Fick feels the squeeze of baseball's tightened belts
By MARC TOPKIN
Published February 26, 2004
[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
Though Robert Fick took a second straight pay cut to try to win a reserve role on the Devil Rays, he says he's excited to be here and fight for a more prominent role. He even has put his catcher's mitt back on to improve his versatility. Says Fick, "It's a privilege to play for this team."
ST. PETERSBURG - Baseball's new world economy has been a costly proposition for Robert Fick. It has cost him millions of dollars, cost him a chance to play every day, cost him a spot on a championship-caliber team.
Fick was an All-Star outfielder in 2002, but the Tigers let him go because he was going to double (or triple) his $1.15-million salary in arbitration. He took a $1-million deal with Atlanta last season, hit .269 with a career-high 80 RBIs while moving to first base and helped the Braves to a division title, but he was dropped so they could replace him with a low-cost rookie.
Fick's reward? Another pay cut to $800,000 and a seat on the bench with the last-place Devil Rays.
"It's unheard of. It's unbelievable. I had 80 RBIs last year and I took a $200,000 pay cut. How did that happen?" Fick said. "I wasn't that surprised because of what happened the year before, but something's fishy. You know what I mean. ... There's a lot of good players out there that were having trouble finding jobs this year. It was worse this year than last year. Not too many teams were knocking on my door."
Agents whisper it's collusion. Teams insist it's strictly finances. Either way, it's reality for Fick and for other veterans who did more and got less for it.
But Fick, 29, is determined to make the best of it, figuring he'll work his way into the lineup, then work on helping turn the Rays into winners.
"I'll be honest with you, I wasn't the happiest at first to admit to going on the bench and coming to a ballclub that wasn't a winning team," Fick said. "But since the first day I've been here I have no regrets."
Fick knew only what little he'd heard about the Rays organization, but any leeriness has been replaced by genuine enthusiasm, with glowing praise for everyone from general manager Chuck LaMar and manager Lou Piniella to the coaches to the clubhouse staff.
"Usually, horse---- ballclubs are Mickey Mouse organizations, and maybe in previous years it's been like that, but, man, it's pretty cool here. Everything. It's big-league here," Fick said. "There's a bunch of names in here now, quality baseball players. A lot of times, the Devil Rays were getting guys released from different teams that were trying to stay in the big leagues and came here, but that's not the case anymore. It's a privilege to play for this team."
Not being on a contending team was a small step. Not having a starting job was a huge one.
Fick, though, doesn't plan to spend much time on the bench. He will do whatever it takes to get on the field, and one reason he chose the Rays (Pittsburgh and Anaheim had interest) was the chance to go back to his original position behind the plate.
"I have to reinvent myself," Fick said. "It's another weapon in my arsenal."
Worst-case scenario, he figures he could end up a backup catcher somewhere. But for now, he has bigger roles in mind. He is working at catcher, first base and in the outfield and is encouraged by Piniella's affection for versatility and his philosophy of using the players who help the team the most.
"I know I'm one guy away from being in that lineup every day," Fick said. "That means I'm going to get some playing time. I'm just going to be ready. I'm not the kind of guy to b---- and moan about playing time. I'm going to make it happen for myself.
"And this kind of manager is looking for it. He's looking for guys to step up. He's looking for guys, if you don't have the easy road, let's see what kind of man you are, let's see what you can do. I plan on being with this guy for a long time. I guess I'm right up his alley."
"He hasn't accepted being an extra player," LaMar said. "He knew the at-bats, that if everybody stayed healthy, that he had a chance to get here, but so far from what I've seen in camp he ain't about to accept it. That's not in his personality. He isn't going to accept it. If anybody stumbles here, somebody is going to be on their a-- and it's going to be Robert Fick."
Piniella likes what he has seen, and heard.
"He's a cocky kid and he's productive," Piniella said. "I like a little cockiness and a little swagger in a player."
Fick may have showed a bit too much attitude during a controversial incident in the NL division series when he struck Cubs first baseman Eric Karros, but the Braves liked what they got from him.
"We loved having Robert Fick," assistant general manager Frank Wren said Wednesday. "He was a great asset to our club and all the guys liked him. He worked his tail off, he was a great competitor, he was all the things we were hoping he would be. That (incident) had no impact on our decision.
"He really was in this case a victim of a young player coming along at his position who was ready to play at the big-league level. Under our economics, if we have a rookie player who can do the job a veteran can do, we have to look at that."
As Fick found out, the game seems to be a lot more now about dollars than sense.
MEET ROBERT FICK
AGE: 29. HT./WT.: 6-1; 205.
BATS/THROWS: Left/right.
BIRTHPLACE: Torrance, Calif.
RESIDES: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Fifth-round pick by Detroit in 1996. Hit last homer at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 27, 1999. Made Tigers opening day roster in 2000 but missed two months after collision with Bobby Smith at Tropicana Field. Led Tigers with 19 homers in 2001 in part-time duty. Moved from catcher to outfield in 2002, made All-Star team and led majors with 21 outfield assists. Hit .270 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. Was Braves primary first baseman in 2003, starting 111 games.
