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O'Leary gets shot with Rays rebirth

Outfielder hopes to bring a new hunger from Boston.

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 20, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Troy O'Leary reached for his past and grabbed an old Red Sox jacket Tuesday.

"I probably can't use blue anymore," he said while unpacking and settling into the Rays clubhouse at the Ray Naimoli training complex.

Beside the new uniform and different surroundings, O'Leary also is figuring his first spring with the Rays will be a fresh start to an established career.

"I've got to try and be hungry again," the 32-year-old said.

Meaning he will be in the unusual position of trying to win a job. The Rays signed O'Leary to a minor-league contract in late January after the Red Sox failed to pick up his option.

"Whatever they want me to do, I'll do," he said. "I just want to get things going. It's like the beginning of my career again."

O'Leary, who spent the past seven seasons with the Red Sox, was at his best in 1999 when he hit .280 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs. He averaged 19 homers and 83 RBIs from 1996-2000.

But notice the exclusion of 2001.

The Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez to an eight-year, $160-million contract and moved him from rightfield to left -- O'Leary's position -- last spring. With Trot Nixon emerging as another solid outfield option, O'Leary's playing time was compromised.

He hit .240 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs last season.

"I don't know how I stayed there for that long," he said. "It was just time for me to go. Some of the decisions that they made I didn't like, but I've got to live with it."

The free-agent market, severely slowed by the uncertainty surrounding possible contraction of the Twins and Expos, didn't treat him any better during the offseason.

"You had guys that weren't really signing like Kenny Lofton or Darren Lewis," O'Leary said. "I didn't know what to make of it. I'd never been in the situation before. All I could do was listen to my agent and what he had to say. There were some offers out there, but I had to figure out where I'd like to go."

He made $14.5-million the four previous seasons with Boston and would have made $5.35-million in 2002 had the Red Sox picked up his option. The Rays got him at a bargain rate -- a base salary believed to be in the $600,000-700,000 range with a similar amount available in incentives.

"It's a steal," catcher John Flaherty said. "The way this free-agent market was this year, there were a lot of good players out there, and still a lot of good players who haven't signed contracts.

"Hopefully we can find a way to get him some at-bats, whether it's at DH or in the outfield. Any time you can add an accomplished left-handed hitter like that with power, it just gives your lineup a lot better balance."

Though O'Leary could help the Rays from a power standpoint -- they hit a league-worst 121 home runs last season -- he is yet another face in an already-crowded outfield.

Greg Vaughn, Ben Grieve, Jason Tyner and Randy Winn will be challenged by O'Leary, Jason Conti and Emil Brown, who also reported Tuesday.

"Hopefully we get those questions answered, but it's tough to say," manager Hal McRae said. "The outfield is very crowded. ... The answers are in the at-bats."

O'Leary and Vaughn, who will DH and play leftfield, have a history.

They were teammates in Milwaukee in 1993-94. And Vaughn helped O'Leary break into the league.

"He was the guy that gave me my first at-bat," O'Leary said. "We were getting whooped by New York when I was with Milwaukee. I had just gotten called up.

"He looked at me and said, "You want an at-bat?' I said, "Yeah.' I got my first at-bat off some lefty and grounded out to Don Mattingly. ... I will always remember him for that."

Flaherty and McRae, meanwhile, can't remember how good a fielder O'Leary was in Boston. But his bat left them impressed.

"Obviously he's an accomplished hitter and has got some serious juice," Flaherty said. "He seemed to maybe be more of a streak hitter, like he gets on a roll and can almost carry your club."

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