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On the Diamond Erstad, Kendall back on track after disastrous '99 seasons
Posted: Tuesday July 11, 2000 04:20 PM
By Dan George, CNNSI.com ATLANTA – The All-Star Game is nothing new to Darin Erstad and Jason Kendall. Erstad, the Angels’ stellar leadoff man and left fielder, made the American League All-Star squad in 1998 in his second full season in the majors, while Kendall, the Pirates’ catcher has appeared twice for the National League, the first time as a 22-year-old rookie in 1996. But considering where both were a year ago at this time, nothing may be quite as sweet as making the rosters for the 2000 All-Star Game Tuesday night at Turner Field. Erstad, a punter on Nebraska’s 1994 national championship football team as well as a standout outfielder, was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 amateur draft and jumped to the majors little more than a year later. He hit .299 and .295 in his first two full seasons, stole bases, showed a slick glove and quickly developed a reputation as a gritty, hard-nosed competitor. But in 1999, amid predictions that Erstad was on the verge of superstardom, the wheels fell off. His hits declined and his strikeouts rose. By the All-Star break he was muddling along with seven home runs, 31 runs batted in and a .263 average. And that was the good half. He batted just .196 in August and managed a mere 22 RBIs in the final 2 ½ months. "Last year is something I’ll never forget," Erstad, 26, said Monday. "I was terrible." So what happened? For one thing, Erstad’s versatility may have worked against him. Former Angels manager Terry Collins shuffled him back and forth between first base and the outfield, and he batted six different places in the lineup. There were also whispers of tension in the clubhouse, especially with Jim Edmonds, now with the Cardinals. But Erstad dismisses such explanations. "I came to realize I was just not very good. Pitchers were getting me out the same way over and over again," he said. "I was rolling over my swing, which meant a lot of groundouts to second base and first base. And I was going for curves down in the zone over and over again." After a winter of soul-searching – and watching lots of videotape of himself -- Erstad came to spring training with renewed focus. He also had a more defined job, thanks to new manager Mike Scioscia. "I was given a role: leadoff hitter and starting left fielder for the Anaheim Angels," said Erstad. "I cut down on my swing, I narrowed my strike zone. I have to get on base. That’s my job now. I have to get on base." He has – and how. Erstad hit .449 in April and has been only slightly cooler since then, taking a .384 average into the All-Star break and already surpassing last year’s homer and RBI totals with 17 and 66, respectively. His 144 hits not only lead the majors – he’s had 47 multi-hit games this season -- but have him a pace to break George Sisler’s single-season record of 257 set in 1920. The Pirates’ Kendall also stayed home for last year’s All-Star Game, but it wasn’t because of poor performance. He was batting .332 with eight homers and 41 RBIs when he shattered his ankle while running out a bunt against the Brewers on July 5 and had to be carried from the field on a stretcher. It was a shocking end of the season for Kendall, who had been on target for his third All-Star appearance. "Last year, I don’t even know if I watched it," said Kendall, who's just three weeks younger than Erstad. "Not because I didn’t want to. I was just still so heavily medicated. I not sure I was even awake." But Kendall immediately set to work on rehabbing his ankle, and the hard work paid off immediately as he batted .322 in April and .379 in May. Despite a recent cold streak, he enters the All-Star Game hitting .319 with seven homers, 28 RBIs and 64 runs scored. And on Monday he learned that he’ll be starting for the NL All-Stars, since the Mets’ Mike Piazza is still recovering from a concussion suffered he was hit in the head Saturday by a pitch from the Yankees’ Roger Clemens. "It means something to me just to be here," said Kendall. "I know how hard I worked during the offseason. Nobody else does. It was a 9-to-5 job every day for months. So, yeah, it’s something special."
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