It was Saturday afternoon and the Eugene Emeralds were holding their first workout in Civic Stadium in preparation for today’s season opener at Spokane.
Michael Mallory, the Chicago Cubs second round draft pick in 1999, glanced around at the 20 or so fans spread out in the 5,000-plus seat stadium and looked amazed.
It appeared as though he was a bit disappointed that only a few people came to watch the team take batting practice and do defensive drills in its first appearance in Eugene.
But his thoughts were quite the opposite.
“Those fans right there are the most fans I’ve seen all year,” said Mallory, who is a 6-foot-4 centerfielder with a strong arm and a powerful bat. “We usually drew only two or three people a game down in Mesa. The weather was just too hot for the fans.”
The Emeralds, the Cubs short season Single-A team, arrived into town late Friday night after spending the previous two months down in the 112-degree heat in Mesa, Ariz. In order for the players to avoid any weather related problems, the team held their spring games at 7 a.m., hence the lack of fans.
“I’ve heard that the fans here are great and they like to fill this place up,” said second basemen Blake Blasi, who was a 10th round draft pick out of Wichita State this year. “Everybody is really excited to play in front of them and get it going.”
That much so was evident in the team’s BP session. Balls were flying out of the park on a regular basis as it appears the power supply of the 2000 Ems is fully loaded.
Ems manager Danny Sheaffer would casually crack a smile every time one of his pitches would end up over the Oregon Lottery sign in left, the Honey Bucket sign in center or the Serenity Lane sign in right.
“We’re going to hit some balls out of the ballpark,” said Sheaffer, who is eager to begin his second year as a manager. “We have some guys that are young, but they’ve got some ability. We don’t have a whole lot of question marks.”
One question that does arise, however, is the pitching. But with 14 pitchers on the roster the Ems should be able to find enough quality arms to carry them through the grind of their 76 game season.
Helping out for at least the first couple of weeks will be 27-year old pitcher Rich Barker, who is down in Eugene on a rehabilitation assignment to recover from shoulder surgery. Barker is a valuable asset to the team as he brings the all-so important credentials of having major league experience.
Last spring, when Cubs starter Kevin Tapani was put on the injured list, Barker was called up from Triple-A Iowa to fulfill his lifelong dream. And although he only made five appearances in a brief 16-day stay, the environment was one he said he’ll never forget and one he hopes to return to sometime soon.
“It was an awesome experience,” said Barker, who is by far the oldest player on the team. “I just picked their brains and the guys were great. Kerry Wood, [Steve] Trachsel, [Rod] Beck and [Mark] Grace were all willing to share information with me. And so now when my teammates ask me questions, I try to help out as much as I can.”
Another person who is helping out a great deal is catcher Yoon-Min Kweon’s interpreter. Kweon was signed by the Cubs last fall off his Korean Junior National team and is the headliner of the team’s nine foreign players. Kweon’s interpreter will be the middle man between Kweon and his coaches and also with the media.
“I’ve never had that before so it’s going to be a little difficult,” Sheaffer said. “But baseball is a universal language. I can use sign language and also I think I can express my point enough just by facial expressions.”
Sheaffer also said he expects his face to be a little less heated this coming season. He said that last season was a learning experience for him, as he had to make the hard transition from playing to coaching.
“Last year I hit the ground running and it was really hard for me because I was still in a player mode,” said Sheaffer, who has 17 years of professional experience. “Some of the lessons that I learned about expectations and development, I’ll be able to apply this year.
“And my blood pressure should be a little bit lower than it was last year.”
A key to keeping that blood pressure low will be to get off to a hot start, unlike a season ago in which the Ems began their inaugural campaign as a Cub affiliate at a dismal 0-6. Things didn’t get better as they finished last place in the Southern Division of the Northwest League with a record of 29-47.
But this is practically a whole new team, with the only returnees being pitchers Francis Beltran and Jose Cueto.
It all starts tonight when the Ems battle the 1999 Northwest League Champion Spokane Indians at 7:05 p.m. in Avista Stadium.
“It’s going to be exciting to play them,” Sheaffer said. “It’s going to come down to pitching. We’re going to catch it and we’re going to hit it. We’ve just got to throw it.”