Nothing Short of Remarkable : Mariners’ Rodriguez Having a Season for the Ages at 21

Teammates acknowledge that his polish and poise seem as stunning as his performance.

One such teammate, a 26-year-old senior statesman of the Seattle Mariners named Ken Griffey Jr., surveys the clubhouse from his leather lounge chair and says of Alex Rodriguez, this whiz kid who plays shortstop:

“He takes everything in stride. Doesn’t worry about anything. Of course he’s 21. What’s he got to worry about?”

Not much to worry about except those squealing teenage girls who send invitations to their prom and hang “We Love U Alex” banners in the Kingdome. Griffey makes a face when asked about this and says:

“He’s a heartthrob because he’s this young, clean-cut, handsome dude, just like I used to be. Cute, you know.”

That may be stretching it, but what Griffey was and is, is what Rodriguez seems to be.

“A franchise-type player who can do it all and do it effortlessly, just like Junior,” right fielder Jay Buhner said.

A Junior Jr.?

Rodriguez sat at his locker and said: “I’m excited to be having this kind of season, but I’m not really surprised. I have a lot of confidence in my ability.”

Whether challenging Griffey in a video game of Mortal Kombat or doing combat with American League pitchers, Rodriguez is doing more than producing a remarkable season for his age.

He’s producing a season for the ages.

“And it’s no fluke,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “The kid can play. He’s the real McCoy. Baseball-wise, he’s way above his years.”

Said Rodriguez: “I really feel like I’ve been given this gift, that I’ve been blessed. I thank the Lord for that, but I try to remember that it can be taken away, too.

“I mean, here’s something that really humbled me. I’m having a great year, but I realized it would take about 15 of them to do what Paul Molitor did [in accumulating 3,000 hits].

“There are a lot of great players. I just want to be one of them.”

In a year in which Ozzie Smith is bowing out and several outstanding young shortstops are bowing in--Derek Jeter, Edgar Renteria and Rey Ordonez among them--Rodriguez is in a class by himself.

The American League’s most valuable player, perhaps.

--He’s certainly a reason the Mariners stayed in the race when Griffey sat out 20 games because of a broken hand and Edgar Martinez went out for 21 because of a broken rib and Buhner went down for a week because of a jammed thumb and Randy Johnson . . . well, baseball’s best pitcher hasn’t started a game since May and is out for what is left of the season because of back surgery.

--He’s certainly an architect--he batted .435 as the AL’s player of the month in August--of the spectacular surge that has enabled the Mariners to put their hands around the Texas Rangers’ neck in the West, making that comeback against the Angels last year look like a practice run.

Would you believe? Here are the Mariners again at full throttle and here is Rodriguez leading the league in batting average, runs, total bases, doubles and extra-base hits. He is second in hits and among the leaders in homers, multiple-hit games and both on-base and slugging percentage.

In addition, he has established or is about to establish a stunning array of records for his position and age.

He turned 21 on July 27 but didn’t mark that passage by buying his own beer because he doesn’t like the taste. He would have happily accepted if teammates had toasted him with milk.

Among those records:

--He will be the first shortstop to win the AL batting title since Lou Boudreau in 1944 and the fifth overall.

--He is currently batting .363 and would be the third youngest to win the batting title. His average is certain to eclipse Ty Cobb’s .350 of 1907 as the highest for a player who was under 21 on opening day and will also surpass Lloyd Waner’s .355 of 1927 as the highest for a player who finishes a season under 22.

--He is only the fourth shortstop to hit 35 or more home runs--he has 36--and was the third-youngest player to reach that total behind Mel Ott and Frank Robinson.

--He was the fifth youngest to reach 100 RBI (he now has 121), and he has set AL shortstop records for doubles and extra-base hits and is likely to break the record for total bases.

Who said shortstops can’t hit for power? Rodriguez asks. An insult, he adds.

Of course, this isn’t Rabbit Maranville. Rodriguez is a sleek 6 feet 3, 195 pounds, and figures to get bigger and stronger.

“We projected an average of about .275-.280, 15 homers, 75 RBI, and that would have been a damn good year for a first-year player,” Piniella said.

