Your 2007 Huntsville Stars -- Latest: Katin Ready for Camp

[Mass Haas]

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HUNTSVILLE STARS SPOTLIGHT: LOU PALMISANO

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Catcher

 

Age: 24

 

Hometown: Fort Lauderale, Fla.

 

Stats: .367 (third in Southern League), 4 HRs, 21 RBIs in 24 games, only one error

 

Years with Stars: Second

 

Equipment: Louisville Slugger CD356 by Crown Bat, All-Star glove

 

If you could trade places with another athlete for a day: Alex Rodriguez "just to see what he has to deal with, what he has to go through every day."

 

If you weren't a baseball player, you'd be: In real estate

 

Pets: Two miniature pinschers, Lola and Riley

 

Best subject in school: Economics "believe it or not."

 

Worst subject in school: "Anything that had anything to do with literature."

 

First baseball memory: "My dad (Lou Sr.) giving me an old, beat-up glove right when I was getting ready to start my first coach-pitch league down in Pembroke Pines, Fla."

 

Best baseball movie ever: "Bull Durham"

 

Worst baseball movie ever: "Major League III: Back to the Minors"

 

Most annoying celebrity: Britney Spears

 

Funniest person on earth: J.C. Boscan, ex-Star now catching for Chattanooga

 

Favorite TV show: "Family Guy"

 

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere with a beach

 

What are your other athletic skills: "I don't know if it's athletic, but it's Madden (video football game). Or Tecmo Super Bowl on regular Nintendo."

 

Sloppiest teammate: "It's got to be me. I have stuff all over the place in my locker."

 

Neatest teammate: "Steve Sollman. He's kind of a dork."

[Mass Haas]

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Stars spotlight: Guilder Rodriguez

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Infielder

 

Age: 24

 

Hometown: Barquisimeto, Venezuela

 

Stats: .279 in 23 games as utility player, primarily at short and second, though he plays outfield and is the Stars No. 3 catcher

 

Years with Stars: Second

 

Equipment: Wilson glove and Louisville Slugger T-141, 33 inches

 

What do you miss most about Venezuela: "My family"

 

What do you like most about the United States: "The people and the rules"

 

Favorite player: Omar Vizquel

 

If he wasn't a baseball player, he'd be: In school. He was beginning his university studies in Venezuela when he was drafted.

 

Best baseball memory: "We won a championship my first year in the Dominican Republic (in 2001)."

 

Favorite movie: "American Pie"

 

Best baseball movie ever: "Major League"

 

Funniest person on earth: Ex-teammate Nelson Castro

 

Favorite TV show: "Animal Planet"

 

Favorite vacation spot: Isla Margarita beach in Venezuela

 

Best subject in school: Math

[Mass Haas]

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Stars spotlight: Sam Narron

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Pitcher

 

Age: 26

 

Hometown: Goldsboro, N.C.

 

Stats: 2-3, 4.53 ERA in 10 starts

 

Years with Stars: First

 

What's it's like being in a baseball family: "There are eight of us who have played professional baseball, three in the big leagues, including myself. My grandfather (Sam) kinda started it off. It's just kinda something we did."

 

Who's the best player in the family?: "I never saw my dad play, but Jerry (his cousin, and current manager of Cincinnati Reds) has had the longest career, so I guess it's him. I'm hoping to chase him down one day."

 

What about your grandfather as a player: "He was around until I was 15, so we'd play catch, play Wiffle ball in the back yard. So, we played together some."

 

The odd thing about the family: "I'm the only pitcher. They played catcher or first base. They were all big right-handers. I'm the only left-hander."

 

Equipment: Wilson glove

 

Favorite player: Will Clark. "He was a left-handed first baseman, and I was for a while. And I got to meet him when he was with the Rangers."

 

If you could trade places for a day with another athlete, who would it be: Roger Clemens

 

If he wasn't a baseball player, he'd be: In pharmacy school

 

Other athletic skills: "I'm No. 2 (on the team) in Ping-Pong, behind Adam Heether."

 

Any pets: "My wife has a cat (Lulu) that I've grown to love."

 

Best baseball movie ever: "The Natural"

 

Worst baseball movie: "Major League III: Back To The Minors" ("I can't get through it. It's terrible!")

 

Funniest person on earth: Jerry Seinfeld

 

What are you reading now: "The Source," by James Michener

 

Favorite TV show: Seinfeld

 

Favorite vacation spot: St. Lucia (went there for honeymoon)

 

Most annoying celebrity: Paris Hilton

 

Best subject in school: Science

 

Worst subject: English

 

Sloppiest teammate: "I live with Heether, and when his wife's not around, it looks like a bomb's gone off in his room."

 

What do you drive: Chevy Silverado diesel

[Mass Haas]

Looks like the recent lengthy thread on the Major League Forum on this topic has already rolled off --

 

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African-Americans becoming more rare in baseball, but why?

Sunday, June 10, 2007

By PAUL GATTIS

Huntsville Times Sports Staff paul.gattis@htimes.com

 

Gord Ash sat on the top row of the stands at Joe Davis Stadium, safely shaded from the afternoon sun as he watched the Huntsville Stars and, in a sense, the future.

 

Ash is the assistant general manager of the parent club Milwaukee Brewers, a former executive with the Toronto Blue Jays back in their championship days of the 1990s and a veteran of more than 25 years in major league baseball administration.

 

Such experience authorizes Ash to speak with undisputed credibility on the changes he sees in his game.

 

"We're just not getting athletes into our game," Ash said on that May afternoon. "The elite athletes are choosing to play other sports."

 

If the Steroid Era tarnished baseball's recent past, how alarming should Ash's perspective be for baseball's immediate future?

 

The context in which Ash spoke between pitches that afternoon concerned the dwindling numbers of African-Americans on major league rosters.

 

Those numbers have become a national story this season, sparked by the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking major league baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

When Robinson died in 1972, 20 percent of baseball rosters were made up of African-Americans. Last year, that number shriveled to 8.4 percent, according to an annual report by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.

 

On their 24-man active roster, the Huntsville Stars have just two African-Americans: Pitcher Corey Thurman and outfielder Mel Stocker. Neither are billed as top-line prospects soon to be in the majors, though Thurman pitched in 49 games for Toronto in 2002-03.

