Nice Work If You Can Get It
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C M Y K E14 DAILY 04-22-07 MD RE E14 CMYK E14 Sunday, April 22, 2007 R x The Washington Post Home runs by the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez in his first 15 games this season. He tied the Phillies’ Mike Schmidt (1976) for the fastest to 12 homers. He needs two more to tie Albert Pujols (2006) for the most home runs hit in April. Rodriguez also has 31 RBI, MLBSunday By Dave Sheinin 12 four short of Juan Gonzalez’s April record of 35, set with the Rangers in 1998. WHAT IT FEELS LIKE . What’s a LOOGY (LOO•gee) n. Acronym for “lefty one-out guy,” refers to Gotta Love a Good LOOGY LOOGY? a left-handed relief specialist whose primary job is to retire left-handed batters in high-pressure, late-inning One-out lefties have carved a niche in baseball strategy. situations, often facing only one such batter per game. GREAT MOMENTS IN LOOGY HISTORY . to get pancaked at home plate by a 6-3, 220-pound base runner going full speed On April 21, 2005, Mike Redmond, the Minnesota Twins’ backup catcher, was run over at the plate by Kansas City Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney, a collision that forced Redmond out of the A youthful Barry Bonds game and left him with bruised ribs. Tony LaRussa with a swing Here is his account of the collision: brought LOOGY and a miss You see the ball coming from left philosophy against his field, and you see the runner in your line to Chicago in LOOGY nemesis, of vision. It was the ninth inning, close 1979. King, in 2004. game, and I said, “I have to hang in there, hang in there,” as the ball’s ASSOCIATED PRESS BY DILIP VISHWANAT—GETTY IMAGES coming. And the ball took a hop on the 1 Aug. 2, 1979 2 May 15, 1987 3 July 31, 2000 turf and just kind of slowed down. And Chicago White Sox name Tony La Russa manager Jesse Orosco loses the New York Mets’ closer job Ray King faces Barry Bonds for the fi rst time by then I was in no-man’s land, I couldn’t get out of the way. So I just La Russa may not have invented the LOOGY, though he Just seven months after closing out the Mets’ World In a historic meeting, King gets Bonds to tap back to had to take it. He hit me. I mean, he often gets the credit, but he certainly helped popularize Series title, Orosco lost his job to rising star Roger the mound for an out. Why is this historic? In the next crushed me. And I just went straight it, deploying such proto-LOOGYs as Kevin Hickey (White McDowell, relegating Orosco to the ranks of LOOGY- six years, King will hock a fi gurative loogie into Bonds’s backwards. Sox, 1981-83) and Rick Honeycutt (Oakland, 1988- dom. But Orosco turned the demotion into a mission, eye. Bonds has gone 1 for 16 (.063) in his career vs. Then I was on my back, kind of doing 93). After moving to St. Louis, he further standardized authoring arguably the greatest career in LOOGY King, his lowest batting average against any pitcher a check of my body, trying to find out the double-LOOGY bullpen, using both Honeycutt and history. He pitched until he was 46 years old and still he has faced more than 15 times. The one hit, what hurt the most, so I could tell the Tony Fossas in that role in 1996. holds the all-time record of 1,252 games pitched. however, was a walk-off homer in 2003. trainers when they got there. At first I thought I’d separated my shoulder. And I was having trouble breathing, and TOP LOOGYS OF 2006 MOST PROLIFIC “PURE” LOOGYS every time I breathed it was hurting. It (minimum 50 games pitched) Most career games pitched while averaging less than one inning. just kind of paralyzes you. Sweeney is the nicest guy in the INNINGS OPPONENTS’ INNINGS OPPONENTS’ PITCHER GAMES PITCHED BATTING AVG. PITCHER GAMES PITCHED BATTING AVG. world, and he’s saying, “Dude I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You okay?” I said, “Don’t Dennys Reyes (Twins) 66 50.2 .197 Mike Stanton (1989-2007)* 1,117 1,061.2 .253 worry about it. That’s what you’re Will Ohman (Cubs) 78 65.1 .208 Paul Assenmacher (1986-1999) 884 855.2 .255 supposed to do.” George Sherrill (Mariners) 72 40.0 .213 Mike Myers (1995-2007)* 819 494.1 .252 . I didn’t go on the disabled list, but it still hurt almost all year. I can still Trever Miller (Astros) 70 50.2 .225 Buddy Groom (1992-2005) 786 734.2 .285 feel it in there every once in a while. Matt Thornton (White Sox) 63 54.0 .229 Steve Kline (1997-2007)* 732 