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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > February > 17
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Those were ballplayers
Dusty Baker walked the City of Sarasota Sports Complex on Friday and saw that each of the practice fields were named for Cincinnati Reds legends — Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez.
“I’m always talking about baseball players and people ask me, ‘What are baseball players?’ ” Baker said. “Those guys are baseball players — Rose, Morgan, Bench, Perez. They could go 0-for-4 and still beat you. They seldom did anything to cost you a game. Those are what I call ballplayers.”
And Baker is still looking for ballplayers for his first edition of the Reds. One of them is free agent leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton.
“I’ve talked to him and, yes, there is a chance we can still get him,” Baker said. “I’ve talked to (outfielder) Corey Patterson, too. It depends on how it fits into our budget and roster. Right now we don’t have a roster spot and he’d like a major-league contract.”
At this late date, though, some players — even marquee players — might accept minor-league contracts with invitations to major-league camp just for the chance to win a spot on a major-league team.
Lofton would make for a decent leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers. Most scouts say it isn’t advisable to play him against left-handed pitchers.
If Lofton arrives, what happens to rookie Jay Bruce?
“Bruce already has told me he can bat leadoff,” Baker said with a laugh. “I haven’t seen Bruce play, but I’ve heard a lot. He is a star of the future and, who knows, he may be a start of the present. But there is more to the game than just hitting.”
Baker considers finding a leadoff hitter a top priority.
“A leadoff hitter is the most underappreciated spot in the batting order,” said Baker. “You have to have one and they are hard to find. I led off most of my minor-league career and my old manager, Mickey Verson (Richmond), challenged me to get on base to lead off the game.
“That puts the starting pitcher into the stretch right away, puts him into an uncomfortable situation,” Baker added. “Starters throw about 90 percent of their pitches in the wind-up, not the stretch.”
It was 8:30 Sunday morning as Baker spoke, devouring a bowl of cereal after going through a physical examination along with his pitchers and catchers.
“That was as thorough an exam as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Really, really thorough — knees, joints, feet. That’s great. Seems they are into preventing injuries rather than reacting around here and that’s great. When you’re into rehab, it’s too late.”
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