 

"To be honest, baseball is not as glamorous as it used to be, considering the LeBron Jameses of the world," Thurman said.

 

Another opinion, another red flag for baseball.

 

James is 22 years old, a three-year NBA veteran, a millionaire dozens of times over and has led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for the first time in its history.

 

If you are the LeBron James of baseball, at 22 years old you're likely still riding buses in the minor leagues. A perfect example is 23-year-old Prince Fielder.

 

Fielder's father, Cecil, was an all-star slugger and Prince was the seventh overall pick in the 2002 draft. And he's now in his second full major league season, he's tied with Alex Rodriguez for the major league home run lead.

 

But Prince Fielder - despite being the son of a former star, despite being a first-round draft pick, despite becoming an instant millionaire when he signed with the Brewers - spent parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, including parts of two seasons with the Huntsville Stars.

 

Meanwhile, it took James just three years to jump from high school to the NBA Finals.

 

"The prevailing thing is that it's just not as appealing to the African-American community to play baseball any longer," said Stocker, who was one of only two African-Americans in his Little League in Tucson, Ariz. The other? His brother, Bruce.

 

Multiple theories

 

Indeed, it is a multi-faceted issue not easily summarized and not easily explained.

 

Theories seem boundless:

 

The NFL and the NBA are simply more popular sports than baseball and have been for some time.

 

Athletes can get full college scholarships in football and basketball, but not in baseball.

 

The influx of Latin and Asian players have had a negative impact on the number of African-Americans.

 

Baseball is more costly, from equipment to necessary instruction to reach an elite level.

 

Then there are the anti-mainstream opinions, such as the one expressed recently by Detroit Tiger Gary Shef-field. In an article in GQ magazine, Sheffield said that Latin players are more appealing to teams because it's easier to "control them" than African-American players.

 

But while Sheffield's comments were deemed offensive by some in baseball and met with rolling eyes by others, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen - a native of Venezuela who in 2005 became the first Latin manager to win the World Series - agreed with Sheffield.

 

Guillen told the Detroit Free-Press he was "happy" Sheffield said what he said, adding that inexperienced Latin players "are afraid to talk."

 

Still, according to the University of Central Florida report, Latin players made up 29.4 percent of major league rosters last year.

 

"It's a hard thing to put your finger on," Thurman said on the lack of African-Americans. "I just don't know why, personally. I do see interest.

 

"But looking around the minor leagues, I don't see many African-American ball players that we play against. It's a disturbing trend."

 

As Thurman spoke, he occasionally cast an eye from the dugout toward the field, where the Montgomery Biscuits were taking batting practice. On that day, the Biscuits did not have any African-Americans on their active roster.

 

"I think he would be a little disappointed," Thurman said of Jackie Robinson. "It's almost like he did all that. ... and there are more Latin ball players, true, and more minorities in the game. But the African-American ball player is dwindling."

 

While still looking for the elusive answers, Stocker has a unique perspective. In college at Arizona State, he did research papers that focused, in part, on the African-American athlete.

 

"You look at football, you think big, strong, fast guys," Stocker said. "If you look at the predominance throughout history from different groups, pretty much that's where the African-American community fits in most - they're big, strong, fast and have great jumping ability.

 

"A lot of people say that's sort of a racist-type of issue. But with the research papers I've done, there hasn't been anything proven otherwise - just because of the origin insertions of muscle groupings and how they work in coordination. It comes from gatherers, hunters, always outside, constantly carrying and lifting and doing things. So genetic backgrounds are going to be made up of that."

 

The focus has been on the racial and ethnic breakdown of rosters, of course. But maybe the game has changed and maybe that was the first domino to fall.

 

Like Ash, Sandy Guerrero speaks from an authoritative position. He is in his fifth season as the Stars' hitting coach and climbed as high as Triple-A in his playing career. He won a batting title in 1998 in Taiwan.

 

His father, Epy, is the legendary Latin America scout who has signed dozens of Latin players to contracts and pioneered the development of Latin players into pro prospects.

 

His uncle, Mario, played eight years in the majors and brother Mike is the manager of the Brewers' low-A club, the West Virginia Power.

 

"The game is so good today," Guerrero said. "Before, it took special ability to play. But right now, the game is so good, guys who were in the game before may not be in the game now. That's how good the game has developed.

 

"There is no doubt this is the best game of the world. You don't have to be a certain height, a certain weight, skinny or big. You have to be special because you have to have the ability to hit a 95 mph fastball and adjust to an 80 mph curveball."

 

It's no stretch to see the parallels, to see the drop in African-Americans in baseball as well as the rise in Latin American players.

 

And if baseball these days has a fading appeal to African-Americans, as Thurman and Stocker said, it's evident that no sport fascinates the Latin countries quite like baseball.

 

"Baseball is more important that politics, more important than gas prices, more important than education," said Guerrero, a native of the Dominican Republic. "You can be a good student and the first thing they are going to ask you is, 'Hey, can you play good?' "

 

Not unlike Alabama or Auburn football, Guerrero said it's common sense in Latin countries to schedule parties or weddings around baseball. Otherwise, don't expect anyone to show up.

 

"If the Yankees have a big game and (Roger) Clemens is pitching, nobody remembers economics," Guerrero said. "You see everybody in their house at 8 o'clock and people say, 'What happened to all the people?' "

 

They're all semi-circled around a television, absorbing and embracing the sport that claims to be the American pasttime.

 

So where is it all leading?

 

Ash said the drop in African-Americans has been a topic of discussion within baseball "for five or six years" and the sport is attempting to address the issue.

 

He pointed to baseball's first Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., near Los Angeles. It opened in 2006 and this year players from both the Angels and Dodgers have served as instructors at clinics.

 

A similar academy is planned for Washington, D.C., while Philadelphia and Miami are potential sites on baseball's radar.

 

"The Compton academy has been well-received and not just in terms of players," Ash said. "They're also talking and teaching kids about working in baseball - whether it be a groundskeeper or an administrative job or trying to develop umpires.

 

"It's not just players. It's full of opportunities."

 

Still, Thurman said that's not enough.

 

"I like what they're doing with that," he said. "But there's got to be something else, but I don't know what it is, just to bring back the interest in the African-American community."

