Gathright steals show in Class A

Joey Gathright is fast and he's not afraid to show you. Just ask any catcher in the California League where the Devil Rays prospect ranks third with 35 stolen bases this season.

The other thing about Gathright is he also is not afraid to tell you he's fast. Those 35 stolen bases? Should be a lot more. Just ask him.

"I should have at least 50 or 60 by now," Gathright said from Bakersfield where he plays outfield and designated hitter for the Class A Blaze. "But I missed 13 games (10 to a hamstring injury and three when he was playing with the Rays during the Hall of Fame game last week)."

There's also the minor matter of being caught 11 times, though Gathright has an explanation for that, too.

"Five of those were bad calls," he said. "But that's okay. It happens."

Gathright, the Rays 32nd-round pick in the 2001 draft out of Hattiesburg, Miss., was rated the fastest runner in the organization last year by Baseball America after he stole 22 in 29 attempts at Charleston.

Promoted to Bakersfield to begin this season, Gathright hasn't slowed down and he doesn't plan on stopping his run through the organization.

He has the green light any time he's on base, which is quite a bit since he's second in the league with a .426 on-base percentage, a number that led to a team-high 47 runs. And, rather than flash a sign telling him when to run, manager Omer Munoz and Gathright have come up with a motion telling him to stay put.

Munoz also has been experimenting with Gathright at DH, playing him there seven times in the past eight games. The 21-year-old has responded favorably, hitting .518 (14-for-27) in games which he did not play the field, with 11 runs and 10 stolen bases.

The highlight of his career came June 16 when he was one of eight minor-leaguers chosen to play in the Hall of Fame game against the Phillies in Cooperstown, N.Y.

He finished 0-for-2, but stole a base in his chance to play in front of the Rays brass. "It was amazing," Gathright said. "The population of that town is like 2,000 but they had 30,000 or 40,000 people along the parade route. I was excited to get there, and it was a real good chance for me."

He pays close attention to the changing climate of the majors and how the art of running the bases is quickly being replaced by managers who prefer to wait for the home run.

Gone are the days of needing 80 or 90 stolen bases to lead the league. No player has stolen more than 80 bases since 1988 when both Vince Coleman and Ricky Henderson did it. Randy Winn holds the Devil Rays all-time mark with 80, and that's over five years.

Jason Tyner owns the season mark with 31, something Gathright plans on changing if he gets the chance.

"I've seen it and I'm not sure I like it that much," Gathright said of the trend. "If I ever do make it, I'm going to bring back the skill of stolen bases."

FORMER FARMHAND OF THE WEEK: Ramon Soler. You may remember Soler as the prospect who last year magically aged from 20 to 24 when Rays officials investigated documents from his native Dominican Republic.

He also is the touted shortstop Tampa Bay removed from the 40-man roster last June (hoping he would clear waivers) as the Rays made way for Bobby Seay's reinstatement.

All told, Soler spent 41/2 years in the minors, advancing as far as Double-A Orlando, where he played 38 games last year before being designated and picked up by the Mets.

He plays for the Giants organization, having spent time at Class A San Jose and is playing for Double-A Norwich where he is hitting .276 with two doubles, two RBIs and two stolen bases in 14 games.