He Hopes Buc Doesn’t Stop Here

Craig Wilson would never say it out loud, but it might have been better if the reporter calling his Lynchburg, Va., apartment had contacted him a couple of weeks ago.

That’s because, after an excellent start, Wilson had a four-for-35 stretch and his average has dropped to .239.

But catchers, even with Sandy Alomar Jr. and Mike Piazza tearing up the major leagues, are not expected to carry high averages--unless it involves fielding and throwing out baserunners.

And Wilson--who catches for the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ single-A team in the Carolina League--still has his power game working. In 74 games he has 10 home runs and driven in 39.

“I expected in the pros to face good pitching every day, and that has been the case,” said Wilson, 20. “My biggest adjustment is learning to hit more off-speed stuff. You do see fastballs, but they have more movement and velocity than you see in high school. And the pitchers get more accurate at every level.”

Summertime in Virginia has required other adjustments. As a native Californian, Wilson wasn’t quite ready for the region’s humidity, made all the more oppressive by masks, shin guards and chest protectors.

“There’s nothing you can do about it. Just try to get used to it and drink enough fluids,” Wilson said.

He also doesn’t want to move from behind the plate. Wilson said he has been catching since age 12, and loves the position despite the physical and mental demands.

“Only another catcher knows how tough it is to be back there,” Wilson said. “People may have an idea; but until you get back behind the plate you don’t realize there’s so much more you have to know about the game.

“You have to know each hitter, what he likes and doesn’t like. You have to know if guy on first can run; what a pitcher likes to do in certain situations. But that’s the great thing about catching. You’re in on every play. At some other position, you might only get three balls a game.”

Despite his recent struggles, hitting has been an area in which Wilson has excelled.

He finished a stellar high school career at Marina in 1995 as a member of The Times all-county first team. He hit .500, with six home runs and 26 RBIs. He received a scholarship to UCLA, but opted for the pros when Toronto drafted him in the second round.

Wilson batted .283 in 49 games in rookie ball with Medicine Hat in the Pioneer League. Last year he was promoted to Hagerstown (Md.) in the single-A South Atlantic League, and hit .261 with 11 homers and 70 RBIs.

Last November, he was part of a nine-player swap between Toronto and Pittsburgh. Now Wilson sees the Pirates’ excellent young catcher Jason Kendall blocking his path to the majors.

“The only thing you control is whether you play hard and play well,” Wilson said. “As long as you do that, you can’t ask much more of yourself.

“I’m where I should be right now. I’m on a good team here, with good coaching. I’m learning. There’s no real downside. You can get into hitting slumps, but that’s baseball.”

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Augie Ojeda believes sitting out the 1996 minor league season and waiting until this year to begin his pro career was the best thing he could have done.

The previous two years had been a whirlwind of activity for the young shortstop. In 1995, his second year at Cypress College, Ojeda hit .297 with one homer and 28 RBIs. He was an All-America pick and was named co-MVP of the Orange Empire Conference.

Ojeda received a scholarship to Tennessee, and Coach Rod Delmonico recommended Ojeda to Ron Polk, the Mississippi State coach who was helping select the USA national team.

Polk--not enamored with the other shortstops trying out for the team--was quickly impressed with Ojeda, one of five non-Division I players invited to camp.

“If he’s not the best shortstop I’ve seen, I haven’t seen a shortstop,” Polk said. “He can get the in-between hop better than any kid I’ve ever seen.”

Ojeda entered Tennessee in the fall, batted .317 in 1996, and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won a bronze medal in Atlanta.

By the time Baltimore drafted Ojeda in the 13th round of the June draft, he needed a break.

“Rest was the correct thing. I was tired of playing,” Ojeda said. “Plus school [at Tennessee] started on Aug 21 and I wanted to get in another semester for 1996. I’m less than a year from a degree (in sports management) and would be the first from my family to graduate from college.

“The Baltimore organization was understanding and had no problem with it.”

The Baltimore organization thought enough of Ojeda that he went to the major league camp as a non-roster player for spring training this year, and he started at double-A Bowie (Md.).

So far Ojeda is not disappointing. In 54 games he has batted .282, with 20 RBIs and seven stolen bases. Playing on the national team was good preparation for the minor leagues, Ojeda said.

“There is not much difference in the caliber of play,” Ojeda said “On the national team we played against the Cubans, who were the top team in world, Japan and Korea. They play very fundamental baseball. It was an education; I saw the way the game should be played day in and day out. I try to do that now.

“I was surprised to start in double-A, since all my buddies from the national team are in single-A. But I’m lucky because I’m infielder and Orioles need them. Plus I had a good spring and people learned of me.”

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This week in minor league baseball history:

July 17, 1952--Jim Piersall, Birmingham (Ala.) outfielder recently sent down by the Red Sox, was handed a three-day suspension by the Southern Assn. president after having been tossed out of a game the previous night for the fourth time in less than three weeks with the Barons. Piersall played in the majors from 1950-67, the last five years with the Angels.

July 21, 1930--Dallas of the Texas League released Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887-1950), ending the Hall of Famer’s organized baseball career. He pitched 24 innings for Dallas and went 1-2 with an earned-run average of 8.28. In his 20 years in the majors, he went 373-208 with a 2.56 ERA.