 

But Thurman's teammate, Stocker, doesn't foresee a rise in African-Americans in baseball. The times, he said, have changed.

 

"It was a big drive when Jackie Robinson was coming up because that was the big thing," Stocker said.

 

"Nobody was really doing that. Now it's 'Been there, done that, let's take over basketball and football.' "

 

Stocker's viewpoint, though, is hardly a consensus.

 

Members of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition met with Atlanta Braves officials last month, complaining about the lack of African-Americans on the roster this season. The Braves have only one African-American on its roster, outfielder Willie Harris.

 

And Harris, a marginal prospect not unlike Stocker and Thurman, has played surprisingly well since being called up in April from the minor leagues. Otherwise, the Braves might have no African-Americans on their roster.

 

Echoing the sentiments of Ash, Braves general manager John Schuerholz said that the demographics of the game are incidental to putting together a roster that can win a championship.

 

"You go where the talent leads you," Schuerholz said to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

 

The counter-argument, of course, is that the talent is in the United States.

 

"The fact of the matter is that if they put their resources into recruiting here in the United States. ... there are talented players here," Joe Beasley, Southern Regional Director for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, told the Atlanta newspaper.

 

All-time home run leader Hank Aaron agreed with Beasley. Aaron has been tapped by baseball commissioner Bud Selig to study the decline of African-Americans in baseball.

 

"I think somehow we have slackened in looking for talent in this country," Aaron said at a press conference last month announcing the Braves' sale to Liberty Media.

 

On that sunny May afternoon, Ash watched as the Stars played the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. The Diamond Jaxx featured a third baseman named Matt Tuiasosopo, who last week was second on the team with a .300 batting average with two homers and 19 RBIs.

 

His father, Manu, played football at Southern Cal and in the NFL while he has two brothers playing in the NFL.

 

Somehow, though, Matt found his way into baseball.

 

"That's the exception to the rule," Ash said with a certain tone of resignation. "Most go the other way."

 

It's players like Matt Tuiasosopo that baseball needs, Ash said. It's players like Dave Winfield, who was drafted in football and basketball before choosing what became a Hall of Fame career in baseball and, more recently, wrote a book on how to address the myriad of problems facing baseball.

 

"It's not an African-American problem," Ash said. "It's a problem attracting a lot of players because they don't want to put the development time into it. So we lose players to some of the other sports - not along racial lines, just along athletic lines.

 

"They see a quicker road and a combination where they can get an education (in college) and play at a highly skilled level. Baseball doesn't really offer that."

 

Robinson's legacy

 

But if the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's baseball debut is the backdrop to all of this, there should also be some celebration.

 

The walls Robinson knocked down in becoming baseball's first African-American player paved roads for other minorities, too.

 

It paved roads for Ozzie Virgil, who in 1956 became the first Dominican to play in the majors. It paved roads for Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Japanese pitcher for whom the Boston Red Sox last winter paid more than $100 million to acquire.

 

"Jackie Robinson didn't just open the door for African-Americans," Guerrero said. "He opened the doors for the rest of the world. People now realize there is talent all around (the world).

 

"I know people say he has a tremendous impact. But they don't really understand how tremendous the impact is."

[Mass Haas]

Link to Stars' site:

Nice to see a middle reliever honored -- as noted in recent Link Reports, the guy has been tremendous for the Stars, really all season --

 

DiFelice Named as Pitcher of the Week

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Stars spotlight: Steve Hammond

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Pitcher

 

Age: 25

 

Hometown: Martinez, Calif.

 

Stats: 3-6 with a 6.42 ERA

 

Years with Stars: Second

 

Equipment: Rawlings glove and "I'm trying to get (a bat) from guys on other teams."

 

Favorite player: Will Clark. "I know Sam (Narron) just answered the same thing in the paper. When I was seven years old I actually wrote Will Clark a letter and told him he was my favorite player and I was a left-handed first baseman like him and I planned on going to college and being a professional baseball player like him. He even wrote me back and I still have a copy of the letter."

 

If you could trade places for a day with another athlete, who would it be: Tiger Woods

 

If he wasn't a baseball player, he'd be: Trying to play golf

 

Other athletic skills: "I used to race BMX bikes competitively. I was pretty good at that until baseball took over. I used to ride bikes all the time with a guy who won the X Games, Allen Cook. We used to ride all the time."

 

Any big crashes? "Yeah, some good ones. I stuck my bottom lip into my top brace going on a jump one time."

 

Best baseball movie ever: "Bull Durham"

 

Worst baseball movie: "Major League III: Back To The Minors"

 

What are you reading now: "The Last Season," by Phil Jackson

 

Favorite vacation spot: Rio de Janiero, Brazil (never been there, though)

 

Most annoying celebrity: Britney Spears

 

Best subject in school: Math

 

What do you drive: Chevy Trailblazer

 

You're from the Bay Area. Your reaction to Barry Bonds: "I think he's no different from hundreds of other people that have been questioned about doing things, and he hasn't been proven guilty yet."

 

First baseball memory: "Hitting a home run in T-ball with all my family there, taking pictures."

[Mass Haas]

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For Stars' Moss, it's a rite of passage

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

At private Los Angeles-area high schools like Notre Dame, they don't just hand out awards like "Most Likely to be Famous" to any old slacker in assembly.

 

They're reserved for young Hollywood stars and starlets, Billboard Top 100 singers and top-tier athletes.

 

So, when Stars center fielder Steve Moss proudly pronounced himself as his alma mater's honoree a few years ago, pardon the chuckle when he relayed the rest of the story.

 

His female co-recipient was a national sweetheart, last year's American Idol runner-up - Katharine McPhee.

 

"She kind of beat me to it," Moss said of McPhee's fame.

 

Moss admittedly isn't among his Sherman Oaks, Calif., high school's most famous alumni just yet, considering "Spiderman's" Kirsten Dunst and "The O.C.'s" Rachel Bilson were schoolmates.

 

He is, however, arguably the best defensive outfielder in the Southern League, and he's trying to move his way up in a talented Milwaukee system.

 

Moss is also an offensive threat for the first-place Stars entering tonight's homestand against Birmingham, but it's his defense that sets him apart.

