THE BIG HIT; RIPKEN, BOGGS, GWYNN NEAR 3,000.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer This is a special place. Few baseball players have come this way before, and certainly never like this. This is where immortals have gone and only a select few will go again. This is the plateau of 3,000 hits. In more than 125 years of baseball, it's a peak reached by only 21 players. For the first time, three players - Tampa Bay's Wade Boggs
Five times a pair of players has reached the milestone in a single year but never a trio. A year after the baseball world was electrified by the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase, three storied players chase a new history. ``That would be just great for baseball,'' said Angels coach Larry Bowa v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. the sport.'' Boggs, Ripken and Gwynn have haunted pitchers since 1982. They have already accomplished enough to make Cooperstown a given - Ripken with his consecutive-games record, Boggs with his five batting titles, Gwynn with his NL record-tying eight hitting crowns. All have won Gold Gloves. But as much as they've done individually, they now have an opportunity to accomplish something together, something never before accomplished in their sport. ``That makes it more special,'' Gwynn said. ``If something happens for the first time, it's a special thing. So I'm pulling like heck for Boggs and Ripken to get there, too, because we'll go down in history as the first trio to get 3,000 hits in the same year. ``But at the same time, I want to get there first.'' History awaits Gwynn is first up. He enters tonight's three-game series at Dodger Stadium • • [ 18 hits shy of 3,000. Boggs is 41 hits back and Ripken 68. All three, however, have been plagued by injuries this season and spent uncharacteristic un·char·ac·ter·is·tic adj. Unusual or atypical: an uncharacteristic display of anger. un time on the disabled list. Gwynn is bothered by a sore left calf and sat out Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. He is expected back in the lineup tonight but is growing eager to put the record behind him. ``I've just got to get it so I can say, `OK, I did it, I fulfilled my own dream. That's what I wanted to do. I did it,' '' Gwynn said. ``Now I can go on and enjoy it. I've got to get it done. I'm starting to put some pressure on myself, because tomorrow is not promised to anybody.'' The closer it gets, the more it weighs on their minds. Particularly for Boggs and Gwynn, whose line-drive style has been compared for years. ``I can't help ... thinking about it,'' Boggs said. ``I'm so close. I didn't really think much of it when I was at 2,600, 2,700, but being (41) away . . . it's right there.'' Ripken, of course, has already achieved a milestone most thought unreachable. When he asked to sit out the Orioles' final home game last season, it ended his record 2,632 consecutive-games streak. He knows all about pressure and rising media crowds. And he uses the same almost boring one-day-at-a-time routine that served him so well in his consecutive-games streak. ``I try not to do too much thinking about it,'' Ripken said. ``I mean, in this society we can measure success in many different ways. As a hitter, 3,000 hits represents success in a career, not necessarily in one season. So when you think in those terms, it would be nice to be able to get to that goal. ``But I try not to cloud my approach or change my focus in any way by thinking too much about it. If it happens, it would be great. But if for some reason it doesn't, that would be OK, too. I know that I've had a very fortunate, long, fulfilling career.'' Drive to succeed Texas closer John Wetteland ``I got dressed and just wanted to sit in the dugout dugout: see canoe. when no one was there and just mellow out mel·low adj. mel·low·er, mel·low·est 1. a. Soft, sweet, juicy, and full-flavored because of ripeness: a mellow fruit. b. ,'' Wetteland said. ``I walked out and there's Tony. He's hitting. There's just him, a coach and one person in the outfield shagging Shagging may refer to:
``I watched him stroke a couple of line drives right to left-center field. That's all he was doing. He would hit one up the middle and get upset. And I'm thinking, there's probably no one ever in the game that's been as good as him taking a ball to left-center field and here he is, spending the entire early BP - just him and two coaches - working on that very thing.'' Bowa was Gywnn's manager in San Diego for two years and has been the Angels third-base coach for the past three seasons. And if Ripken has more power and Gwynn more speed, Bowa has nonetheless observed something identical in all three hitters. ``The one thing that goes unnoticed with all of them is how hard they work,'' Bowa said. ``Gywnn hits extra every day. Obviously he has God-given talent, but he just keeps trying to improve on his previous night's work. His work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work is unbelievable. ``He is probably as prepared as any player I've ever been around. When I was managing in San Diego, if we didn't know the guy pitching, Tony would say, `That's OK, I have some tape on him.' He has a satellite dish satellite dish n. A dish antenna used to receive and transmit signals relayed by satellite. satellite dish A parabolic antenna used to receive signals relayed by satellite. and gets every single game that's played in the big leagues and tapes it. If a new kid is coming up, he knows what he throws. On the road, he takes his VCR VCR: see videocassette recorder. VCR in full videocassette recorder Electromechanical device that records, stores on a videotape cassette, and plays back on a TV set recorded images and sound. with him and constantly studies his at-bats. People don't understand that he works, man, he works hard.'