azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Jack Magruder, Tribune
TUCSON - As Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Terrero is talking, he places his right hand at chest level and moves it back and forth, drawing an imaginary line.
The line, he explains, represents the norm, the average that could be expected from a major league player. It is a line he does not want to define his career.
"Sometimes you have to play on that line, you know what I mean? But I believe when you go away from the line sometimes, that is what is going to make you an all-star player," Terrero said.
"That’s what I want to be. I don’t want to be a routine guy. I want to be something else. Special. That’s the way I see myself."
Others have seen Terrero that way, too.
Invited to play in the 2000 Hall of Fame game as a 19-year-old Rookie League player, Terrero obliterated the line, making two diving catches in left-center field and running the bases with grace and power.
He was described as a fivetool player then, and not much appears to have changed since.
"You may have a guy who doesn’t run very well but does everything else really well. You may have a guy who hits well but might not field well. He (Terrero) has the ability to do all," D-Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
"Now he gets a little inconsistent at times, but he has the ability to do everything, and there aren’t too many of those guys. He’s an impressive talent; he really is."
The D-Backs like Terrero’s potential but traded for Jose Cruz Jr. to play center field this year to give Terrero, still only 24, another season to refine his game.
During the growing process, Terrero sometimes has followed a display of athleticism — he hit an opposite-field splash-down home run at Bank One Ballpark — with a seemingly inexplicable play, such as throwing behind a runner or trying to take one base too many.
"Awareness is going to be a key for him," Melvin said. "You can’t just show off all your talents all the time. You have to understand certain parts of the game. You have to play smart at times."
Because he wants to excel so badly, Terrero admits playing it straight can be a challenge.
"The little things that look like I am trying to do too much or that I’m not supposed to do, I believe that is what could make me different from everybody," he said.
"When they go wrong, it is going to be a (bad) play. But when they go well, it is going to be an all-star play. I believe I can make that play, that’s why I do it. On this level, you have to really think before you do something, because everything you do, everybody sees. It makes it bigger than what it is. But I believe that is what is going to make me better."
Terrero has played all three outfield spots this spring and could start in center field when Melvin wants to give Cruz a day off, especially against a left-handed pitcher.
Terrero said he will accept whatever role is offered and is especially thankful to still be playing after suffering a blood clot in his 2003 winter ball season that had lifethreatening consequences until he was stabilized after being flown to a specialist in St. Louis.
"You know what I came through. I almost passed away. From there, I have to live day by day. Come out here, enjoy my day," said Terrero, from Barahona, Dominican Republic. "In the Dominican, all you see is the big leagues. That’s your dream. I always believe in God first, then I believe in myself, too. That’s what I am working for. You don’t work for nothing. You have to have some motivation in mind. You get to the big leagues.
"Now I get to the big leagues, I want to be here for awhile."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38659
TUCSON - As Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Terrero is talking, he places his right hand at chest level and moves it back and forth, drawing an imaginary line.
The line, he explains, represents the norm, the average that could be expected from a major league player. It is a line he does not want to define his career.
"Sometimes you have to play on that line, you know what I mean? But I believe when you go away from the line sometimes, that is what is going to make you an all-star player," Terrero said.
"That’s what I want to be. I don’t want to be a routine guy. I want to be something else. Special. That’s the way I see myself."
Others have seen Terrero that way, too.
Invited to play in the 2000 Hall of Fame game as a 19-year-old Rookie League player, Terrero obliterated the line, making two diving catches in left-center field and running the bases with grace and power.
He was described as a fivetool player then, and not much appears to have changed since.
"You may have a guy who doesn’t run very well but does everything else really well. You may have a guy who hits well but might not field well. He (Terrero) has the ability to do all," D-Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
"Now he gets a little inconsistent at times, but he has the ability to do everything, and there aren’t too many of those guys. He’s an impressive talent; he really is."
The D-Backs like Terrero’s potential but traded for Jose Cruz Jr. to play center field this year to give Terrero, still only 24, another season to refine his game.
During the growing process, Terrero sometimes has followed a display of athleticism — he hit an opposite-field splash-down home run at Bank One Ballpark — with a seemingly inexplicable play, such as throwing behind a runner or trying to take one base too many.
"Awareness is going to be a key for him," Melvin said. "You can’t just show off all your talents all the time. You have to understand certain parts of the game. You have to play smart at times."
Because he wants to excel so badly, Terrero admits playing it straight can be a challenge.
"The little things that look like I am trying to do too much or that I’m not supposed to do, I believe that is what could make me different from everybody," he said.
"When they go wrong, it is going to be a (bad) play. But when they go well, it is going to be an all-star play. I believe I can make that play, that’s why I do it. On this level, you have to really think before you do something, because everything you do, everybody sees. It makes it bigger than what it is. But I believe that is what is going to make me better."
Terrero has played all three outfield spots this spring and could start in center field when Melvin wants to give Cruz a day off, especially against a left-handed pitcher.
Terrero said he will accept whatever role is offered and is especially thankful to still be playing after suffering a blood clot in his 2003 winter ball season that had lifethreatening consequences until he was stabilized after being flown to a specialist in St. Louis.
"You know what I came through. I almost passed away. From there, I have to live day by day. Come out here, enjoy my day," said Terrero, from Barahona, Dominican Republic. "In the Dominican, all you see is the big leagues. That’s your dream. I always believe in God first, then I believe in myself, too. That’s what I am working for. You don’t work for nothing. You have to have some motivation in mind. You get to the big leagues.
"Now I get to the big leagues, I want to be here for awhile."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38659