 

"I've played every position on the field, and center field just clicks with me," Moss said. "It doesn't require much thinking. I just let my body take over. Making plays is fun to me."

 

Especially those that save games like the one he made June 3 in a 6-5 win at Chattanooga. With the Stars clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth, the Lookouts' Jay Garthwaite roped a gapper toward left-center field with the bases loaded and two outs.

 

Moss got a good jump, crashed into the wall and made a miraculous, game-saving catch.

 

When asked if he saw it, Garthwaite told the Chattanooga paper: "Did I see him jump on the wall like Spiderman and make a grab coming out of nowhere? I saw it. That guy is an athlete. I've seen him make half a dozen plays like that in the last seven games we've played."

 

Stars right fielder Brendan Katin has seen it too many times to ever doubt his buddy.

 

"He even catches my balls, which stinks," Katin said with a grin. "First series of the year, I was camped under one in dead right field, and he comes over and catches it. Calls me off."

 

Sound flashy? Actually, Moss is anything but Hollywood on or off the field.

 

When not playing ball, he reads classic literature. Sometimes he'll cook dinner with fiance Erin Spencer or play with their Chihuahua, Kismet.

 

He grew up in the shadows of Tinseltown, and his mother, Margot Moss, is a daytime television executive for CBS, working as a liaison between the network and companies that produce such shows as "The Price is Right" and "The Young and the Restless." But Moss never got into the glitz and glamour.

 

"He's just always loved sports," Margot Moss said. "I think in other parts of the country, if you have a cute kid, you just have a cute kid. But in California, everybody's like, 'Oh, you've got to put him in Hollywood.'

 

"I grew up in a little town in New Jersey, so I tried to keep their heads on straight."

 

Moss said he was too busy to ever truly understand his surroundings. On top of baseball and a variety of other sports, Moss said he was the 14-year-old national champion in the hurdles and high jump.

 

When he wasn't on the diamond, he was hopping planes for national track meets.

 

Still, from the time he was old enough to remember, his father, Rob, took him to Dodgers games. He worshipped L.A. catcher Mike Scioscia. Margot even convinced his dad to name him "Steve" because Steve Garvey, Steve Sax and Steve Yeager were all team members.

 

Baseball always outshined the stars for this Star. Now, he hopes that he finds his fame a little east of Hollywood - in Milwaukee.

 

"That's one thing I really admire about Mom and Dad," Moss said. "They never really pushed anything on us. They put my welfare at the forefront, and I wanted to play ball."

[Mass Haas]

Fun celebration video from the Stars site:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1224

[Mass Haas]

Tour of the new Huntsville locker room video:

 

blog.al.com/breaking/2007...house.html

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Stars prove there is more than one road to pennants

Money's latest team is a study in scrappiness

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Back-to-back pennants for the Huntsville Stars. Not quite dynasty level, but pretty heady stuff nonetheless.

 

They charged unstoppably to the second-half title last year, then ground their way to the first-half Southern League North championship this year.

 

It was two different paths, same result.

 

One was by recipe, persnickety with the right ingredients and mixture, the other by flinging stuff in a bowl, stirring, throwing it in the oven at 425 and see what happens. One was a baseball blueprint - solid starting pitching, paralyzing bullpen, power hitting - the other a mishmash of little power, tag-team work in the bullpen, starting pitchers not fast enough to get a ticket on I-65 and, ultimately, the good fortune that brought with it a ninth-inning, bases-loaded wild pitch to hand over the championship.

 

Either way, it's more September baseball in Huntsville.

 

The Stars uncorked champagne on Sunday afternoon.

 

A belated toast to them on this Tuesday morning.

 

It's been a remarkable run since this time a year ago.

 

Last June, we were trying to figure if it was the worst Huntsville Stars team of all time.

 

By acclamation, yes, it was.

 

The Stars were 24-45 in the first half. They won only 11 of their first 29 in the next half and were dead as disco. But from 35-63, they won 36 of their last 47. They were two wins away from the Southern League pennant.

 

That comeback, and this season's success, is a testament to the Stars' staff of manager Don Money and coaches Sandy Guerrero and Rich Sauveur, to win with two different styles of team, two different philosophies, take two different routes.

 

"Last year, in the second half, the one thing we had with (third baseman Ryan) Braun here, it was like we had the big, big power presence," said pitcher Corey Thurman. "This year, it was more a group of guys that just scrap. We just scrape and scrap for every run, going out there and doing the best we can, play a little more small ball."

 

There is one common denominator.

 

"It's very similar as far as last year if you remember we played a lot of tight ballgames and somehow we kept squeaking them out," said outfielder Brendan Katin. "We had a little luck on our side."

 

Good teams may their luck - or at least make sure to capitalize on it.

 

Just look at the last homestand. Last Wednesday, second baseman Hernan Iribarren singled home the winning run in the top of the ninth. After dropping a doubleheader Friday, it took them 16 innings to win on Saturday, with a dreadfully slumping back-up catcher, Carlos Corporan, inserted into the lineup at first base and driving in the game-winner.

 

Then on Sunday, the nicely gift-wrapped ninth-inning wild pitch.

 

A year ago, those wins would have included a Braun homer, some more big-noise hits and a Joe Valentine save.

 

This time, small ball.

 

And that's fine.

 

"You know what, winning is gratifying," Thurman said. "It doesn't matter. As long as we're winning, I don't care how we do it."

 

Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com or visit his al.com blog at blog.al.com/mccarter

[Mass Haas]

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Stars spotlight: Corey Thurman

Brad Shepard, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Pitcher

 

Age: 28

 

Hometown: Texarkana, Texas

 

Stats: 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA

 

Year with Stars: Second

 

What is your hometown known for: "It's basically known because half the city is in Texas and half is in Arkansas, but one of the things I like about it is my high school teammate, Craig Monroe, plays for the Tigers. We went to the big leagues at kind of the same time, so that's special."

 

Equipment: Nike glove and "whichever bat has hits in it. I try to see who's getting hits at that moment and use it, and I try to get some knocks out of it."

 

If you could trade places with any athlete for a day, it would be: "Tom Brady because it seems like he has everything going for him. Even when the media is asking him questions about his personal life lately, it seems like a good problem to have. It'd be fun to see what goes on in a regular offseason day in his life in Hollywood or something."

