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Grieve ready to hit the ground hitting

Tampa Bay's major acquisition of the off-season reports early, amid excitement and expectation.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 19, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ben Grieve is not the first big-name hitter to walk through the doors and into spring training with the Rays.

Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff were here in 1998. Jose Canseco came in '99. Greg Vaughn arrived last year. Yet, there is a difference. In the past, there was always a question of how much those players had left. In Grieve's case, the question is how much he still has ahead.

Grieve may be the best hitter the Rays have and he has not hit his prime. At 24, he is 10 years younger than any of those other hitters were when they arrived in Tampa Bay.

"Even though you can say he's young and still developing and what a great future he has, Ben Grieve has already had three fine major-league seasons. It just so happens, he's 24 years old," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "He's a veteran. He comes in here and carries himself like a winning player.

"This guy is capable of hitting .300, is capable of hitting 30-plus home runs, is capable of being a .400 on-base percentage guy. And he's done that already in different stages in his career."

The hope is that Grieve is ready to put those numbers together in one full season. The quest began Sunday when he reported to spring training, four days ahead of the requested date for position players.

Acquired from Oakland in the three-way deal that sent Roberto Hernandez to Kansas City, Grieve is expected to take over in rightfield and could become the No. 3 hitter the Rays have sought for four years.

A No. 3 hitter ideally combines power with a high on-base percentage. The Rays have used Vaughn, Canseco, Boggs and Bobby Smith with varying degrees of success. Grieve hit deeper in the order in Oakland, but understands more might be expected of him in Tampa Bay.

"In Oakland, we had Jason (Giambi) so we really didn't need anyone else to worry about that job," Grieve said. "I know, eventually, I'm capable of hitting third. I don't know if my numbers warrant a solid No. 3 hitter in the major leagues so far, but I'm capable of doing better than what I've done."

What Grieve has done is hit an average of .278 with 34 doubles, 24 home runs and 93 RBI during his three full seasons in the majors.

"Fundamentally, his swing is real good and he's got a good eye," manager Larry Rothschild said. "It's just a question of him getting more experience with at-bats and getting better and better, like a lot of guys do. You can see it's there. It's not like he hasn't had success, because he has. It just tells you what's still ahead of him."

Grieve, who was the No. 2 player taken in the 1994 draft (behind new teammate Paul Wilson), does not need to be told what areas he needs to improve as a hitter. His strikeouts (120 a season) are high and his walks (74 a season) are lower than expected for a middle-of-the-order hitter.

Grieve said his progress as a hitter the past two seasons may have been hampered by overanalysis. He has gotten so consumed about eliminating strikeouts and boosting his average that he has not allowed his natural abilities to take over while he is at the plate.

"This year, I want to see more walks and a higher batting average. I have to cut down on the strikeouts and I think I can do that," Grieve said. "If the walks come, then more home runs will come naturally out of that. I've done it before. I've walked 100 times in the minor leagues and I think I had 90 (actually 85) my first year in the big leagues, so I know it's there."

He made a good impression during his first workout Sunday. While he was hitting line drives off the fence, coach Terry Collins briefly stopped pitching batting practice to announce the field was too short.

The rest of Grieve's first day was spent finding his way around and introducing himself to his new teammates. The Rays put his locker next to Steve Cox, a former teammate in the Oakland minor-league system and a member of Grieve's wedding party in the off-season.

"I'm a little shy, so I'm pretty quiet around people I don't know. Everyone I see, I'm going to have to walk up and say, 'Hi, I'm Ben Grieve, nice to meet you,' I'm not used to that," Grieve said. "It makes it a little easier having Cox here, because he can introduce me to people. If he wasn't here, it'd definitely be a lot weirder."

At least Grieve does not have to worry about making another move like this any time soon. He looks to be one of the key components in the Rays lineup for the next several seasons.

"I guess there's a lot more pressure on me here than there was in Oakland, especially if I do end up hitting third," Grieve said. "In Oakland, I could hit fourth, fifth or sixth and always had Jason and Matt Stairs and (John) Jaha around me to take some of the load. But there's some good hitters here too. If someone is feeling better at the plate than me, I'm sure they're going to be hitting third ahead of me."

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