Learning from the best
Pirates 2B Morris getting glove tips from Mazeroski
Posted: Tuesday March 02, 1999 07:38 PM
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Mazeroski has nothing but good things to say about Pittsburgh rookie Warren Morris. AP |
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- The player who hit the biggest home run in
College World Series history was working diligently on his double play
pivot with the player who struck arguably the biggest homer in World Series
history.
Warren Morris, meet Bill Mazeroski.
Morris and Mazeroski are best known for two magical swings of the bat,
but were concentrating on defense Tuesday now that the Pittsburgh Pirates
have put Morris on the fast track to replacing Tony Womack at
second base.
And what better defensive mentor than Mazeroski, who was denied entry
into the Hall of Fame during Tuesday's Veterans Committee vote but is
widely regarded as the slickest fielding second baseman ever?
"He's a good listener, he works hard -- he can do some things," Mazeroski
said of Morris, a rookie traded by Texas to Pittsburgh last season. "He
does just about everything well. He's a pretty good athlete."
Didn't they say the same thing 43 years ago about a rookie second baseman
named Mazeroski, who went on to win eight Gold Gloves but is recalled
mostly for his Game 7 homer to beat the New York Yankees in
the 1960 World Series?
Just as Morris will never be forgotten for his dramatic two-run homer in
the ninth inning that beat Miami 9-8 in 1996 and gave LSU its third College
World Series title in six years.
Remarkably, it was the only homer that season for Morris, who was out for
nearly a month with a broken hand.
"People always seem to bring that up," Morris said. "They say, 'Yeah,
you're the guy who hit that home run ...' "
Sounds familiar to Mazeroski, who is working in the Pirates' camp for the
first time since 1973 as an infield instructor.
"Unless I don't go out of the house that day, somebody almost always
brings up the home run," Mazeroski said of the only ninth-inning homer to
decide a World Series Game 7. "It's nice to hear."
Morris, 25, and Mazeroski, 62, share more than an affinity for dramatic
home runs. Mazeroski was only a .260 career hitter, but former teammate
Willie Stargell said he always had as many big hits as anyone on the team.
Morris hit .412 for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team with five homers, most in
key spots, and 10 RBIs. He had 103 RBIs -- an exceptionally high total for
a second baseman -- in only 139 games with Class AA Tulsa and Carolina last
season.
Mike
Benjamin, who split time at second base for Boston last season, will
likely open the season at second base, but many in the Pirates'
organization will be surprised if Morris doesn't end the season there.
Still, if the Pirates were sending him a signal by trading Womack to
Arizona last week, Morris is intentionally trying to overlook it.
"The big thing is to go out and do my thing and play, not worry about the
front office moves and who's going to be where," Morris said. "The more you
get caught up in that, that's when it gets in your head and starts
affecting your play."
Mazeroski had a similar philosophy of always trying to keep his head
about him even in pressure situations.
"Anything I can pick up from him is a plus," said Morris, who will work
daily with Mazeroski through Monday. "I'm just trying to get inside his
head and pick his brain. People say he was the greatest defensive second
baseman to ever play the game, so why wouldn't you want to learn from
somebody like that?"
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