 

If he wasn't a baseball player, he'd: "Probably be a lawyer or a politician, which is sad because it seems both of those have to lie at some point. I don't see myself as that kind of person."

 

Best baseball movie: "Bull Durham." "It was just so transcending. It let people know how baseball really is."

 

Worst baseball movie: "I pretty much like all baseball movies."

 

Favorite pet: "I have a miniature Pincer named Tyson."

 

Being a dog owner, what's your reaction to the dog fighting drama going on involving Michael Vick? "I wouldn't have anything to do with fighting, but until Vick is charged, it's all alleged. Who am I to judge him?"

 

Which had you rather do, pitch as a starter or out of the bullpen: "Whatever gets me to the big leagues fastest."

 

Besides baseball, what are your other skills: "Shooting basketball, doing math and speaking in public places."

 

What are your feelings about the dearth of African-American players in Major League Baseball? "I'm with (Florida's) Dontrelle (Willis) and (Cleveland's) C.C. (Sabathia) when they talk about needing more in the game. I take a lot of pride in it. I remember my grandfather and great-grandfather talking about the Negro Leagues, and we can't keep that great legacy going with no African- American players in baseball.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1240

 

Seven Stars Named to All-Star Squad

 

The Southern League has announced that Huntsville catcher Lou Palmisano, first baseman Steve Sollmann and outfielders Brendan Katin and Steve Moss have been voted on to the North Division team for the All-Star Game in Pearl, MS on Monday, July 9. Huntsville pitchers Mark DiFelice, Lindsay Gulin and Marino Salas will also represent the North Division in the mid-season affair. The players were selected by league managers, radio announcers, general managers and newspaper beat writers.

 

Palmisano, a Southern League All-Star selection last season, is batting .305, good for tenth best in the circuit, with five home runs and 42 runs batted in. Sollmann is hitting .313, currently eighth in the league, with a pair of long balls and 37 driven in, while Katin is batting .255 with a dozen home runs and 50 RBI. Moss, named to the squad as the ?utility? outfielder, is batting .257 with five round trippers and 36 knocked in.

 

DiFelice has posted a record of 5-1 with a 1.66 earned run average in one start and 23 appearances in relief. He has gone 23 2/3 straight innings without allowing a run since May 23 at Mobile. Gulin is 5-3 with a 3.74 earned run mark in nine starts since joining the Stars, while Salas has recorded 13 saves in 14 opportunities and allowed only three earned runs in 30 innings. He has thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings since May 2.

 

Manny Parra, who threw a perfect game for triple-A Nashville Monday night, was also named to the team but will not participate in the game. The former Stars? left-hander went 7-3 with a league leading 2.68 ERA at the time of his promotion. Parra still ranks third in the league in ERA and fifth in strikeouts with 81.

 

Stars? hitting coach Sandy Guerrero will be the manager for the North Division squad in the absence of Don Money, who will be at the Futures Game in San Francisco as part of the Major League All-Star Game.

[Mass Haas]

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Star in the spotlight: Adam Heether

Brad Shepard, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Third baseman

 

Age: 25

 

Hometown: Ripon, Calif.

 

Stats: .262, 3 HR, 23 RBI

 

Year with Stars: Third

 

What is your hometown known for: "It's the almond capital of the world. I have to like them. There are acres by acres of almond trees. My wife's grandpa is a big almond guy."

 

So, you still live in Ripon in the offseason? "Yeah. Most of my family still lives there, and my wife's (Jennifer) does, too."

 

Were you and your wife high school sweethearts? "After-the-fact high school sweethearts. She wouldn't have anything to do with me in high school."

 

Equipment: 34-inch, 311/2 -ounce Xbat T141 and a Rawlings glove.

 

What are your other talents besides baseball? "I was a running back and point guard in high school. I play golf, bowl, but I play a lot of table tennis now. Without a doubt, I'm the No. 1 Ping Pong guy on the team. (Hernan) Iribarren's No. 2. It's a competitive group."

 

Who was your favorite player growing up? "Pretty much anybody on the Oakland A's: Rickey Henderson, the Bash Brothers. I went to a lot of games, full-uni, including the spikes when I was, like, 4 years old."

 

Did you have the infamous Bash Brothers poster with McGwire and Canseco dressed like the Blues Brothers? "Oh yeah. They were on the wall everywhere, life-size."

 

What non-baseball team do you pull for religiously? "I don't really get into teams."

 

Who were some of your teammates at Long Beach State? "(Angels pitcher) Jered Weaver, Troy Tulowitzki, who's with the Rockies, Paul McAnulty was up with San Diego and Jeremy Reed, I think, was playing for the Mariners."

 

How cool is it to see what some of those guys like Weaver and Tulowitzki is doing? "It's pretty unbelievable to see what they're doing to the league. You know they can do it, but it's nice to see them do it. You want to get up there with them."

 

If Barry Bonds breaks the record, what do you think about it? "I have nothing against him. The thing is every time he's grabbing a bat, I'll go out of my way to watch him, bottom line."

 

What kind of car are you driving? "We drive a 2005 Toyota Corolla that we're just putting so many miles on right now it's ridiculous. It gets like 36 miles-per-gallon, something just stupid."

 

What was your first vehicle? "A Mazda extended-cab pickup, I think it was an '88. Loved it."

 

What kind of music do you listen to? "Mostly hip-hop and rap, but my wife likes country, so we listen to that, too."

 

What's in your iPod right now? "Well, in my CD player is Jay-Z's "The Black Album."

[Mass Haas]

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DiFelice defying odds

Stars pitcher making his best pitches for major-league bid at 30

By BRAD SHEPARD For the Huntsville Times

 

Tucked away in the ballpark of a New Jersey-based independent league team the past couple years, Mark DiFelice found himself contemplating Plan B.

 

The Stars pitcher had toiled in four organizations, reached his late 20s and was struggling to regain confidence on the mound.

 

"Really, through those times, all I thought about was my daughter to get me through," DiFelice said. "I had to make this more of a career for her."

