Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal gets one honor
Dodgers shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal wasn’t named to this year’s National League All-Star team — as Manager Joe Torre and others said he should have been — but Furcal was named the NL player of the week Tuesday.
The switch-hitting Furcal batted .538 (14 for 26) and scored nine runs in the week ended June 27 to help lead the Dodgers to a 5-1 record in the period. More recently, he entered Tuesday’s game with a nine-game hitting streak in which he had batted .526.
Furcal’s offensive burst came immediately after Furcal rejoined the team following the unexpected death of his father in the Dominican Republic.
“I’ve put a lot of concentration” into playing since returning because “when I’m here in the ballpark, you cannot play ball when you’re thinking about” such a loss, said Furcal, 32, who has dedicated the rest of the season to his father.
“I’m happy for him,” Torre said of Furcal. “He’s such a major part of what we do, just because of the energy he gives us at the top of the order” and because “he’s a good person.”
Furcal said he’s been working on his hitting stroke with batting coach Don Mattingly and other Dodgers coaches, and “now I recognize the ball better. I feel pretty good. I’m so happy right now, the way I’m playing.”
He recalled how his father “was one of my hitting coaches,” and frequently would call Furcal to discuss his hitting after watching Dodgers games via satellite in the middle of the night in the Dominican Republic.
“He was my big fan,” Furcal said. “I miss that.”
Stanton’s debut
Countless numbers of boys have sat in Dodger Stadium dreaming of playing there as a big leaguer.
Mike Stanton made the dream come true, and with a flourish.
The 6-foot-5 Stanton, 20, is a highly touted newcomer with the Florida Marlins who was born in Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley and attended Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High.
The outfielder made his major league debut June 8 and played his first game at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. With family members and friends on hand at Chavez Ravine, Stanton doubled in his first at-bat against the Dodgers’ John Ely.
The game “was amazing,” said Stanton, who often sat in Dodger Stadium’s right-field pavilion to cheer for such favorites as Raul Mondesi.
“Growing up as a kid I wanted to be in the major leagues at Dodger Stadium, that’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing,” he said. “It felt just as good as my debut did a month ago.”
After a strong spring training, Stanton dominated the Southern League for double-A Jacksonville (Fla.), batting .311 with 21 home runs and 52 runs batted in. Entering Tuesday night’s game, he was batting .209 with two home runs — including a grand slam. Stanton also hit a two-run home run off Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla in the seventh inning of Tuesday game.
And finally
Speaking of Valley natives, Jeff Weaver’s 3 1/3 innings of no-hit relief Monday dropped his earned-run average at Dodger Stadium to 1.23, but Torre said he has no plans to add Weaver to the starting rotation.
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