Players enjoy varying degrees of success

Jeff Tully

BURBANK -- The baseball season provided varying degrees of success for

local major leaguers Jeff Cirillo and Mike Magnante.

But although Cirillo, who plays for the Colorado Rockies, finished

among the top 10 in the National League in several batting categories,

Magnante is the one in the playoffs with the Oakland Athletics.

Magnante, who was a star pitcher at Burroughs High, helped Oakland

capture the American League West title with a 91-70 record.

He and his teammates are now embrioled in the first round of the

playoffs, as the A’s and New York Yankees are tied at 1 game each in the

best-of-five series.

Magnante, a 10-year pro, saw some action Wednesday in the A’s 4-0 loss

at the Oakland Alemeda County Coliseum. He pitched 1 2/3 inning, gave up

one hit and struck out one.

During the regular season, Magnante was hampered by an arm injury that

landed him on the disabled list. However, he did appear in 55 games and

39 2/3 innings, he had a 1-1 record and a 4.31 earned-run average. The 55

games was a career high for appearances. Along with giving up 50 hits and

22 runs, Magnante also struck out 17 and walked 19.

Always a good hitter, Magnante was 2-for-6 for a .333 average during

interleague play.

Lifetime as a pitcher, Magnante is 23-29 with three saves and a 4.11

earned-run average.

For Cirillo, who was a standout at Providence High, he put together a

season that put him among the finest hitters in the National League.

He was rewarded for his accomplishments midway through the season by

being named to the NL All-Star Team. It was Cirillo’s second appointment

to the annual game.

However, Cirillo’s Rockies struggled during the season, ending up

fourth in the National League West with an 82-80 record, 15 games behind

the pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.

In the league batting race, Cirillo -- a third baseman -- finished

eighth with a .326 avarege (195 for 598). It was the third straight year

Cirillo finished among the top 10 in batting average, In 1999 he finished fifth, again hitting .326, and had a .321 mark in 1998.

In 157 games,Cirillo finished fifth in hits (195), second in doubles

(53) and 10th in runs batted in (115). He also scored 111 runs, had 67 walks and 11 home runs.

In his seven-year pro career, Cirillo has a .311 lifetime batting

average.