 

Near three-year-old Mia in the Philadelphia area, DiFelice began to gain clarity and comfort. He pitched well last year and after the success, he caught the eye of Nashville Sounds pitching coach Stan Kyles in a winter league in Mexico and was signed by Milwaukee.

 

Less than a year later, DiFelice - now 30 and with his fifth organization - was notified Tuesday that he was among eight Stars selected to the Southern League North Division All-Star team.

 

For a guy who's spent most of his professional career mired in invisibility, getting noticed was nice.

 

It also completes a full circle of sorts. Six years ago, he made his first SL All-Star team as a 24-year-old starter for Carolina.

 

"The light is kind of dwindling a bit, I know," DiFelice said, "but I still feel like I can pitch in the big leagues."

 

Especially if he throws like he has this season. In 54 1/3 innings, DiFelice is 5-1 with a 1.66 earned run average. He's started once and should receive at least one more start on Friday, but he's carved his spot on the team with solid relief work.

 

DiFelice is also working on an impressive scoreless-innings streak that has reached 23 2/3 frames over nine games.

 

"He's done the job all year long," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "He's been our go-to guy. I don't think he's going to be down here much longer."

 

That's high praise for a pitcher who was left for dead professionally just a year ago. After six seasons in the Rockies organization, he bounced around three systems in two years. Finally, he landed with the Nationals and promptly got lost in the shuffle.

 

With numerous major league pitchers in rehab assignments during 2005, Washington relegated starters like DiFelice to bullpen duty and long droughts between appearances. "I really didn't get a fair shake with them, and I lost my confidence," he said. "People say you've got to take a step back to take two steps forward."

 

So, he went back home. Close to his daughter and playing in the independent leagues for former major league closer Sparky Lyle, a rejuvenated DiFelice regained his form. He also developed a nasty cut-fastball that has "been my bread and butter" this year.

 

DiFelice doesn't regret any of the journey that has taken him seemingly everywhere but the majors. He believes he went to New Jersey for a reason, he played in front of Brewers personnel in Mexico for a reason, and he's still playing professional baseball for a reason.

 

As for Plan B? Right now, he's still taking a shot at that career for his family. "I think I've got a couple years left in me," he said. "This feels like a second chance."

[Mass Haas]

More news from the Stars' site on All-Star "starters":

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1250

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Stars spotlight: Michael Brantley

Brad Shepard, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Outfielder

 

Age: 20

 

Hometown: Port St. Lucie, Fla.

 

Stats (earlier this week): Batting .169 with 5 RBIs in 19 games (batted .335 for Low-A West Virginia before recent call-up)

 

Year with Stars: First

 

So, your dad, Mickey is a former big leaguer with the Seattle Mariners. What was it like growing up in a major league atmosphere? "It was awesome. Back when I was a little kid, there was no better place to be. I was little, so all I really remember is sitting next to my dad in the locker room and eating all the candy I could."

 

Now, Mickey is a hitting instructor with the Toronto Blue Jays, so does he help you through slumps? "Oh yeah. Every time I get in a little scuffle, we'll talk about baseball, and he gets me back on track. It's a plus."

 

Equipment: "I swing two bats, a Zinger X18 and a Louisville Slugger 5318."

 

What are your other talents besides baseball? "I'm a golfer and a basketball player. I know the Brewers don't like to hear about basketball."

 

A golfer? What's your handicap? "I'd say about a 7. Not too bad. Not during the season, though."

 

So, you'll take time to watch golf on the weekends? "I love Tiger Woods. Got to watch him every Sunday."

 

What's in your MP3 player right now? Lil' Wayne, Young Joc, Jay-Z.

 

Favorite movies: "Cadence," and "Hitch."

 

Favorite baseball movie: Any of the "Major Leagues."

 

Any non-baseball teams that you love? "Yeah, I'm a big Minnesota Vikings fan. My Pops always liked them growing up, so I'm still a fan of Randy Moss. He's still my favorite player."

 

You're only 20, so you've had pretty good professional success so far. How have things been for you the past two years? "My pro experience has been fantastic. Having surgery has been the only downfall. I had right labrum surgery at the end of '05. But besides that, I couldn't ask for a better start."

 

What are some of your other hobbies for the offseason? "I love to fish. I fish for flounder, snook, inshore stuff."

 

How would you feel if Barry Bonds broke the home run record? "I'd absolutely love it. It's phenomenal what he's done for the game of baseball. You can talk about all the controversy you want, but you've still got to go hit the baseball. I'd be the first one to go shake his hand."

 

With your dad being so well-respected in the game of baseball, what does it mean to you to go make a name for yourself? "My Pops made a name for himself, so hopefully I can go keep that father-son legacy going. Hopefully, we'll be another father-son tandem to get in."

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site -- Card Set Available

[Mass Haas]

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First-time father Miller promoted to Double-A

By KEVIN GRAY

Union Leader (New Hampshire) Staff Sports Writer

 

The summer of 2007 has been full of lifestyle changes, but Pelham High graduate Derek Miller hasn't stopped recording outs for the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

 

Two weeks after the birth of his son, Miller was promoted to the Huntsville Stars, for whom he pitched six innings in a Southern League debut Friday night.

 

The southpaw yielded three runs and took a no-decision in his team's 5-3 win over the Tennessee Smokies. Miller was slated to pitch against Tennessee outfielder Sam Fuld in his first Double-A assignment, but Fuld, another Granite Stater, was given the night off.

 

Not surprisingly, a promotion to Double-A didn't faze Miller.

 

Even the birth of Nolan Ryan Miller, born June 20 in Melbourne, Fla., couldn't throw the new father off his game. In his first outing as a parent, Miller went out and pitched six strong innings, a quality start typical of his 2007 season.

 

As a member of the Single-A Brevard County Manatees before his promotion, Miller was able to live at home with wife Robyn and closely follow the pregnancy while pitching in the Florida State League.

 

"It's been an interesting season. There's been a lot of excitement, and I've been trying to stay even-keel when I'm on the mound," said Miller, who won three championships at Pelham and never lost a game as a starter.

 

He checked into a Huntsville hotel on Thursday and nearly beat the Smokies the following day, scattering eight hits with four strikeouts.

 

"Basically, I was just trying to give the guys a chance to win and do my job. I blew a two-run lead but kept it close enough, and we pulled it out in the end," Miller said.

