, 200-pound Adams fits that mold, but Hagen doesn't necessarily.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Hagen doesn't appear to be the prototypical player for the role, but early this season, Renteria noticed how smooth Hagen was while fielding ground balls around second base.
"He looked very natural," Renteria said. "For a big guy, his feet were moving good, and he had good hands. I asked him if he ever played middle infield and he said he was a second baseman in high school."
Hagen said he was a 5-6, 125-pound leadoff guy as a freshman, before growing eight inches between his sophomore and junior years and moving to the corner infield spots.
"I said that makes sense because he still moves like a little guy ---- good feet, good action," Renteria said. "I thought why not take advantage of it."
Adams and Hagen, both 26, differ physically, but not mentally. Like many who fill the utility role, both have a positive attitude, a love of the game and a desire to play as long as they can.
Hagen, for example, first began catching at Liberty University ---- because "I didn't want to get cut," he said. He tries to stay upbeat even when he's not playing.
"It's easy to see you're not in the lineup and sit around and whine and mope and be a cancer," Hagen said. "I've seen plenty of those guys. They're not the kind of teammates you want to have."
Said Adams, who earned the Storm's every-day shortstop job this season: "Playing baseball is better than any nine-to-five job out there. As long as I have a uniform on my back, you won't find me in a bad mood or complaining, whether I'm sore from playing every day or bored from not playing enough.
"I'm happy to be here."
-- Contact staff writer Ed Wehde at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2633 or ewehde@californian.com.
Isaiah 33:1
Woe to you, O destroyer, you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor, you who have not been betrayed!
Woe to you, O destroyer, you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor, you who have not been betrayed!
- By Dalegarz1
- By Purple Haize