Big Apple Is More to Their Taste

The New York Met infielders get all the credit. Name a sports magazine and they’ve been featured in it.

It’s to the point that Met outfielder Darryl Hamilton walked into the clubhouse the other day, saw the infield on the cover of yet another magazine, slammed it down in mock disgust and said, “Can’t we get a little love in the outfield?”

No doubt, you’ve got to show some love for the Mets’ deep, talented outfield. And around these parts, you can’t help but feel a little remorse.

Two of the outfielders, Rickey Henderson and Roger Cedeno, had stints with the Angels and Dodgers, respectively. They didn’t put up anything close to the numbers they’re producing for the Mets this year.

The Angels traded three players to the San Diego Padres for Henderson in August 1997 in the wake of the Tony Phillips smoke-out. Henderson was batting .274 and stole 29 bases for the Padres, but he batted only .183 with 16 stolen bases while with the Angels. He stole 66 bases while in his hometown of Oakland last season, and this year he’s batting .327 with 33 stolen bases. And he’s 40.

In addition, Henderson is a great addition to the club’s mentality.

“He’s a Hall of Famer in the flesh,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said.

Henderson has Cedeno picking up the finer points of stealing bases and he has Mike Piazza talking to himself (which might not sound like a good thing, but Piazza credited a brief self-chat with helping him crush that home run off Kevin Brown Thursday night).

Cedeno came up through the Dodger organization and played 311 games with the big league club, starting in 1995. He totaled almost as many strikeouts as hits (158 to 173) and stole a total of 23 bases. He went to New York as part of the trade that brought Todd Hundley to the Dodgers, and this season he has busted out with a .308 batting average and 62 stolen bases.

The same question applies for both players. Where was this type of performance when you were here?

For Henderson, it was a matter of not feeling comfortable.

“I just didn’t like the Angels organization,” Henderson said. “The surroundings, then what happened when [pitcher Chuck] Finley got hurt [a season-ending wrist injury that started the team’s demise]. It just wasn’t right.

“For them being in the race, they weren’t organized. They didn’t know where they were going.”

Cedeno wasn’t sure where he was going with the Dodgers.

“I was young when I was here,” he said. “I didn’t have that much confidence in myself.”

Should the Dodgers have had more confidence in him?

Cedeno paused and smiled. He let that one go.

“Things happened,” he said, not assessing any blame.

“I think I was too young. I didn’t have the confidence.”

The only hint of a knock against his former team was his statement that “You want to be where you play every day.”

That’s what he has in New York.

“The biggest thing is he’s gotten the opportunity to play,” Met General Manager Steve Phillips said. “And if he makes mistakes he knows he’s still going to have the opportunity to play.”

And Cedeno is going to make mistakes. That’s one of the things that drove the Dodgers crazy.

He made another boo-boo Thursday night, breaking to third too quickly on a ball hit up the middle that Kevin Brown snagged and threw to second for the tag out.

As Orel Hershiser said afterward, it’s no secret that Cedeno’s greatest assets are his speedy legs that allow him to steal bases and run down balls in the outfield.

“When he’s standing and thinking and those legs don’t move, that’s when he gets in trouble,” Hershiser said.

That’s the main reason the Mets like to play him in right or left field instead of center. The less thinking, the better.

“He can react to the center fielder on one side and on the other side, the wall makes the decision for him,” Phillips said. “He’ll play center some day, with more confidence and experience.

“He’s very sensitive. He cares so much about how he’s performing and helping the team. Sometimes he gets down on himself when he makes a mistake, but we’re letting him play through the mistakes and letting him play.”

You could say Cedeno is just one of the mistakes the Dodgers have been playing through all season long.

J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com

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DODGERS: 3

METS: 1

Malone trying to get Piazza back in trade.

Page 7

ANGELS: 4

TWINS: 2

Vaughn’s hitting backs up Finley.

Page 4

PEDRO!

Martinez fans 17 Yankees in one-hitter.

Page 4