Sledge grateful to former manager
03/01/2006
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Terrmel Sledge feels he owes it all, his Major League stature and future, to Frank Robinson.
Sledge, 28, is not sure he'd be here, optimistically preparing for the 2006 season with the Padres, if not for Robinson's belief in his talents at a time when Sledge felt like the zero next to his name in the hits column of the box score.
"He saw something in me," said Sledge, a compact 6-footer who bats and throws left-handed. "I don't know what it was; I just played my game. I owe him my career."
As a rookie with the Montreal Expos in their final season of 2004, Sledge, the team's left fielder on Opening Day, got off to the kind of start that has been known to bury a player in an avalanche of self-doubt.
Day after day he came up empty, wondering if he'd ever be able to solve Major League pitching.
That's where Robinson, a Hall of Famer with perspective and patience when young Sledge needed it most, exerted his profound influence.
"He stuck with me," said Sledge, who is moving freely again after hamstring surgery last May ended his 2005 season prematurely. "Not a lot of managers would have done that.
"I started the season 0-for-22, got my first base hit -- single up the middle against the Mets' Braden Looper in New York [on April 19] -- and then was 1-for-34 [through 14 games]. But he never quit on me. He kept encouraging me.
"I heard stories about Willie Mays starting his career like that. It started coming around, and I ended up having a pretty good year. I give him all the credit."
Sledge hammered to the tune of .291 after his 1-for-34 start to finish at .269, ranking among the rookie leaders in almost every offensive category while making the Topps All-Rookie team.
Robinson's Nationals traded Sledge to Texas as part of the Alfonso Soriano Winter Meetings swap. The Rangers then flipped Sledge in the six-players deal that also made Padres of Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez, with Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka and Billy Killian going to Texas.
"Sledge is on his way to becoming a very good Major League ballplayer," Robinson said at the Nationals' camp. "This kid is a very good hitter. He is going to hit for average. He is going to hit for power. He is going to play good defense. I would look at him as a left fielder. He is a pretty decent baserunner.
"He's a super kid -- quiet, unassuming, ready to play when you want him to. If he's not playing, he's ready when he's on the bench. Offensively, he's going to be good for a number of years.
"Certain hitters like him, their abilities stand out before they put it together. You just look at the mechanics of hitting -- the speed of the bat, the way a hitter takes a pitch and go the opposite way. He's tough to pitch to. They stand out -- head and shoulders above the crowd."
Having grown up in the San Fernando Valley and attended Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, John Elway's home turf, Sledge said he's delighted to be back in Southern California after summers in Montreal and Washington.
He has impressed Padres manager Bruce Bochy in camp with his all-around talents and his ability to hit the ball with authority to all fields.
"He's got good plate coverage, short to the ball -- that helps your discipline," Bochy said. "He's got some pop. You look at Terrmel, there's not one thing that stands out -- power, speed, arm. He just does everything well. He's solid in all facets of the game."
Sledge has blended in nicely with his new Padres troupe.
"I love it, being on a team that knows how to win, in a great atmosphere," said Sledge, who played at Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State and signed with Seattle as an eighth-round draft pick in 1999. "Plus, I'm home."
Sledge's '05 season was a painful disappointment. Chasing a fly ball on May 3 at Dodger Stadium, he slipped and tore a hamstring and was lost to the Nationals for the season after surgery. He batted .243 with a homer and eight RBIs in 20 games.
What he doesn't owe to his former manager goes to the medical community, Sledge said. The surgery was such a success, he is running without pain. The only physical issue has been a nasty blister on his right hand from getting his stroke down.
"It feels like I never had surgery," Sledge said. "The technology now is amazing. Ten years ago, it would have been a lot different.
"I try to play the game the old-school way. I'll do whatever they need me to do. I just want to be part of a winning team."
If that means pinch-hitting and playing spot duty behind Dave Roberts, Mike Cameron and Brian Giles, Sledge said he will do so enthusiastically.
He has shown he can handle the pressure of late-game situations. With a 12-for-21 late-season eruption in '04, he led his Expos with a .337 average with runners in scoring position.
Sledge's 0-for-22 drought was the longest to begin a career in the Major Leagues since Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-24 in 1998.
Rebounding with a vengeance, Sledge produced a season-high 10-game hitting streak starting April 23, batting .533. He hit his first career home run during the streak, a two-run May 4 blast against Colorado's Turk Wendell, and was named National League Rookie of the Month for May for hitting a team-high .316 with four homers and 12 RBIs.
Playing all three outfield positions and six games at first, his season highlight was a game-winning grand slam against Josias Manzanillo in 8-5 win on July 31 at Florida. He homered in back-to-back September wins at Wrigley Field.
Sledge made the final out in the Expos' last game in Montreal, Sept. 29, 2004, against Florida.
"That was a strange year, playing games in Montreal with not many fans there, and going to Puerto Rico to play," he said. "It was an interesting start to my career. I love where I am now."
