Rookies
of Year can flop from the top August 22, 2004
On second thought
. . .
maybe Khalil Greene doesn't want that Rookie of the Year tag.
The sophomore jinx bug is
alive. Scott Podsednik, who claimed National
League Rookie of the Year honors for 2003 after hitting .314 with the
Brewers, is down to .249 this season, although he has one more homer and
leads the league with 46 steals. And Podsednik is still in the major
leagues. The same cannot be said for Angel
Berroa, the Berroa is starting his third week
with
the Royals' Double-A farm team in Placed on the disabled list early in
the
season due to migraine headaches, Berroa was hitting only .249 with five
homers and 35 RBI in 96 games when the Royals decided the 26-year-old
needed
a change of scenery. He had also committed 22 errors – two fewer
than
he made all of last year. Berroa's plight has drawn parallels
to
other players who fizzled after brilliant starts, including the Royals'
own
Bob Hamelin (24 homers in the strike-shortened 1994 season, .175 with two
homers through 65 games in 1995 when he was demoted to
Triple-A). The Padres have their own example.
Relief pitcher Butch Metzger was named the National League Rookie of the
Year
in 1976 after going 11-4 with 16 saves and a 2.92 ERA in 77 appearances
with
the Padres. The following season he was sent to Triple-A after 17 games
(5.56
ERA), never pitched again for the Padres and was gone from the major
leagues
after 1978. Berroa does have one thing going for
him. His plight has caught the attention of sports psychologist Dr.
Richard
Crowley, who once helped Dodgers second baseman Steve Sax overcome his
problems with throwing the ball to first. Dr. Crowley dispatched a letter to
Berroa last week offering his services. "I can get his hitting back
up,"
said Dr. Crowley. "If I [work with] Angel from now on, he'll hit .280
for the rest of the season. It should get him back to who he
was." |
