M’S Reserve Still Looking For A Lefty
No one has enjoyed the Mariners’ run toward a postseason berth more than Rich Amaral - who has had hardly a thing to do with the Mariners’ four-game series with Texas.
Batting .332 over his last 65 games and .348 on the trip that ended Sunday in Minnesota, Amaral hadn’t had an at-bat since Seattle came home until he grounded out in the eighth inning of Thursday night’s game as a pinch hitter. And things don’t figure to change much against Oakland tonight.
Amaral is a platoon player, a right-handed hitter alternating at second base with Joey Cora. Cora faces right-handed pitching, Amaral lefties.
And the Mariners haven’t faced a left-handed starting pitcher this week - and won’t until they play the California Angels next week.
It’s not like he hasn’t been ready.
“You prepare every day as if you’re going to start the game, even when you know you’re not going to,” Amaral said. “Then, during the game, you go behind the dugout and hit off a tee to stay loose and think about the pitchers you might face from the other team’s bullpen.”
The Rangers, for instance, have three left-handed relievers, and Amaral watched pregame video of each, awaiting at-bats that never came.
“The Twins only had one lefty, and if he was going to come in it was probably going to be to face (Ken Griffey) Junior,” Amaral said. “I don’t pinch-hit for Junior.”
Years ago, Amaral remembers watching teammate Henry Cotto prepare for late-inning pinch-hit assignments.
“I remember thinking what a tough job that was,” he said. “But I’d have taken it if they’d offered - I was just trying to stay in the big leagues. What Henry taught me was not to go up there thinking home run, no matter what the situation was.
“He talked about just putting the ball in play. He’d say, ‘When you come into a game late, don’t be taking pitches.’ His theory was get a good one and hit it,” Amaral said.
Batting .296 this season and leading the club with a career-best 25 stolen bases in 113 games, Amaral is batting .250 as a pinch hitter.
Coming up
Oakland invades the Kingdome for a three-game series that begins tonight at 7:05 p.m. with Don Wengert (7-10, 5.35) matched against Salomon Torres (2-2, 5.29). It’s Fan Appreciation Night, and festivities begin at 6:30 p.m.
Notes
Want added perspective on the doubles totals of Alex Rodriguez (52) and Edgar Martinez (50) this season? In 1972 a young Kansas City outfielder led the American League with 33 doubles - Lou Piniella… . Jay Buhner’s home run Wednesday was the 100th of his career in the Kingdome. Only two players have hit more: Ken Griffey Jr. (126) and Alvin Davis (101)… . In his last 23 innings, spanning 18 appearances, reliever Norm Charlton has a 0.77 earned-run average… . Rodriguez stole his 15th base in the third inning, then scored his 135th run - in 136 games - on a single by Griffey.