Loretta Sees Role Model in Cirillo

Being lumped in with the electric company and gas company is something Mark Loretta has tried to avoid. But sticking in the big leagues takes precedence, so he’ll accept his utility role for now.

Loretta, 24, has played second and third base in addition to his customary shortstop this season for the Milwaukee Brewers. His defense has been excellent, and he is batting .346.

“I’m playing a lot of different positions, filling in as a utility-type guy right now since a full-time job isn’t available,” Loretta said.

The Brewers have young players starting at each infield position. Shortstop Jose Valentin, 26, batted only .219 last season but hit 11 home runs. Second baseman Fernando Vina, 27, hit .257 and third baseman Jeff Cirillo, 26, hit .277.

Loretta, who played at St. Francis High and Northwestern, believes he will break into the everyday lineup if he continues to produce. Most of his 46 at-bats have come against left-handed pitchers. Loretta, who bats right-handed, often platoons with Vina, a left-handed hitter.

“I just want a full-time anything, whether it’s second base or shortstop makes no difference,” he said.

Loretta raised his stock considerably last year with a strong performance at triple-A New Orleans. He hit .286 with 79 runs batted in and was named to the American Association all-star team.

He made the most of a September call-up to the Brewers, batting .260 in 50 at-bats and playing shortstop, second and third base. Baseball America ranked him as the Brewers’ No. 4 prospect before this season.

Continuing to hit well will be the ticket to increased playing time. Loretta, who holds a business degree from Northwestern, is smart enough to realize that.

“Not playing every day is nothing I’ve done before,” he said. “I really have to concentrate in batting practice when I’m not in the lineup. Then I have to doubly concentrate when I am in there.”

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Loretta is following the lead of Cirillo, who won the third base job this spring after two seasons as a utility infielder.

Cirillo, who played at tiny Providence High in Burbank, mastered the task of producing at the plate while playing a variety of positions. He hit .277 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 328 at-bats and saw action at first, second and shortstop in addition to third.

He was less amenable than Loretta about his role, however.

“I wanted to be the third baseman, I was always clear about that,” Cirillo said.

Now he has his wish. Kevin Seitzer is serving mostly as a designated hitter, and Cirillo, voted top defensive third baseman in the American Association in 1994 before being promoted to the Brewers, is flourishing.

Besides batting .292 with three home runs this season, his stellar defense frequently makes the highlight reels.

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Steve Sisco is back in the infield where he is safe from outfield walls. Sometimes he even serves as designated hitter, which is safer still.

And Sisco, who played at Thousand Oaks High and Moorpark College before appearing in two College World Series with Cal State Fullerton, is back with the Wichita Wranglers, the Kansas City Royals’ double-A affiliate.

Sisco’s 1995 season was cut short when he suffered a broken right leg after he ran into a wall chasing a fly ball. The game was his first as an outfielder. And probably his last.

Sisco was batting .301 in 54 games at the time of the injury. His start has been slower this season, although he has two six-game hitting streaks. He is batting .247 with 10 RBIs and has played first, second and third base in addition to designated hitter.

“It’s an odd role being an everyday utility player, but it’s a way to move up and I see it as a positive,” Sisco said.

A 26 and recently married, Sisco realizes time is starting to work against him. “I need to get to triple A and keep moving to the big leagues,” he said.

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The unassuming man leaning against the snack bar at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday quietly watching the Matadors play Cal State Fullerton was Jerry Walker, the St. Louis Cardinals’ director of major league player personnel.

The Cardinals have the third overall pick in the June draft, and Walker was evaluating Fullerton center fielder Mark Kotsay. A day earlier, he had watched first baseman Travis Lee of San Diego State. Both players are projected as first-round picks.

Walker also saw Northridge catcher Robert Fick playing out of position at first base. Fick, at .405 with 19 home runs, is batting better than either Kotsay or Lee, and his stock has risen dramatically in the eyes of scouts the last two months.

The Cardinals are plenty familiar with the Fick name. Robert’s brother, Chuck, is the team’s area scout for Southern California and his brother Chris is the left fielder at the Cardinals’ double-A affiliate in Arkansas.