Grissom Happier and Producing

Dodger outfielder Marquis Grissom was bitter last season, which is understandable. Most players would grumble about having to platoon with Tom Goodwin, a center fielder with so few big league tools the Dodgers didn’t even flinch when they released him ast spring, swallowing his $3.75-million contract.

But instead of stewing all winter and fretting about another probable platoon in 2002, Grissom, a 13-year veteran who won a World Series championship with Atlanta in 1995, returned to his farm in rural Georgia and drove a wedge between himself and the game wide enough to drive his tractor through.

“I didn’t do [anything] at home, and that was the difference last winter,” Grissom, 35, said. “That was my problem--too much thinking about baseball, too much worrying about getting into shape. I was already in shape, and I knew how to play baseball. So I worked on my farm, went fishing and took care of my family. That’s it.”

It was therapeutic. Grissom came to spring training with a clear head, and from his first batting-practice swing in Vero Beach, Fla., to the two big hits and runs he provided in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over the New York Mets, he has been the consummate team player.

No griping about sharing center field with Dave Roberts, who has given the Dodgers the productive leadoff batter--at least against right-handed starters--they have lacked for years. No criticizing the manager for lineup decisions.

The closest Grissom has come to being outspoken has been his repeated desires to win and to be an everyday player, and what’s wrong with that? Manager Jim Tracy would expect nothing less.

“Even at his age, he comes to the park [every day] thinking there’s something he can learn, an area he can improve in,” Tracy said. “He’s accepted his role as professionally as a player can.”

That role, for the first four months, consisted of starting in center field against left-handed pitchers, spelling Brian Jordan occasionally in left field and pinch-hitting.

Grissom, who spent hours working in the cage with batting instructor Jack Clark and coach Manny Mota to stay sharp, was solid as a reserve, hitting .270 with 10 home runs and 38 runs batted in through July.

But Jordan’s lower-back injury in early August thrust Grissom into a more prominent role, and he has so excelled in it that Tracy has had little choice but to keep playing Grissom, even at the expense of Jordan.

Grissom has started the last 10 games, eight in left field and two in center, and is batting .381--16 for 42--with four home runs, nine RBIs and 13 runs during that stretch.

The Dodgers, who stumbled to an 8-17 record after the All-Star break, won eight of the 10 games, increasing their lead over San Francisco in the National League wild-card race to 3 1/2 games going into tonight’s series opener against the Florida Marlins.

Grissom, batting .295 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs for the season, tripled, doubled and scored the Dodgers’ two runs in Sunday’s win over the Mets. His two-run homer in the eighth inning Friday turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory over the Mets.

His two-run single capped a five-run, seventh-inning rally that gave the Dodgers a 10-8 win over the Phillies on Aug. 10, and his two homers provided the first two runs of a 7-6 win over Philadelphia on Aug. 9.

Jordan returned Friday, after a six-game absence, but was back on the bench--and not too happy about it--Saturday and Sunday, with Tracy saying he “couldn’t make a case for myself to remove Grissom from the lineup.”

Could Grissom replace Jordan as the starter in left?

“That’s not my call,” said Grissom, in the final year of a five-year, $25-million contract. “I don’t see it as me forcing the manager to play me, or me being a fourth outfielder or a bench player. If you put yourself in a position to succeed, you will have success. Last year after the break, I thought I should have been playing and wasn’t. I’ve learned more about being part of a team this year.”

A selfless approach has been more productive. Grissom hit .221 with 21 homers and 60 RBIs last season, and though his pigeon-toed stance and Jimmy Wynn-like flicks of the bat in the box remain, he hardly resembles the hitter he was in 2001.

Grissom lacked discipline last season and had a .250 on-base percentage with 107 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 448 at-bats. He hit .243 with runners in scoring position, .321 when he put the first pitch in play and .157 with two strikes.

Grissom is still aggressive, but more selective.

He has a .337 on-base percentage, with 45 strikeouts and 16 walks in 237 at-bats. He’s hitting .314 with runners in scoring position, .440 when he puts the first pitch into play and .235 with two strikes.

“He’s more focused and a better player now than he was at any time last year,” Tracy said. “In whatever capacity he’s been called upon, he’s been there.”