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson ``Nobody worked harder at conditioning than Ripken - nobody,'' Johnson said. ``You can't do what he did. It's a lot of sweat before and after games, as well as during.'' Wetteland and Boggs were teammates for two seasons with the Yankees; Wetteland used to talk hitting with the third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker - ``he's like a computer chip'' - while marveling at how Boggs prepared. ``He's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen,'' Wetteland said. ``Everything revolves around him getting his job done that night. His appetite knows no bounds in preparing.'' Although all three have been hitting stars since Little League, they have never taken their individual talents lightly. ``You have some guys born with a gift and take it for granted,'' said veteran pitcher Mike Morgan
``They just don't go home in the winter and lay on the couch On the Couch is an Australian television program formally broadcast on the Fox Footy Channel and it focuses on the current issues in the AFL. This is now broadcast on Fox Sports after the closure of Fox Footy Channel. The show airs on Monday night and is hosted by Gerard Healy. . Those are the kind of guys you read about going home and they have batting cages Noun 1. batting cage - a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice cage baseball equipment - equipment used in playing baseball there, they've got video cameras, they've got the tee set up. They work.'' A style of their own Boggs and Gwynn are about quick hands, using the entire field, reacting quickly to each pitch, putting the bat on the ball. They seldom strike out. Their approach and stance never seem to change. Boggs said he hasn't tinkered with his swing since he worked it out with his father, Winfield, as a boy growing up in Tampa, Fla. ``I've had the same swing since I was in Little League,'' Boggs said. While Ripken is not afraid to experiment, Gwynn, too, has been consistent at the plate. ``Rip changes his way, his approach, it seems like every year,'' Gwynn said. ``I'm pretty consistent with my approach, where I stand, what bat I use, everything. I try to do the same thing every time.'' Gwynn, of course, used his speed early in his career. He has more than 300 career stolen bases; Ripken and Boggs have not totaled 40 steals in their careers. But although Gwynn and Boggs have career averages more than 50 points higher than Ripken's, neither can approach his power numbers. Ripken is nearing 400 career home runs and 1,600 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . Ripken said that as a youngster, he used to try and hit like each member of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, like each of the Orioles. ``To me, it's just enjoying the flavor of hitting, trying to put things together myself,'' Ripken said. ``I always continued to be that kind of hitter. When I got into the minor leagues, the big leagues, I was not afraid to experiment a little bit, try to find that individual feeling. ``Hitting comes from the inside. It's a feel. You actually have a natural talent to do it. If you apply certain fundamentals, you revisit re·vis·it tr.v. re·vis·it·ed, re·vis·it·ing, re·vis·its To visit again. n. A second or repeated visit. re the feeling of how you hit.'' Johnson saw Ripken make that visit many times. ``Boggs and Gwynn, that's like falling out of bed for those two guys,'' Johnson said. ``They use the whole field, neither especially noted for their power. Gwynn is like Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (də vĭn`chē, Ital. lāōnär`dō dä vēn`chē), 1452–1519, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist, b. near Vinci, a hill village in Tuscany. up there. ``But Ripken getting 3,000 hits - basically a pull hitter In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who generally hits the ball to the same side as which he bats. That is, for a right-handed batter, who bats from the left side of the plate, will hit the ball to left field. , playing the most demanding position at shortstop - is more remarkable than Tony and Wade. It's almost like Cal did it with his mind. He willed it to happen, which he can do.'' Angels veteran right-hander Tim Belcher ``They all have just a great understanding of the game, the strike zone and great confidence in their ability,'' Belcher said. ``You see all those things from the mound, too. There are certain hitters that get in, and you know they have a plan, they have confidence. ``You just never see any hint of panic in their eyes or their body language. Whether it's 2-0 or 0-2, their demeanor never changes. Whereas, some guys you can see light up when it gets to 2-0 and wilt when it gets to 0-2. You're not going to see those three guys do that. You don't get 3,000 hits doing that. They're never out of an at-bat, never giving in a falling inwards; a collapse. See also: Giving .'' Belcher said that when he was with the Dodgers, pitching coach Ron Perranoski