640.0 .250 I have a photo of [the collision] on Damaso Marte (Pirates) 75 58.1 .244 Alan Embree (1992-2007)* 717 627.2 .252 the wall in my office. It’s not something I think about much now, but when I’m Mike Myers (Yankees) 62 30.2 .244 Graeme Lloyd (1993-2003) 568 533.0 .271 done I want to be able to remember Tony Fossas (1988-1999) 567 415.2 .269 what it felt like. Reyes, near right, held opponents under .200 last Scott Radinsky (1990-2001) 557 481.2 .253 year. Stanton, far right, is the career uber-LOOGY. Ricardo Rincon (1997-2006) 557 439.2 .233 BY JONATHAN DANIEL—GETTY IMAGES BY CHRIS TROTMAN—GETTY IMAGES * through Tuesday’s games NEWS & NOTES SOURCE: STATS LLC. THE WASHINGTON POST As a Twin, Former Nat Nice Work if You Can Get It Ortiz Excels Ramon Ortiz might have Left-handed Relief Specialists Have a Unique Job: Face Just One Batter re-signed with the Washington Nationals this winter if the By Dave Sheinin he often pitches into his 40s. while averaging less than one inning Reyes of the Minnesota Twins, who Villone and Mike Myers) and Mike organization could have made Washington Post Staff Writer He is the reason you tie your 2- per appearance — was by the immor- last season authored one of the great- Hargrove’s Mariners (primarily two things happen: Prove they year-old son’s right hand behind his tal Bill Henry of the Cincinnati Reds est LOOGY seasons of all-time (66 George Sherrill), who each did it 35 2 were ready to be a winner in And now, faithful readers of MLB back when your wife isn’t around. in 1962. That makes Fred Hutchin- appearances, 50 ⁄3 innings, 0.89 ERA, times, according to retrosheet.org. 2007, and move to the American Sunday, let us join in praise for the “I was a big Nolan Ryan fan as a son the first manager to deploy — or, .197 opponents’ batting average). “Everybody gives La Russa a hard League. The chances of either, LOOGY: the “lefty one-out guy,” also kid,” said LOOGY extraordinaire Ja- some might say, “to hock” — a LO- “He’s the one we all look up to.” knock [for over-managing],” King of course, were nil. known as the left-handed relief spe- mie Walker of the Baltimore Orioles OGY. La Russa began using Kevin Hick- said, “but he’s a guy [who] put every And so Ortiz, the Nationals’ cialist. You know him. You love him (current contract: three years, $12 But it wasn’t until the 1980s that ey as a LOOGY with the White Sox pitcher in a situation to have success winningest pitcher last year, is (as long as he’s retiring his one bat- million), explaining how one typical- the LOOGY began to take hold as a in 1981, and La Russa’s future teams . A game could be 14-1, and he’s plying his trade for the ter per game). You wish you were ly becomes a LOOGY. “Hell, I didn’t standard bullpen weapon. Two sig- in Oakland and St. Louis almost uni- still going to match up.” Minnesota Twins — fulfilling him. want to be a reliever until I realized nificant things happened in that dec- formly carried one LOOGY, if not Interestingly, though King is one his wishes of playing for a He is typically goofy and often my stuff is not as good . It does ade: Tony La Russa (in 1980) man- two. The list reads like a Who’s Who of the greatest LOOGYs of all-time, potential winner, and not having overweight — his job description re- blow my mind, the money we make.” aged his first full season and Jesse of LOOGYs: Rick Honeycutt, Tony in his first five appearances for the to bat. Through three starts, he quires little in the way of sanity or fit- The LOOGY (freelance writer Orosco (in 1987) lost his closer’s job. Fossas, Lance Painter, Orosco (for Nationals this season he has faced is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA, and he ness. He enters during the seventh or John Sickels is often credited with Over time, La Russa would come to six games in 2000), Steve Kline and five, two, three, four and six batters. says he could not be happier. eighth inning, faces his one batter coining the term), did not fully be known as the most prolific (or, Ray King. Nats rookie manager Manny Acta “I felt good in Washington,” (usually the best left-handed hitter evolve until recent times, but has some might say, most egregious) de- Last season, La Russa deployed has some learning to do, it seems, in said Ortiz, who was 11-16 with a on the opponents’ roster), and dis- been around longer than you might ployer of the LOOGY in history, one of his LOOGYs (Tyler Johnson the art of the LOOGY.