J.D. Who?
Quietly, Drew making solid impression in St. Louis
Posted: Monday September 14, 1998 07:25 PM
Back in July when I watched bonus baby J.D. Drew playing in his first
pro games with the Class AA Arkansas Travelers I remember Drew telling me,
"I don't want all this attention. In fact, I wish there was some way I
could sneak into the major leagues without anybody noticing." Well,
did anybody notice Drew's first major league at-bat? It occurred on
September 8 and was obscured, to say the least, by Mark McGwire's
62nd home run earlier in the game. The next day in Cincinnati, McGwire was
replaced in the Cardinals lineup after two at-bats by Drew, who launched a
McGwire-esque 430-foot home run, a moment that could someday be recalled as
an historic passing of the torch in St. Louis. Hits and
misses As the season moves into its final two weeks, who are '98's
most notable booms and busts? In the American League the most pleasant
surprise has to be Toronto outfielder Shawn Green, who
has nearly doubled his power stats from a year ago to lead the Blue Jays
back into the wild-card race. The AL's biggest disappointment has to be Frank Thomas,
who despite knocking in nearly 100 runs is the poster boy for the White
Sox’s poor year. The most unlikely star in the National League is
Cincinnati's Dmitri Young,
who was left unprotected in the expansion draft by St. Louis but is hitting
over .300 and is third in the league in doubles. And the biggest NL
disappointment? Two words: Mark Wohlers.
And finally … Here's an anecdote that I believe best sums
up this remarkable season of the hitter. In a game on July 27 at the
Astrodome, Marlins starting pitcher Brian Meadows allowed five Houston runs
on his first EIGHT pitches, including two home runs, two singles and a hit
batsman. When beleaguered Florida manager Jim Leyland walked to the mound
and asked his catcher Mike Redmond, "How's he throwing?" Redmond looked
back at Leyland and said, "I don't know. I haven't caught one yet."
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