Hall trying not to panic

The Rays think young catcher may be pressing and plan to be patient.

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 7, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Two rounds of batting practice didn't satisfy.

Finished with his pregame hitting sessions, Toby Hall lingered behind the batting cage Monday at Tropicana Field until batting coach Milt May could break away and work one-on-one with the Rays catcher.

Hall understandably is weary of talking about his worst big-league slump, tired of stewing about it and more than ready to do something about putting it to an end.

"My main focus is to run this pitching staff," he said. "Hitting is a bonus. When the complete package of Toby Hall is there ... that's what they saw last year and the year's before."

Fans caught a glimpse of it Monday.

Hall hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off Boston starter Darren Oliver that cut the Red Sox lead to two. The Rays got no closer in their team record-tying 11th loss.

"He looks like he's coming around," manager Hal McRae said.

And that's promising for the Rays.

The homer was Hall's first since Oct. 4 and was the third hit in his past 40 at-bats. He's batting .198 this season and .260 in 78 career major-league games.

Last season, he batted .298 with four homers and 30 RBIs after the Rays recalled him from Triple-A Durham in late July.

"He's swinging the bat much better," McRae said. "The most encouraging thing was not the home run, but that he's seeing the ball and he's being aggressive."

Greg Vaughn can relate to what Hall has been going through.

The Rays designated hitter carries a major league-low .110 average with no homers and 39 strikeouts this season. He was 0-for-3 with a walk Monday.

"Maybe it's something in the water," Vaughn said. "He's trying too hard, just like I am. He's a good hitter. I'm just trying to keep his spirits up."

McRae has remained patient with both.

"When you're talking about your best players, there's no rush to justice," he said. "You push it out as far as you can and you try to give the guys a rest with hope that watching a couple of games will improve their performance.

"In those two guys' case, I'm not going to rush."

There are signs when a player is about to break out of a slump.

A hitter sees the ball early, is aggressive at the plate, doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches and takes crisp swings.

McRae has seen all from Vaughn and Hall lately, but not on a consistent basis.

"I know we're a much better club if those guys swing the bats well," McRae said. "We've got very short legs without those guys.

"In Vaughn's case, here's a guy who's hit (344) home runs and he's capable of getting hot and carrying a ballclub. In Toby's case, he's a first-year player that we think probably is our best young player."

And is still learning.

This is his first full season as a major-league catcher. It has been an adjustment.

"I look at the back of people's baseball cards and unless they're a Rookie of the Year, a lot of people hit .220 in their first full season," Hall said. "There's adjustments everywhere; Class A, Double A, Triple A, here. But it's still the same game."