Phenom turns teacher

Roberto Alomar, near the end of a likely Hall of Fame career, is ready and eager to advise the young Devil Rays.

By TOM JONES
Published February 24, 2005

	[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
	Roberto Alomar hopes to be a leader and has 17 years of experience to draw from.

ST. PETERSBURG - Take a close look at Roberto Alomar. Look right there, just above his temples. Sticking out from his short-cropped hair, a few wild strands of gray can be seen when the light hits him just so.

Sitting in a clubhouse full of tattooed guys talking into cell phones and listening to their iPods, Alomar is asked if he feels like an old man.

He smiles, then says, "I am an old man."

Hard to believe, but at 37, Alomar is right, at least in baseball terms. No longer a phenom with a sky's-the-limit future or a star in his prime, Alomar is traveling down the final few miles of his major-league journey. Closer to the end than his peak, Alomar is looking to wring out just another season or two at second base with the Devil Rays, doing whatever he can to keep his career going.

He used to be fast, really fast, like the year he stole 55 bases. But that was 12 years ago. He used to have pop in his bat, like the year he pounded 24 homers. But that was six years ago. He used to wear pitchers out, like the year he hit .336. But that was four years ago.

These days, it isn't exactly known what Alomar's legs or bat or glove can do. He's coming off the type of season that often signals the beginning of the end of even a great career: a .263 average with four homers, 24 RBIs and no steals in 56 games with two teams (Arizona and the White Sox).

But he does bring experience: 17 major-league seasons, two World Series rings, 58 postseason games and a slew of pennant races. He has seen it all, done it all, and now he figures it's time to pass all that along to the next generation.

"I think everybody has a role, but it's up to us, the veteran guys, that whenever we think we can help the young guy, we need to go out there and say something," Alomar said. "I think we have to take charge doing that."

Alomar doesn't mean lecturing or chiding. He isn't out to prove how little kids know by telling them how much he knows.

It's about little things. How to prepare. How to read a pitcher's move to first. How to turn a double play a little quicker, a tad smoother. It's about when to expect a fastball, when to cheat toward second base, when to charge a grounder. It's about what to eat, when to sleep, how to stretch. It's about all the things a major-leaguer learns in 17 summers.

Actually, Alomar had a head start. His dad, Sandy, played 15 seasons in the majors. Then the young Alomar learned under veterans such as Tony Gwynn and Garry Templeton.

"When you have veterans around you, it's good to listen," Alomar said. "I was one of those guys who always listened."

Now he does the talking. Now he is the veteran dispensing advice. But he can't make anyone listen.

"Some people are going to listen, some people are not," Alomar said. "Me, as a guy who has played for 17 years, I can teach some things. I'm not going to tell them everything, but hopefully, I can help them. If they make a mistake and they do it again, maybe I can show them how to do it the right way."

Meantime, in between playing professor and a good second base, Alomar does have one other thing on his agenda: a little thing called 3,000 hits.

"It's big," said Alomar, who needs 276 to reach the magic number. "Not a lot of players get the chance to get there. Now that I'm close, it would be a treat. But we'll see what happens. I have to take it day by day and see where we are at in two years."

Of the 25 players who have at least 3,000 hits, only four are not in the Hall of Fame, and that includes three (Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken) who aren't eligible yet but certainly will go in when they are. The other is Pete Rose.

But even if his career ends today, Alomar thinks he is bound for Cooperstown, and the numbers support his case. He's a lifetime .300 hitter with 12 All-Star appearances, 10 Gold Gloves and five top-six finishes in the MVP balloting. For a spell - from, say, 1992 to 2001 - he might have been the best player at his position.

"I marvel at this talent," Rays bench coach John McLaren said. "He can beat you every way a player can beat you. I can tell you that he has cost the teams I've been with a lot of money over the years. He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt."

Alomar thinks so, too, with or without 3,000 hits.

"I think if it takes 3,000 hits to get the Hall of Fame, I'm going to try to get there," Alomar said. "But I don't think that I need to get to 3,000 hits to get to the Hall of Fame. The way I've played, I have done a lot of great things for the game so I don't think I need to get there. But I'm so close that I want to get there."

Alomar can hardly believe he is talking about his career and how it will be judged. To him, it seems like a just few years ago that he was coming up with the Padres, winning championships with the Blue Jays, leading the Indians into the postseason.

"I still remember what it felt like as a kid," Alomar said. "When you get to the big leagues, your first impression, you say, "Wow, I'm out here playing with this guy or that guy.' That's great."

It's possible some kid will walk out on the Naimoli Complex today and say, "Wow, I'm out here playing with Roberto Alomar."

And if the kid wants, Alomar will be ready to talk a little baseball.

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 00:55:11]