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Terrmel Sledge feels he owes it all, his Major League stature and future, to Frank Robinson.
Sledge, 28, is not sure he'd be here, optimistically preparing for the 2006 season with the Padres, if not for Robinson's belief in his talents at a time when Sledge felt like the zero next to his name in the hits column of the box score.
"He saw something in me," said Sledge, a compact 6-footer who bats and throws left-handed. "I don't know what it was; I just played my game. I owe him my career."
As a rookie with the Montreal Expos in their final season of 2004, Sledge, the team's left fielder on Opening Day, got off to the kind of start that has been known to bury a player in an avalanche of self-doubt.
Day after day he came up empty, wondering if he'd ever be able to solve Major League pitching.
That's where Robinson, a Hall of Famer with perspective and patience when young Sledge needed it most, exerted his profound influence.
"He stuck with me," said Sledge, who is moving freely again after hamstring surgery last May ended his 2005 season prematurely. "Not a lot of managers would have done that.
"I started the season 0-for-22, got my first base hit -- single up the middle against the Mets' Braden Looper in New York [on April 19] -- and then was 1-for-34 [through 14 games]. But he never quit on me. He kept encouraging me.
"I heard stories about Willie Mays starting his career like that. It started coming around, and I ended up having a pretty good year. I give him all the credit."
Sledge hammered to the tune of .291 after his 1-for-34 start to finish at .269, ranking among the rookie leaders in almost every offensive category while making the Topps All-Rookie team.
Robinson's Nationals traded Sledge to Texas as part of the Alfonso Soriano Winter Meetings swap. The Rangers then flipped Sledge in the six-players deal that also made Padres of Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez, with Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka and Billy Killian going to Texas.
"Sledge is on his way to becoming a very good Major League ballplayer," Robinson said at the Nationals' camp. "This kid is a very good hitter. He is going to hit for average. He is going to hit for power. He is going to play good defense. I would look at him as a left fielder. He is a pretty decent baserunner.
"He's a super kid -- quiet, unassuming, ready to play when you want him to. If he's not playing, he's ready when he's on the bench. Offensively, he's going to be good for a number of years.
"Certain hitters like him, their abilities stand out before they put it together. You just look at the mechanics of hitting -- the speed of the bat, the way a hitter takes a pitch and go the opposite way. He's tough to pitch to. They stand out -- head and shoulders above the crowd."
Having grown up in the San Fernando Valley and attended Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, John Elway's home turf, Sledge said he's delighted to be back in Southern California after summers in Montreal and Washington.
He has impressed Padres manager Bruce Bochy in camp with his all-around talents and his ability to hit the ball with authority to all fields.
"He's got good plate coverage, short to the ball -- that helps your discipline," Bochy said. "He's got some pop. You look at Terrmel, there's not one thing that stands out -- power, speed, arm. He just does everything well. He's solid in all facets of the game."
Sledge has blended in nicely with his new Padres troupe.
"I love it, being on a team that knows how to win, in a great atmosphere," said Sledge, who played at Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State and signed with Seattle as an eighth-round draft pick in 1999. "Plus, I'm home."
Sledge's '05 season was a painful disappointment. Chasing a fly ball on May 3 at Dodger Stadium, he slipped and tore a hamstring and was lost to the Nationals for the season after surgery. He batted .243 with a homer and eight RBIs in 20 games.
What he doesn't owe to his former manager goes to the medical community, Sledge said. The surgery was such a success, he is running without pain. The only physical issue has been a nasty blister on his right hand from getting his stroke down.
"It feels like I never had surgery," Sledge said. "The technology now is amazing. Ten years ago, it would have been a lot different.
"I try to play the game the old-school way. I'll do whatever they need me to do. I just want to be part of a winning team."
If that means pinch-hitting and playing spot duty behind Dave Roberts, Mike Cameron and Brian Giles, Sledge said he will do so enthusiastically.
He has shown he can handle the pressure of late-game situations. With a 12-for-21 late-season eruption in '04, he led his Expos with a .337 average with runners in scoring position.
Sledge's 0-for-22 drought was the longest to begin a career in the Major Leagues since Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-24 in 1998.
Rebounding with a vengeance, Sledge produced a season-high 10-game hitting streak starting April 23, batting .533. He hit his first career home run during the streak, a two-run May 4 blast against Colorado's Turk Wendell, and was named National League Rookie of the Month for May for hitting a team-high .316 with four homers and 12 RBIs.
Playing all three outfield positions and six games at first, his season highlight was a game-winning grand slam against Josias Manzanillo in 8-5 win on July 31 at Florida. He homered in back-to-back September wins at Wrigley Field.
Sledge made the final out in the Expos' last game in Montreal, Sept. 29, 2004, against Florida.
"That was a strange year, playing games in Montreal with not many fans there, and going to Puerto Rico to play," he said. "It was an interesting start to my career. I love where I am now."
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
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