Hundley Hopeful No Pain Is Big Gain

It was the moment catcher Todd Hundley has waited for all spring.

Making his first start behind the plate for the Dodgers, Hundley expected the Baltimore Orioles to test his surgically reconstructed right elbow in Friday’s exhibition game at Holman Stadium.

He expects every team to test it.

“They’d be dumb not to,” said Hundley, who had surgery on his throwing elbow in 1997.

Sure enough, with Esteban Beltre at bat in the second inning, baserunner B.J. Surhoff took off for second. With Beltre refusing to give ground at the plate, Hundley had to throw around him.

“That kind of throw is the toughest strain you are going to put on your elbow,” Hundley said.

The throw arrived too late to get Surhoff, but that was the least of Hundley’s worries.

“You act and react,” Hundley said. “But after I made the throw, you wonder how much pain would come.”

The result was Hundley’s ultimate wish.

“No pain came.”

The only disappointment for Hundley, acquired in an off-season trade with the New York Mets, was that the game was cut short by a rain delay in the Dodger half of the second inning that lasted a little over an hour.

The teams finally resumed play, but by then, Hundley, starting pitcher Kevin Brown and the rest of the starters were gone, Manager Davey Johnson unwilling to take a chance with their well-being on the muddy, slippery field.

Hundley got one at-bat, singling off Baltimore starter Mike Mussina, along with the two innings behind the plate and the Dodgers eventually won, 7-2, in a game cut to seven innings.

“I wanted to play as much as possible, but God overruled that,” Hundley said. “It was a good day in my life. I’m just glad to go out there.”

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There is no way of knowing how many games Hundley will be able to catch this season.

What is now known, however, is who won’t be backing him up.

Catcher Tim Laker, one of those bidding for the backup job, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be determined.

The 29-year-old Laker, a free agent signed to a minor league contract in January, had a .150 average and one run batted in 10 games.

A five-year major league veteran, Laker has had previous duty with the Pirates, and also played for the Montreal Expos and Tampa Bay Devil Rays as well as the Orioles.

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Minor leaguer Jeff Williams, bidding to fill the team’s need for some left-handed relief, struck out five in three innings Friday.

Williams was so impressive, Johnson cut his outing short in order to get another look out at him before the Dodgers break camp Wednesday.

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Brown struck out five of the six batters he retired.

Said Hundley after being on the receiving end of Brown’s pitches for the first time: “I’d much rather be catching him than facing him. . . . You just hope you walk out of there with all 10 fingers.”

And a pain-free elbow.