“We batted him ninth at the start to take some of the pressure off, but he came so much faster than we anticipated that we moved him to second in May, about two months ahead of what we envisioned.

“He’s hitting in the garden spot of this lineup, but that’s not to take anything away from what he’s done. He’s been outstanding.”

There is no pitching around Rodriguez. He’s followed by a thunder alley of Griffey, Martinez and Buhner.

All have taken Rodriguez under their wing at times. Perfect role models, said Piniella.

Rodriguez recalled a scene in Minnesota in June. Griffey interrupted the card game in which Rodriguez was playing, summoning him to his locker.

“I figured he needed a minute to tell me something,” Rodriguez said. “I sat there for 2 1/2 hours. He broke it all down--life, contract, endorsements, the game.

“It was detailed and intense. Unbelievable. I had to call my mom to tell her about it.

“Last year I was up and down a couple times. This year I’ve been part of the team from the start. Guys have talked to me on a different level.”

Rodriguez was the first player selected in the 1993 draft just as Griffey was the first in 1987.

He lost his rookie status last year, appearing in 48 games at different times, but said the opportunity to be with the Mariners during the remarkable stretch run and the excitement of the playoffs “was the single most important boost” to his development, “the best learning experience.”

“To see veteran players prepare at the highest level,” Rodriguez said, “I told myself, ‘Don’t take it for granted, soak it in.’

“I may be 21, but I’ve never felt like a phenom and I hate the word potential.

“I want to be known as a player, period, and I went to spring training believing this was my year. I told Lou, ‘I’m ready,’ and he said, ‘I know you are, son.’ ”

The Mariners expected Rodriguez to provide solid defense. Anything with the bat would be a bonus.

Rodriguez smiled and said he has kept many of those spring stories, containing projections of what the club expected him to hit, as a motivation.

His own projection, not knowing how many at-bats he would get if he remained a No. 9 hitter: .300 average, 25 homers, 95 RBI.

Pressure? Success? Rodriguez said he doesn’t think about either.

“To me, success isn’t reflected by the results but by the preparation, trying to get better every day,” he said. “If I need to look back and pat myself on the back, I’ll do it when the season is over.”

Heady stuff, but not surprising. His heroes, Rodriguez said, have been “blue-collar guys.”

He has a poster of Cal Ripken Jr. over his bed in his mother’s house in Miami, and he wore No. 3 as a tribute to Dale Murphy in high school.

Rodriguez has worked diligently with batting instructor Lee Elia to shorten his swing and hone his discipline.

Among the people Elia has tutored in 13 seasons as a big league manager and coach: Mike Schmidt, Don Mattingly and Ryne Sandberg.

He said of Rodriguez:

“I haven’t seen too many guys get a bat through the hitting zone faster than Alex. He doesn’t have a real hole to speak of because he can handle just about any pitch in any location. There’s no telling what he can accomplish as a hitter, and he’s the best-looking shortstop I’ve ever seen.”

The performance speaks for itself. The maturity? The polish and poise?

Media specialist Andrea Kirby has helped, as did the rookie developmental program recently initiated by the players’ union.

Rodriguez also received widespread exposure through the nationally renowned baseball program at Westminster Christian High School and learned about stability and effort from his mother, Lourdes Navarro, who worked two jobs to send Rodriguez to private school and keep her family (he has an older brother and sister) going.

Rodriguez was born in New York City, but his parents moved to the Dominican Republic when he was 4. Victor Rodriguez, his father, was a catcher in the Dominican pro league and introduced his sons to the game.

The family resettled in Florida four years later, but Victor left when Alex was in the fifth grade and never returned.

“Maybe when you have to scratch and scrape some you grow up a little quicker, but Alex has always known how to handle himself in every situation,” said Rich Hofman, his high school coach. “I think a lot of the credit goes to his mother.”

So does Rodriguez, who said he took the love he once had for his father and added it to that he has for his mother. He considers her his best friend, calls almost daily and still lives at home in the off-season, when his favorite pursuits are golf, basketball and a wild night of video games.

