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Citrus' lone player may return next year

By BRIAN SUMERS and DAVID MURPHY
Published June 28, 2006

The good news: Citrus County can still call Mike Hampton one of its own.

The bad news: The highly paid Atlanta Braves left-hander hasn't pitched since the end of the 2005 season.

He underwent Tommy John surgery in September, and team officials hope he will return by next season.

According to former Crystal River coach Rob Cummins and Lecanto coach Jim Manos, Hampton is the only former Citrus County player in a major league organization.

Here's a look at some other professional baseball players with ties to Citrus and Hernando counties.

John Bale, left-handed pitcher, Hiroshima Carp, Japanese Central League.

Manos said he called Bale "the natural" when he played two seasons for the Panthers before moving away. Bale, 32, pitched in four partial major-league seasons for the Blue Jays, Orioles and Reds. Now, according to a recent Associated Press story, he is the closer for the Carp. He saved 24 games in 2005, going 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Bronson Arroyo, right-handed pitcher, Cincinnati Reds.

Arroyo, a graduate of Hernando High, is 9-4 with a 2.58 ERA and appears headed to his first ever All-Star game. But it's his hitting earlier in the season that caught everyone off guard. Through two games, he was on pace to hit more than 30 home runs. Since, he is 5-for-39 with 20 strikeouts. How did he start so well?

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Donnie Whitehead, a Hernando assistant who played with Arroyo for one summer and helped coach him during his time with the Leopards. "He probably just guessed right. You'd have to ask him."

Patrick Ryan, right-handed pitcher, West Virginia Power (low Class A affiliate of the Brewers).

Rain and the South Atlantic League All-Star game made for limited action this past week, but Ryan made good use of his only appearance, pitching three strong innings and picking up his fourth win of the season. The former Central standout has been one of the steadiest relievers on the Power and is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA.

Dee Brown, outfielder, Savannah Sand Gnats (Class A affiliate of the Nationals).

Like Ryan, Brown plays in the South Atlantic League and did not see much action this week. He went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in a 10-4 win over Columbus on Friday, but he went 0-for-3 in both of his next two games. Brown, a former star at Hernando and Central Florida, is hitting .249 with 35 runs and 31 RBIs.

Bert Snow, right-handed pitcher, Shreveport Sports (Independent/American Association).

Snow picked up his second loss of the season, giving up seven runs on nine hits in six innings of a 7-2 loss to Fort Worth on Friday. The former Hernando star is now 3-2 with a 3.48 ERA.

Tyrone Woods, infielder , Chunichi Dragons, Japanese Central League.

The Hernando star-turned Korean star-turned Japanese star had three RBIs in a win over the Yomiuri Giants last week, hitting a two-run single in the first inning and an RBI double in the seventh. He also had an RBI double in a loss to Yakult on Monday. He is now third in the Central League with 55 RBIs.

[Last modified June 28, 2006, 08:00:26]