 

Miller, who met his wife at the University of Vermont, said he didn't have to push hard for the naming of his son. Robyn agreed early on Nolan Ryan for a boy, a tribute to the Hall of Famer whose 5,714 career strikeouts are the most in major-league history.

 

"Just a dominant power pitcher with seven no-hitters. He's one of the best of all time," the proud father said. "A lot of people like the name Nolan, so I didn't have to sell it too much. I told my wife, 'If it's a girl, you can name her.'"

 

Miller, himself a workhorse throughout his pro career, already has reached 100 innings with a 4-4 record and 3.75 ERA this season. The six-foot lefty has been popping 90 mph on the radar and developing a slider, which he recently started throwing in games.

 

Another change for Miller has been toeing the left side of the pitching rubber, a move to create more deception against right-handed batters. Previously, Miller had been setting up on the right side of the rubber.

 

Results have been positive against righties, who are batting only .219 against Miller. (Lefties are hitting a robust .314, however.)

 

The 25-year-old Miller, a 47th-round pick in 2004, will make his next start at Chattanooga this week. His career remains on a track to the majors after moving up each season for the Brewers.

 

"I just take it day by day and enjoy what I'm doing. It's an honor to be out there," he said. "Not everybody gets that opportunity. There's a lot worse things I could be doing than playing a game for a living."

 

Fuld, of Durham, had been looking forward to facing Miller but didn't mind a night off on Friday. The center fielder has had a productive season for Tennessee, batting .308 as the team's leadoff hitter.

 

Fuld and Miller also crossed paths at spring training, and they played against each other in American Legion action years ago. Watching from the visiting dugout on Friday, Fuld was most impressed with Miller's mound presence.

 

"His stuff isn't unbelievable, but he's a solid pitcher across the board. He's got a good fastball, and I think what makes him effective is he challenges guys in and out with his fastball," Fuld said. "He shows a determination, and he's pretty fearless out there."

 

Nolan Ryan Miller, born June 20, likely inherited the baseball gene. But what if he's a lefty like dad?

 

"That's all right. He can make a name for himself," Miller said.

[Mass Haas]

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Sollmann now solid for Stars

Jack-of-all-trades becomes all-star at first base

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

A far cry from a Golden Dome, 30 or so Notre Dame fans and alums have gathered underneath the bland, humpbacked white tent along the right-field line at Joe W. Davis Stadium.

 

Their pregame picnic is briefly joined by another alum, who has popped in for a quick meet-and-greet. You don't know who is more pleased by the occasion, the group or the popping-in alum they have gathered to watch play, Stars first baseman Steve Sollmann.

 

Even if he hardly woke up any echoes or shook down any thunder, to borrow from the "Notre Dame Victory March," that evening, going 0-for-4, Sollmann is still batting a team-high (among regulars) .305 and has 19 stolen bases, 16 doubles and 39 RBIs.

 

A year and a day earlier, on these pages, there was another meet-and-greet with Sollmann. At the time, he was a utility infielder at Single-A Brevard County, picking up scraps of playing time all over the diamond. He was, he said then, "just trying to take every day as it comes and play the game the way I know how to play it."

 

He was in danger of being leapfrogged by more highly touted prospects, yet he was good enough to be chosen to the Florida State League All-Star team.

 

He's pulled an encore.

 

Sollmann is now a Southern League All-Star, one of four Huntsville players who'll start tonight in the annual North vs. South All-Star Game, set for 7:05 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.

 

"It's a great honor, obviously," Sollman said. "To be in that company is a pretty good feeling."

 

He'll be joined in the lineup by catcher Lou Palmisano, right fielder Brendan Katin and pitcher Mark DiFelice.

 

Also on the North roster are Stars outfielder Steve Moss and pitchers Lindsay Gulin and Marino Salas. The team will be managed by Huntsville coach Sandy Guerrero; he replaces Stars manager Don Money, who was chosen to serve as a coach in Sunday's prestigious Futures Game in San Francisco.

 

To have Sollmann at first base in the first place seemed almost a matter of convenience. Huntsville needed somebody to play the position. Sollmann needed a position to play. He got the shot in spring training and capitalized on it.

 

"It's been nice," he said. "I got off to a hot start and I think that helped solidify my position in the lineup. To show up at the park every day and know I'm probably going to be in the lineup is a good feeling. To have that consistency (of playing time) gives you more consistency as a player."

 

Considering the Brewers have another first baseman starting in a showcase game of slightly larger magnitude - ex-Star Prince Fielder starts for the National League in Tuesday's Major League All-Star Game - Sollmann's future at that position in this organization might be limited.

 

"It's something I can't dwell on," he said. "All I know is I'm playing pretty well and I hope to keep it up. I don't know what the Brewers are thinking. I try not to think about that. I just go out there and play my game and see what happens."

 

Along with the thrill of the All-Star selection, Sollmann will soon become a father for the first time.

 

"I can't say I don't think about it pretty much all day long," he said.

 

The due date is Aug. 16, but wife Kate is already back home in Chicago. She's been hospitalized a couple of times recently, feeling some contractions, and the birth may "be coming a lot quicker than I thought," Sollmann said.

 

"Who knows? I can get a call any day and be on my way back to Chicago."

 

It may be a while longer, if ever, before he gets a call to be on his way to Milwaukee. But, then again, it might be coming quicker than he'd have thought this time a year ago.

[Mass Haas]

Link for full preview article, excerpt follows:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=milb

 

The North lineup will have a distinctive Huntsville flavor with four of the starters, including pitcher Mark DiFelice, coming from the Stars. DiFelice saw his scoreless-inning streak snapped at 37 2/3 innings when he gave up a pair of seventh-inning runs to Tennessee on Wednesday. It was the first runs he had allowed since May 23, yet he improved to 6-1 while keeping his ERA at an impressive 1.62. He has appeared in 26 games, although he has only started the last three.

 

The Hunstville tandem of Steve Sollmann [first base] and Lou Palmisano [catcher] will bat second and third.

