Crosby Living Out Fantasy for A's
by Doug Krikorian, Long Beach Press-Telegram
June 24, 2004 Bobby Crosby says he's living out his boyhood fantasy playing in the major leagues, savoring the joyful moments and enduring the stressful ones.
"This game tests you every day," he says. "It forever challenges you. You do good one day, but that doesn't help you the next one. And there always is a next day. And one after that. And on and on and on. It never stops. But I love it. This is what I wanted to do since I was a little kid. I still sometime feel like pinching myself just to make sure it's all real. Here I am playing in the major leagues, something I always dreamed of doing."
"What have been the highlights so far?' Crosby is asked.
"Oh, wow, just being able to play every day in the majors is obviously one," he says. "I guess hitting that home run in that first series in Anaheim against the Angels was something special. And hitting a home run in my first game at Yankee Stadium also was special. I'd never been to Yankee Stadium before. And then last week playing at Wrigley Field was memorable. What a great atmosphere. Playing in the majors is even better than what I thought it would be."
Bobby Crosby smiles softly.
The Oakland A's rookie shortstop who succeeded Miguel Tejada is standing in front of his locker in the visitors' clubhouse at Angels Stadium.
It is not a nice evening for the A's. They are beaten by the Angels, but Crosby performs solidly, contributing a bloop double and fielding his position with a sure-handed precision.
"That kid can play," says Angel manager Mike Scioscia of the former Long Beach State star. "He's good. Real good. And he's the type of player who's going to just keep getting better."
"What I like most about Bobby is his determination and focus," says the A's manager Ken Macha. "He's very solid in the field. He's got a bright future."
It didn't seem that bright for Bobby Crosby in the darkness of late spring when the strikeouts were plentiful and the hits were rare and the glove was erratic.
Suddenly, for the first time in his career, Crosby faced numbing adversity, and it seemed to get worse with each passing game.
The low point came in Oakland on May 8 against the Minnesota Twins when Crosby went hitless in four plate appearances and made a 10th inning error that resulted in an A's loss.
"I was really down in the dumps after that game," he says. "Sure, I had slumps before, but not like this. I wasn't hitting. My average was hovering around .200. I was striking out too much. And now I made a fielding mistake that cost us a game."
Bobby Crosby was depressed, and admits he sought counsel from people in the Oakland organization, including the team's general manager Billy Beane as well as Macha and some of the A's coaches.
"I told Bobby everyone makes mistakes in this game," relates Macha. "Heck, I've made pitching changes I later regret. But that's all part of baseball. You just have to forget the mistakes, and go on to the next game. Because there's always another game in baseball at least during the regular season. I also told Bobby that we in the Oakland organization were all behind him."
All the other A's folk that Bobby Crosby spoke to voiced similar support, and this gave the slumping Crosby a renewed feeling of security.
"After that, I began to relax more and just concentrated on going out and having some fun," says Crosby.
And, oh, has Bobby Crosby been having fun during the past month and a half, batting well over .300 during this stretch to lift his average to .270 with nine home runs and 26 RBI going into Wednesday night's match against the Angels.
He recently had a four-hit game against the St. Louis Cardinals, also had a two-homer outing, and now hears his name being mentioned in Rookie of the Year conversations on the sports programs.
But it's more than soothing words that extricated Crosby from his early bat miseries.
"I've been a pull hitter my entire career," says Crosby. "And the pitchers were throwing me a lot of slow stuff on the outside corners. And I kept trying to pull it. Finally, I got smart and started going with the pitches. And the hits started dropping in. And now the pitchers are starting to come inside again."
Bobby Crosby attended both of the Dirtbags' games in Palo Alto in which his former team emerged victorious, and watched the final one against Arizona on TV in which it didn't.
"It was really frustrating to watch what happened to the Dirtbags," he says. "But that's the nature of this game. It can be very frustrating."
It can be, but it also can be rewarding when the hits are falling, as they have been with regularity for Crosby in recent times.
"How lucky am I?' he says with a grin. "I'm playing a game I'd play for nothing. I get to travel all over America. And I get to play in front of huge crowds. The fans, by the way, in Oakland have been great to me, even when I wasn't doing well. I look forward to going to the park every day, and playing the games. I guess you can say I'm living a dream." |
