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Not counting Barry Bonds, nobody seems to know any of these guys, but one big play could change that.
©Associated Press
October 19, 2002
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- To J.T. Snow, it was a routine play. To many others, it was much more, and that made the San Francisco first baseman laugh.
Snow made a backhanded stop on Chipper Jones' grounder to start a double play that ended the first round of the playoffs. The next day Snow awoke to hear people raving about his defense.
"Not to be rude or anything, but I've made about a thousand plays better than that in my career," the six-time Gold Glove player said. "It was almost like people had never seen me. But it's that West Coast vs. East Coast thing. When our games start, half the country is already asleep."
Starting tonight, everyone will be wide awake when Snow and the Giants take on the Angels in Game 1 of the World Series.
The timing is right for a lot of guys, because beyond Barry Bonds there are a lot of deserving players waiting to make big names for themselves.
"I live in L.A., and three weeks ago I didn't know any of the Angels," said Michael Weisman, coordinating producer of Fox's baseball coverage. "It'll be the no-names against the one name that everybody knows."
All it takes is one clutch hit or one key play to change that. That sure worked for the likes of Craig Counsell, Scott Brosius and Mark Lemke over the seasons.
Or maybe one memorable game on the mound. If that happens, even casual fans will be able to tell Russ Ortiz from Ramon Ortiz. No relation, they could face each other on the mound in the next few days.
"Some people have gotten us confused," said Russ, whose 14 wins tied for the Giants' lead. "They'll say, 'Oh, you're the one who pitches for the Angels.' "
Jarrod Washburn starts the opener for Anaheim. At 18-6 with a 3.15 ERA, he exemplifies these wild-card Angels: successful and unheralded.
Consider this: Of the eight teams to make the playoffs, 99-win Anaheim was the one that did not have someone picked as a player of the week.
"I mean, we were under the radar all season long and it didn't bother us. We kind of like being the unknown team," Washburn said. "I think we kind of all thought that if we just go out there and do what we know we're capable of doing, pretty soon everyone's going to know about us."
Garret Anderson posted another big season, hitting .306 with 56 doubles, 29 homers and 123 RBIs. But because he's not whistling those balls into the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, a lot of people can't spell his first name: one T or two?
Fame may come for Scott Spiezio, who hit .375 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Besides, he's hard to miss now -- he's put Angel red streaks in his hair.
Spiezio's family is thrilled by the prospects. His father, Ed, was a backup for the Cardinals and went 1-for-2 lifetime in Series play.
"My mom keeps saying, 'I can't believe you're in the World Series.' I said, 'Why not? Dad was in three,' " Spiezio said. "She said, 'But you're playing.' "