Hemphill Trying to Catch On

Bret Hemphill, a switch-hitting catcher, batted .313 in 74 games last season with the Angels’ triple-A team in Edmonton.

He made two trips to the majors, playing in 12 games with the Angels.

But one season later, Hemphill’s former teammate at Edmonton, catcher Bengie Molina, starts in Anaheim, and a disappointed Hemphill has taken the staircase down to the Angels’ double-A Eastern League team in Erie, Pa. It has left Hemphill wondering what went wrong.

“My concern is that the Angels have given up on me,” Hemphill said. “When they took me off the 40-man roster last May, I thought that might have been a clue. I know that people move up and down and that’s part of baseball, but I hope I can turn it around a little before this season is over.”

Hemphill, who played for Cal State Fullerton, was demoted to make room in Edmonton for Shawn Wooten, who also can play third base.

Hemphill, 28, was batting .276 with six homers and 21 runs batted in with Edmonton before he was demoted. Wooten, also 28, was batting .293 with nine homers and 35 RBIs for Erie.

Darrell Miller, the Angels’ director of player development, said the Angels wanted to see how Wooten would perform at triple A.

“Bret hadn’t done anything wrong, but Shawn deserved a chance to show what his skill level would be on the next level,” Miller said. “He played himself into that opportunity. Bret went to Erie because we wanted him to have the chance to keep playing regularly. We want to have good competition in our minor league system.”

Some questions had been raised about the strength of Hemphill’s arm after he had shoulder surgery following the 1997 season.

“I’m comfortable with my arm strength now,” Hemphill said. “There’s always room for improvement, and I could be a little quicker, but I think my arm strength is there now.”

Through Saturday, Hemphill was batting .248 with one homer and 14 RBIs in 35 games since joining Erie. Wooten was batting .322 with nine homers and 31 RBIs in 55 games for Edmonton.

Selected in the 14th round by the Angels in the 1994 draft, Hemphill could declare himself a free agent in October and try to make a deal with another team.

“I’m 99% sure that’s what I’ll do unless something changes,” Hemphill said. “It’s not a happy situation for me right now, but I still believe in myself.”

HOPING FOR BETTER

Another former Cal State Fullerton player, Jeff Ferguson, has been disappointed with his situation this season with the Minnesota Twins’ triple-A team in Salt Lake City.

Ferguson, a utility infielder, hasn’t played as much as he hoped in his fourth season with the Buzz.

He lost his chance to play regularly at second base when the Twins sent Todd Walker down from the majors. When Walker was traded to the Colorado Rockies, the Twins moved up a promising young prospect, Luis Rivas, from double A to play second.

Ferguson, who has appeared in 61 of the team’s 117 games, is batting .273.

He will be a free agent after this season. “It’s been a tough year for me,” Ferguson said. “It’s probably time for me to look at other options after this season ends. I’d like to be in a situation where I have more opportunity.”

Ferguson, a ninth-round pick in the 1994 draft, made it to triple-A after only two full seasons in the minors--he didn’t play in 1995 because of an injury--but hasn’t spent a day in the majors.

“I was invited to go to big league camp only one year, in 1997,” Ferguson said. “But I still want to keep playing until they take the uniform off me. I feel I have some good seasons left. But I could stop playing today and feel good about what I’ve done.”

Salt Lake City Manager Phil Roof said he can appreciate Ferguson’s situation.

“Sometimes players just top off at this level, and that’s it,” Roof said. “I wish I could get him more playing time, but he still helps a lot because he can play second, shortstop or third, and we’ve used him in the outfield a few times when we needed him there. He’s a quality person, and a real student of the game. I expect him to stay in it as a coach or in some other capacity later on.”

BACK IN THE MINORS

Two home runs in his first two major league at-bats and a .429 average with three homers and five RBIs in six games wasn’t enough to keep catcher Keith McDonald in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals.

McDonald was sent back to triple-A Memphis on July 21 and the Cardinals brought up Memphis’ other catcher, Rick Wilkins. Since then, St. Louis acquired catcher Carlos Hernandez from the San Diego Padres, and Wilkins also has been sent back to Memphis.

Mike Jorgensen, the Cardinals’ player development director, said the club simply wanted to give both triple-A catchers some time in the majors while Eli Marrero was injured.

McDonald became only the second player to hit homers in his first two major league at-bats, joining Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns, who did it in 1951.

McDonald is batting .232 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 65 games for Memphis this season.

McDonald played at Esperanza High, Cypress College and Pepperdine before being taken by the Cardinals in the 24th round of the 1994 draft.