Long Beach State University Athletics
Espinosa Has Big Shoes to Fill
5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
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Espinosa Fills Some Big Shoes Danny Espinosa came to the Long Beach State baseball program fully aware of what it meant to play shortstop for the 49ers. After all, the previous two players at his position were both first-round draft picks and are now in the majors. Espinosa never flinched, though, and after two seasons he's clearly earned a spot alongside the Oakland Athletics' Bobby Crosby and the Colorado Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki. "I came here because I wanted to be a big-time shortstop at this program," Espinosa said. "I'm different from those guys. Those guys are both first-round picks, big-time ballplayers, both in the big leagues already. They went up really quick. They're both unbelievable ballplayers." Espinosa said that while the Long Beach coaches have never compared him to his predecessors, fans and fellow students do all the time. "People always say, 'You've got big shoes to fill.' I do," Espinosa said. "They put up big-time numbers here. I'm trying to put up big numbers, too. I'm just trying to play my game. I can't play the game that they played. They were more power guys, bigger guys. I don't think there was really a lot of pressure. I just had to go out and play like I knew how to play." So far, Espinosa has done a good job of that. Last season he became the first 49er to earn Big West Conference Freshman of the Year honors after batting .281 with 31 runs, 16 doubles and 23 RBIs. This season the switch hitter has been even better, batting .331 with 27 runs, 10 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBIs. "I just think he's improved in a lot of areas already this year," said Coach Mike Weathers, whose team opens a three-game series with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (24-20, 8-4) tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Blair Field. "His offensive numbers are better. As a right-handed hitter he's much better. He wasn't much of a threat last year right-handed. I think he's more balanced now as a hitter. "Defensively I think he's fielding the ball much better. He's got a lot less errors. Most of his last year were fielding, careless-type, I'd call them. He's much more sure of himself this year." Espinosa agreed with Weathers' assessment. "I've gotten my errors down since last year, which I'm pretty happy with. My fielding could be better. It was better at the beginning of the year. "Hitting-wise I've come a long way, too. I've had to work hard at it. Same with fielding, I've had to work hard on my all-around game. The progression I've made from last year to this year, I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far, but I'm not completely satisfied." Espinosa has only made nine errors in the field, but he's not satisfied with how his season has gone defensively for the 49ers. "We were really good at the beginning of the year," Espinosa said. "We've been struggling a little bit lately. For the most part I think we're really good defensively. We have a lot of good infielders and outfielders. We've got outfielders who run the ball down all the time. Not much gets by our outfield. Defensively on the infield we make a lot of plays." Playing good defense has been crucial for Long Beach, which has seen its pitching staff hampered by injuries all season. "It's not a typical Long Beach (pitching) staff and it's not a typical Long Beach defense," Weathers said. "The offense has been much improved this year. That's an area that's picked us up and helped us. In years past it would have crumbled." Still, the 49ers (27-14, 7-2 Big West) are ranked 24th in the country and are tied for first in the conference. They also boast the No. 5 ranking in the RPI, thanks to the nation's most difficult schedule. "We've played eight more games against top 25 (teams) than anyone else in the country," Weather said, noting that this season, the 49ers have fared much better against ranked opponents, going 12-10. "People are starting to respect us a little bit more," Espinosa said. "A lot of people expected this to be a rebuilding year for us. We've got a lot of talent here, and I don't think a lot of people recognized that. Now that it's all coming together, and so far it's come together really good, people are starting to show us respect."
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