Rookie Nicks proves himself against the Jets
It probably isn’t the easiest thing for a rookie in New York, surrounded by a cluster of other receivers who are fighting to be in the same position as he, to be able to turn some heads in a preseason game.
Rookie Hakeem Nicks proved otherwise, snatching two touchdown passes in last night’s 27-25 preseason loss to the crosstown rival Jets. Racking up 144 yards on the night on six catches, Nicks caught a ball from QB David Carr at the Jets’ 40 yard line and sprinted to the end zone for one of his two scores.
Nicks was highly touted coming into this season, but when I attended Giants training camp, Nicks was mainly a spectator. It’s nice to see him in the game to get some action. Hopefully he’s able to contribute to this team throughout the season.
Latest update from Flushing: Wagner traded, Santana shut down
We all knew that former closer for , Billy Wagner, was put on the trading block due to the fact that he is ready to play, yet the Mets didn’t expect such a quick recovery.
Today, the Mets shipped Wagner to the Boston Red Sox for two players to be named later, while both sides came to a conclusion with just minutes to spare before the deadline to complete the deal. This deal comes to no surprise, as the Mets and Red Sox were rumored to be negotiating.
In other news, Mets’ ace Johan Santana was the latest Met to become victim to injury. It appears that Santana’s season is over, after news reports that were released the other day explained that Santana’s arm had been giving him problems as of late and that it just got to be too much.
Santana is expected to make a full recovery and be back on the field for the start of Spring Training in 2010. This isn’t really a horrible thing for the Mets considering they were already so injured that it became a difficulty putting 9 guys on the field.
The structure of this team in 2010 should be interesting.
Fomer Giants star Burress sentenced to two years in jail
According to several news outlets all over New York, former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in jail this morning. Burress will begin his sentence in September.
Burress, who shot himself during the middle of last season with the Giants, possessed the gun without a license and was facing up to three years in jail.
Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce was also facing charges for being Burress’ accomplice in this act, as he allegedly covered up the evidence after it happened. Pierce was cleared of all charges in recent weeks and will not be facing any sort of jail time.
It is uncertain whether Burress will return to football, because he will be in his mid-30’s when he returns. I’m sure commissioner Roger Goodell will suspend him for at least a half season or so upon his return if he even decides to continue his career.
Mets’ Wright hit by pitch, suffers concussion
In the bottom of the fourth inning of tonight’s extra-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants, Mets third baseman David Wright was hit by a pitch by Giants pitcher Matt Cain. Wright immediately hit the ground and stayed there for about two minutes before walking off the field with help. This is a serious damper in the Mets’ already very bleak hopes of making a miracle run to the postseason, and with as many injuries as the team has, it looks like they will be missing the postseason for the third consecutive season.
Former Mariners, Orioles utility man Amaral devotes his time to youth baseball
Former Major Leaguer Rich Amaral brought his son’s little league team to Cooperstown All-Star Village, a baseball tournament camp in New York for twelve year olds across the country. During the Championship Game on Thursday evening, I had the chance to interview Amaral, and the story can be read below.
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After playing professional baseball for nearly two decades, you might want to take a break. Not Rich Amaral, who decided to begin a fundamentals camp in his final season in the Major Leagues.
“I decided that, since I had four kids and my son was little league age, it would be a good idea to do some kind of a camp over the winter to try to raise some money for the little league. We put it together to the little league board but we weren’t sure what kind of turnout it would have. We ended up having over 150 kids show up so it turned out to be something that was really good.”
That would be an understatement. The camp flourished, and Amaral is now in his tenth season with it, which he admitted is much longer than he initially predicted. The camp, which is held two weeks in the winter and two weeks in the summer, helps little leaguers work on their fundamentals and covers all of the basics of entry level baseball. It even includes dugout etiquette, which Amaral takes very seriously.
“We have our own session for it, and there are so many things that these kids do not yet know at this age,” explained Amaral.
While Amaral wants kids to take part in his camp, he also understands that there is not a better motivation than enjoying the task at hand.