This is a young man who asks a reporter if he can get him some water or a soda before a clubhouse interview, showers teammates with respect, thanks fans for seeking his autograph and credits Hofman for his baseball success.

“I appreciate that, but there wasn’t much I had to do,” the Westminster coach said. “The talent was there.

“He was obviously going to be a big-league player, but he’s superseded my timetable. I could never have predicted all of this happening so soon.”

Hofman is a friend of former Dodger manager Tom Lasorda, who invited the coach to bring Rodriguez to Dodgertown in the spring of 1993.

Rodriguez was captivated and told the Mariners not to draft him, that he wanted to be drafted by the Dodgers, who had the second pick.

The Mariners didn’t listen and Rodriguez was disappointed. Negotiations became contentious, but Rodriguez ultimately agreed to a $1-million bonus and now says he has fallen in love with Seattle, a mutual embrace.

He recently signed a three-year, $10.25-million extension with the Mariners, and it will be announced soon that he has signed a five-year endorsement deal with Nike, which will keep him in hoops gear.

“Everyone knows he’s a special player who’s going to get better,” said Griffey. “He’s a smart kid who works hard and knows what he can do and what he can’t do. All I’ve tried to tell him is stay focused, keep listening, and make sure he has time for himself.

“I mean, no one in here puts any pressure on him, but I just hope people don’t expect him to put up these same numbers every year.

“I hope that they’re not going to say he’s had a bad year if he hits .330 with 25 homers and 90 RBI.

“I hope he doesn’t get some of what I get . . . You know, 45 or so bombs and 135 or so ribbies and people say, ‘Just Junior having a Junior year, nothing special.’ I accept it and don’t worry about it, but I don’t want him feeling he has to do this every year or he’s come up short.”

Rodriguez said he understands. He said pressure is when you have five kids and don’t know where your next meal is coming from.

Then he winked and added: “That’s something I heard on TV the other day.”

Television throws those numbers and records at him nightly. The magnitude, he acknowledged, makes him blink sometimes, but he believes that with work and experience he will get even better, he will continue to improve as a player.

The most valuable player?

“I don’t think about it and I certainly don’t consider myself in the same class with Junior,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t see how I can be the MVP of the league when I’m not the MVP of my own team.”

Poise and polish? You bet.

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How Rodriguez Ranks With Best

Alex Rodriguez of Seattle is the sixth shortstop to hit 30 or more homers in a season. The list:

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Player, Team Year HR Ernie Banks, Chicago (NL) 1958 47 Ernie Banks, Chicago (NL) 1959 45 Ernie Banks, Chicago (NL) 1955 44 Ernie Banks, Chicago (NL) 1957 43 Ernie Banks, Chicago (NL) 1960 41 Rico Petrocelli, Boston 1969 40 Vern Stephens, Boston 1949 39 Alex Rodriguez, Seattle 1996 36 Cal Ripken, Baltimore 1991 34 Vern Stephens, Boston 1950 30

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Rodriguez would be the third - youngest batting champion of all time:

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Player, Team Age Year Al Kaline, Detroit 20 yrs, 9 months 1955 Ty Cobb, Detroit 20 years, 9 months 1907 Alex Rodriguez, Seattle 21 years, 2 months 1996 Pete Reiser, Brooklyn 22 years, 6 months 1941 Hank Aaron, Mil. Braves 22 years, 7 months 1956 Stan Musial, St. Louis 22 years, 10 months 1943 Ted Williams, Boston 23 years, 1 month 1941 George Brett, Kansas City 23 years, 4 months 1976 Willie Mays, NY Giatns 23 years, 4 months 1954 Tommy Davis, Dodgers 23 years, 6 months 1962

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The only shortstops to win a batting title:

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Player, Team Year Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1903 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1904 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1906 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1907 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1908 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1909 Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh 1911 Arky Vaughan, Pittsburgh 1935 Luke Appling, Chicago White Sox 1936 Luke Appling, Chicago White Sox 1943 Lou Boudreau, Cleveland 1944 Dick Groat, Pittsburgh 1960

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