Not to be confused with San Diego Padres. . ``We'd get to Gwynn, and sometimes he'd just go, `Tony Gwynn batting third. Good luck,' '' Belcher said. ``Cal is probably the best bad-ball hitter of the three. I mean, if he's in the swing mode and sees the ball well, he can hit one eye-high or shoelace-high. A very good down hitter, very good low-ball hitter. The other two guys don't swing at stuff like that. If they do, they foul it off. How many times have you seen Wade Boggs just foul off balls - flick, flick, flick - until you make a mistake.'' The moment at hand Ripken has already lived some special moments. Breaking Gehrig's record in '95, and then again when he sat down 501 games later. His career will always be defined by his consecutive-games streak, not his 3,000 hits. For Gwynn and Boggs, however, the day they reach 3,000 will be a crowning moment. ``I just know that when I get there, I'm going to be able to take a deep breath and say, `God, I finally got to where I thought I could get to,' '' Gwynn said. ``Anything that happens after that is going to be gravy.'' THE ROAD TO 3,000 Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs are all closing in on 3,000. Here's a look at some other milestone hits in their careers, and who gave them up. Cal Ripken Jr. No. Date Pitcher 1 8/16/81 Dennis Lamp Dennis Patrick Lamp (born September 23, 1952 in Los Angeles, California) is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1977 through 1992, Lamp played for the Chicago Cubs (1977-80), Chicago White Sox (1981-83), Toronto Blue Jays (1984-86), Oakland Athletics 1000 6/16/87 Rich Bordie 2000 7/10/93 Wilson Alvarez Tony Gwynn No. Date Pitcher 1 7/19/1982 Sid Monge 1000 4/22/1988 Nolan Ryan 2000 8/6/1993 Bruce Ruffin This article is about the musician. For the baseball player, see Bruce Ruffin (baseball player). Bruce Ruffin (born Bernardo Constantine Balderamus, 17 February 1952, in St Catherine, Jamaica) is a rocksteady and reggae artist. Wade Boggs No. DatePitcher 1 4/26/1982 Rich Dotson 1000 4/30/1987 Scott Bankhead Scott Bankhead (born July 31, 1963 in Raleigh, North Carolina), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1986-1995. Bankhead also pitched for Team USA in the 1984 Olympic Games. 2000 5/17/1992 Mark Langston CAREER NUMBERS WADE BOGGS Year Team Games team games npl → jeux mpl d'équipe team games npl → giochi mpl di squadra AB Hits Avg. 1982 Boston 104 338 118 .349 1983 Boston 153 582 210 .361 1984 Boston 158 625 203 .325 1985 Boston 161653 240 .368 1986 Boston 149 580 207 .357 1987 Boston 147 551 200 .363 1988 Boston 155 584 214 .366 1989 Boston 156 621 205 .330 1990 Boston 155 619 197 .302 1991 Boston 144 546 181 .332 1992 Boston 143 514 133 .259 1993 NY Yankees 143 560 169 .302 1994 NY Yankees 97 366 125 .342 1995 NY Yankees 126 460 149 .324 1996 NY Yankees 132 501 156.311 1997 NY Yankees 103 353 103 .292 1998 Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. 123 435 122 .280 1999 Tampa Bay 41 139 38 .273 Total 18 yrs. 2,390 9,027 2,960 .328 TONY GWYNN Year Team Games AB Hits Avg. 1982 San Diego 54 190 55 .289 1983 San Diego 86 304 94 .309 1984 San Diego 158 606 213 .351 1985 San Diego 154 622 197 .317 1986 San Diego 160 642 211 .329 1987 San Diego 157 589 218 .370 1988 San Diego 133 521 163 .313 1989 San Diego 158 604 203 .336 1990 San Diego 141 573 177 .309 1991 San Diego 134 530 168 .317 1992 San Diego 128 520 165 .317 1993 San Diego 122 489 175 .358 1994 San Diego 110 419 165 .394 1995 San Diego 135 535 197 .368 1996 San Diego 116 451 159 .353 1997 San Diego 149 592 220 .372 1998San Diego 127 461 148 .321 1999 San Diego 45 160 54 .338 Total 18 yrs. 2,267 8,808 2,982 .339 CAL RIPKEN JR. Year Team Games AB HitsAvg. 1981 Baltimore 23 39 5 .128 1982 Baltimore 160 598 158 .264 1983 Baltimore 162 663 211 .318 1984 Baltimore 162 641 195 .304 1985 Baltimore 161 642 181 .282 1986 Baltimore 162 627 177 .282 1987 Baltimore 162 624 157 .252 1988 Baltimore 161 5751 152 .264 1989 Baltimore 162 646 166 .257 1990 Baltimore 161 600 150 .250 1991 Baltimore 162 650 210 .323 1992 Baltimore 162 637 160 .251 1993 Baltimore 162 641 165 .257 1994 Baltimore 112 444 140 .315 1995 Baltimore 144 550 144 .262 1996 Baltimore 163 640 178 .278 1997 Baltimore 162 615 166 .270 1998 Baltimore 161 601 163 .271 1999 Baltimore 40 162 53 .327 Total19 yrs. 2,744 10,595 2,931 .277 CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, 2 Boxes PHOTO (1--Color) RIPKEN (2--Color) GWYNN (3--Color) BOGGS Photo Illustration by Eric Barrow/Daily News BOX: (1) THE ROAD TO 3,000 (see text) (2) CAREER NUMBERS (see text) |
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