“I try to make it fun and my big thing is to teach the kids to hustle and have a lot of fun. If you don’t have fun in baseball, it won’t last. You won’t have kids that will continue to love it. If you get kids started early who enjoy it, those kids will be lifelong baseballs fans regardless of how much they play.”
I was able to talk to Amaral about his playing days, as well. He began in the Chicago Cubs organization and bounced around the minor leagues in the northeast. He then went to the Seattle Mariners, where he spent the majority of his career. When I asked about his rookie year and what it was like to play for Lou Piniella, I didn’t expect such a great story to begin unfolding before my very eyes.
“Here I was, a 31-year old rookie competing for a middle infield job against 23-year old Bret Boone,” said Amaral. “Lou Piniella didn’t care who you were, he was just all about winning. Most organizations would have said that Boone was their future and that they would want to give him some major league experience, but Lou gave me the job. Lou was the type of guy that would just take the best players at that time and he felt like I was the best.”
Amaral had a career .276 batting average, and his best season came in 1996. He hit .292 in 118 games, hitting 3 triples while stealing 29 bases. Amaral played in over 100 games in a season twice in his career, with the other season being in 1993. Playing every position but pitcher and catcher, Amaral did what it took to be the best team player possible.
“I came up as a second baseman and I was comfortable with it. I had to learn how to play shortstop and third base on the way up through the minor leagues. I really enjoyed playing center field. I loved running balls down, trying to rob base hits. Another position that I enjoyed playing was first base because you are involved with every play and there is a lot of action. All in all, as a player you need to do what it takes to stay in the big leagues, and for me it was to be as versatile as I could.”
Following the 1998 season, the Mariners had developed other players to fill his spot, so he became a free-agent and began to look elsewhere. He was thrilled when the Orioles showed interest because Camden Yards was his favorite ballpark to play at and he began his career on the east coast.
“I was glad to be able to experience East coast baseball, since I was familiar with the area. With the American League East, the East coast was a bit rougher. It was neat to be a part of that, especially getting a chance to play with Cal (Ripken) and a few other guys. I look back and realize what an experience it was to play for a couple teams.”
Last season, Amaral worked in the Mariners organization coaching the baserunners from the minor leagues to the majors.
“It was a part-time job. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t do it this year, as they have a new General Manager and cleaned out their staff.”
One particular player who caught his eye while working in Seattle was a player named Tyson Gillie, who, like myself, has a severe hearing loss. Gillies is in single-A, but is a big time prospect and played in the Futures Game. He also played in Major League Spring Training this year.
“I saw him last year and he won me over by his attitude and determination. I think, at some point, the way he works and his desire, he will be in the big leagues some day. He is in high-A ball right now and he is working his way. Maybe in 2-3 years if things keep going well for him, he will get a shot in the big leagues.”
Amaral said 2008 was his only season working in baseball since he retired, explaining that he has wanted to spend time with his family over the course of the past years.
“As a baseball player, the thing people don’t realize is the sacrifice you have to take when you have family in your life. Yeah, we had the offseason which was great, but during the year, I missed little league games and other important things. I was blessed to be a big leaguer and there were a lot of great things, but the things you miss out on are things with your family. When I retired, I was able to spend a lot of time working with my kids, helping them out in the classroom. I started to work in the mortgage business, and I’ve done that for six years.”
Now that Amaral has been retired and has some time on his hands, he was able to travel with his son’s team to Cooperstown All-Star Village and compete with teams from around the country. During his stay in the Cooperstown area, Amaral was able to check out the Hall of Fame and look at some plaques of his former teammates.
“I was in Cooperstown 26 years ago right out of college but coming back now it means a lot more to me. It shows how hard it is to be a hall of famer, and to actually see some of the plaques of the guys that I played with up there was neat, too. It was really special for me to get back and look at that.”
As Amaral continues to be involved with his kids’ lives by traveling to Cooperstown and running a camp, he also realizes that they will soon grow up and that it will soon be time for him to think about the next chapter in his life.
“My kids are getting older to the point where I am thinking about getting back into baseball and see if it would be a good fit.”
With those words, it appears to be inevitable that we will see more of Rich Amaral in Major League Baseball.
It’s just a matter of when.