 

Listen to the game via this link at 7:05 PM Central:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

 

Also an available video feed here -- a small charge likely involved, but check it just in case it's free tonight, someone let us know at gametime:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c.../video.jsp

 

Box score and game log here:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...mp;lid=111

[Mass Haas]

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Huntsville players shine in North win

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

PEARL, Miss. - Before Mark DiFelice was handed the ball for his Southern League All-Star Game start, he was handed a piece of news by pitching coach Rich Sauveur.

 

You're going to Triple-A.

 

The Huntsville Stars' ace, who pitched a scoreless first for the winning North team in its 7-4 victory over the South, will report later this week to Milwaukee's Triple-A Nashville team.

 

It wasn't surprising news. DiFelice recently knitted together a franchise-record 36 consecutive scoreless innings over the course of 11 appearances. He leaves the Stars with a 6-1 mark and 1.62 ERA in 26 appearances, three of them as a starter.

 

"Hopefully I can go there and keep everything the same way," he said.

 

"(The promotion) was just a matter of time," Sauveur said. "He's been my most productive pitcher, my go-to guy. When he takes the ball, I feel like he's going to win. Game over."

 

Here's how the rest of the Stars' fared Monday in front of the announced crowd of 4,555 at Trustmark Park:

 

DiFelice allowed two hits, back-to-back singles by hometown J.C. Holt and Carl Loadenthal to open the game, then retired three in a row.

 

Brendan Katin was the runner-up in the home run contest, losing 6-5 in the final to Birmingham's Thomas Collaro. Katin had the night's most memorable blast, a shot to dead center that cleared the black "batter's eye" background, estimated at 470 feet.

 

In the "real" game, Katin was 1-for-2 with a run scored.

 

Steve Sollmann started at first base and went 1-for-4, scoring on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and scoring the fifth North run in the ninth.

 

Catcher Lou Palmisano played in his fourth straight All-Star Game (Midwest League in '04, Florida State League in '05, Southern League in '06) but was making his first start. He drove in the North's first run and finished 2-for-3.

 

Pitcher Lindsay Gulin gave up the first South run in the third inning.

 

Outfielder Steve Moss was 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

 

Marino Salas pitched the ninth for the North, but worked with such a big lead he didn't earn the save.

 

For the 30-year-old DiFelice, it will be his fourth term in Triple-A on a determined march to reach the majors that has seen him get oh-so-close and then almost in oblivion.

 

He was originally drafted by Colorado in 1998, and spent 2000 and 2001 in the Southern League at Carolina. He made it to Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2001.

 

Then he had to reboot his career - a couple of times. After Colorado let him go, he reached Triple-A with Baltimore in 2004 and with Washington in 2005. But after finding no hope with the Nationals, he gave independent ball a whirl, first in Somerset, N.J., then a sensational season in Camden last year, in which he was 12-9 with a 3.19 ERA and league-leading 132 strikeouts.

 

"To play independent baseball, and contemplating retiring (last year) and now get a shot with the Milwaukee Brewers, getting a shot with Double-A, then going to Triple-A is very gratifying," DiFelice said. "It was a lot of hard work. And it paid off."

 

All-Star notes: Carolina's Lee Mitchell was named the game's MVP. He was 2-for-4 with an RBI. ... The Southern League board of directors held a meeting Monday, but league president Don Mincher said there were no major developments. ... Stars owner Miles Prentice and GM Tom VanSchaack headed the Huntsville delegation to the game.

 

MiLB.com's coverage:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=milb

 

Box Score / Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=milb

[Mass Haas]

Home Run Derby Photo Gallery:

Brendan Katin nice photo (# 5), photo # 12 as well...

 

www.clarionledger.com/app...ofile=1287

 

Mark DiFelice photo # 11, Steve Sollmann # 19:

 

www.clarionledger.com/app...ofile=1287

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site:

 

Heether Named Hitter of the Week

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STARS SPOTLIGHT: CARLOS CORPORAN

Brad Shepard, Huntsville Times

 

Position: Catcher/First Base

 

Age: 23

 

Hometown: Catano, Puerto Rico

 

Stats: .167 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs

 

Year with Stars: First

 

Tell the readers a little about your home town of Catano: "It's a small city on the coast. They have a lot of seafood, and there is a lot of jet skiing. You always can feel the breeze off the ocean."

 

Favorite food: Shrimp.

 

You ever work on a boat growing up? "Not really. I was always dedicated to sports growing up, but I did enjoy living on the water. Other than playing ball, I'm really good at fixing cars. A lot of friends of mine have race cars, and they let me fix them."

 

So, fixing cars is sort of a hobby then? "Yeah. Last year, we got this really old car for, like, $500, and I worked on it for weeks."

 

Hobbies besides fixing cars: Basketball, jet skiing.

 

Equipment: Aka Adadema catcher's mitt, Rawlings glove when playing first, T141 Louisville Slugger bat.

 

How'd you become a catcher? "The first time I got drafted, it was by the Angels and I was 17 years old. I was young and decided to go to junior college in Lake City, Fla. My coach there, Tom Clark, one day came to me and wanted me to try catcher."

 

Were you open to it? "Yes. I started catching because my arm was so good. So, many scouts started looking at me. Plus, it's Puerto Rican style to be a catcher."

 

It worked out well for you, I guess? "Yeah, I went from the 29th round to the 12th round. That's a big difference. I love catcher. It's a good feeling, if you're 0-for-20, but your team is winning, you still feel a part of it. When you get a 'W,' you feel like you put the right fingers down."

 

So, what are you going to give Coach Clark if you get to the big leagues? (Laughs) "He says if I make the big leagues, I have to put lights up at the stadium."

 

You met any of the Puerto Rican catchers? "I met Yadier (Molina) because he plays winter ball with me. This offseason, I visited Benito Santiago's home. He's got some motorcycles, so we went out there. He taught me a lot of stuff."

 

What's your favorite baseball movie? " 'For Love of the Game' by far is my favorite movie."

 

Worst baseball movie: "Mr. 3000."

 

What's in your CD player right now? Puerto Rican music like Daddy Yankee and Reggaeton

 

Favorite player growing up: "Pudge" Rodriguez

 

What car do you drive now? 2000 Volkswagen Jetta

 

What was your first car? "I had a 1996 Ford Escort that was my grandmother's. I drove it to my first part-time job at Kmart. I was picking up shopping carts on the parking lots."