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Abbott hopes he can take the fifth

At 36, pitcher wants to be on the mound every fifth day for Rays.

ST. PETERSBURG - There is a reason he's still here.

A reason he's still pitching. A reason he's putting in the work to continue a pro career that started in 1985, the year outfielder Delmon Young was born. A reason he's put up with the injuries, the three major surgeries and 16 stints on the disabled list; and the insults, the eight times he's been released or let go.

"I haven't done what I want to do yet," Paul Abbott said. "I have to make up for lost time."

What Abbott, 36, wants to do is pitch. Just pitch. Every fifth day, a regular turn in the Devil Rays rotation, would be great. But he'll take what he can get, and take his chances when he gets there.

Abbott, physically and philosophically, is a baseball survivor.

Since he first got to the majors in 1990 (the year Lou Piniella was winning a World Series in Cincinnati), Abbott has had only two seasons in which he didn't go on the disabled list, and only one when he didn't spend some time in the minors.

He has had a Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, an ACL surgery on his right knee, a labrum repair surgery on his right shoulder in the last seven years.

He won 26 games during the 2000-01 seasons, but only 14 during the parts of eight other big-league seasons. (Overall, he is 40-26 with a 4.68 ERA in 142 games.)

He went more than five years, from June 1993 to September 1998, between big-league appearances, bouncing from one Triple-A team to another.

He's been with eight organizations in 13 years, moving from the Twins to the Indians, Royals, Cubs, Padres, Mariners, D'backs, Royals again, and the Rays.

"If I hadn't had those five years I wasn't in the big leagues, it would have been different," Abbott said. "I look back and when I was a young guy coming up I was very confident. I got to the majors at a relatively young age (22) and I thought I'd be there forever. I took things for granted and it cost me. There were guys in the big leagues that were very successful, and I had every bit of business being where they were. That's what kept me going, to make up for that lost time."

Piniella, who saw Abbott at his best when he won 17 games for the 2001 Mariners, lauds the right-hander's determination.

"He hung around, and that shows passion for the game," Piniella said. "It shows tenacity. When you have to wait that long, some guys go home. But it's paid off for him. ...

"Paul can pitch. And not only that, he competes as well as anybody you'll have here. The thing with Paul is keeping him healthy."

Pitching coach Chuck Hernandez said it's not the least bit surprising that Abbott is still pitching.

"You look at his bio, and it's like this big, right?" Hernandez said, his hands 6 inches apart. "Most of it was where? In the minor leagues, right? If you'd seen a short bio in the minors and a big, long major-league thing, then I'd be surprised. When you've got a long minor-league thing, you're going to hang in there. The guy's hung in there. He just kept banging away until he got some good breaks and he made the most of that opportunity."

When Abbott signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners in 1997, it was his sixth organization in six years. He made it back from the elbow and knee surgeries and pitched regularly for most of the 1999 season. He made the opening-day roster in 2000, spending his only full season in the big leagues, and made two postseason starts, beating the White Sox in Game 2 of the division series and losing Game 4 of the ALCS to the Yankees.

He opened the 2001 season on the DL with shoulder stiffness, but came back strong, going 17-4 for Seattle's 116-win squad and making two more playoff appearances.

But just when it looked as though he had it made, his body failed him again. Abbott struggled at the start of the 2002 season and ended up back in the operating room to have a tear in his shoulder repaired.

That too could have been the end, but Abbott came back again. Former Seattle teammates Ken Cloude and John Halama said they expected nothing less.

"See what he's gone through, the way he's persevered, the way he always seemed to be battling his way back into a position to get a job in the big leagues," Cloude said, "it's one of those things where if it's what you want to do, there's nothing that can stop you."

Said Halama: "Here's a guy that's got baseball in his blood."

Abbott said he was shaped by two experiences.

After being released by the Royals in June 1994 because of lingering injuries, he went to Puerto Rico and had a great winter, restoring his confidence by having success against some of the top major-league players and restoking his passion by being a key part of a playoff team.

He went on to a solid - and injury-free - 1995 season for the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team but ended up moving on again. He went to the Padres' Triple-A team in 1996 and missed time because of injuries, and to the Mariners' Triple-A team in 1997 and was sidelined again by injuries.

Facing the possibility of being a 30-year-old minor-league journeyman, Abbott realized he had to do something.

"I changed my whole life," he said. "My diet, my fitness, my workouts. I changed my whole mental outlook. That's what kept me going."

Abbott was as healthy this winter as he's been in a long time, and so far this spring has been pain-free and sharp. If that continues, there's a good chance he'll be with the Rays for his 20th season of pro ball, and maybe for a few more.

"This year," Abbott said, "is a huge year for me if I want to keep playing."

AGE: 36.

HT./WT.: 6-2; 205.

BATS/THROWS: Right; right.

BIRTHPLACE: Van Nuys, Calif.

RESIDES: Fullerton, Calif.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Third-round pick of Minnesota in 1985. Worked his way to majors by 1990. Was up and down through 1993, then spent five years in the minors. Went seven-plus years between big-league victories. Took a no-hitter into eighth inning Sept. 3, 2000, at Boston. His 17-4 performance in 2001 for Seattle included a team-record 10 straight winning decisions. Has made four playoff appearances.

Paul Abbott's story is one of perseverance. He has been let go eight times and traded once. A look at his transactions:

JUNE 1985: Drafted by Twins.

MARCH 1993: Released by Twins, signed by Indians.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1993: Let go by Indians, signed by Royals.

JUNE 1994: Released by Royals.

MARCH 1995: Signed by Cubs.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1995: Let go by Cubs, signed by Padres.

OCTOBER 1996: Let go by Padres.

JANUARY 1997: Signed by Mariners.

DECEMBER 1998: Released by Mariners.

JANUARY 1999: Re-signed by Mariners.

NOVEMBER 2002: Released by Mariners.

FEBRUARY 2003: Signed by D'backs.

AUGUST 2003: Traded to Royals.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2003: Let go by Royals, signed with Rays.