1B coach Griffin still keeps head in game

By BRUCE LOWITT and Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 21, 2000

Attention to detail kept Alfredo Griffin in the major leagues as a shortstop for 18 seasons. It is what he gives the Anaheim Angels in his first season as their first-base coach.

"He picks up on a lot of stuff we're not able to pick up on, like a pitcher's move," third baseman Troy Glaus said. "It gives you another set of eyes. He sees stuff you wouldn't know to see, or wouldn't know what it meant."

He knows what to look for.

"He was the Ozzie Smith of the American League," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Griffin's teammate with the Dodgers from 1988-91. "He was quick, he had a great arm, great hands, plus he was the smartest player I ever played with. He was mentally tough. It didn't matter if we were up 10-1 or down 10-1. It didn't matter if the temperature was 71 or 31. He was ready to play."

It wasn't his .249 career batting average that made Griffin a valuable commodity with the Indians, Blue Jays, Athletics and Dodgers from 1976-93. "I knew I wasn't a good hitter," he said. "But if you were a good fielder, you could play every day just hitting .250. If I played now, I'd have no chance. I'd feel stronger doing little things, like a bunt, or moving the runner, putting the ball in play on a hit-and-run. Even if I don't hit .300, I'm a team player."

Griffin was on deck for Toronto when Joe Carter's home run off Philadelphia's Mitch Williams ended the 1993 World Series. But there was a more vivid, and certainly more meaningful moment 14 years earlier, the turning point in his career.

It was early in the 1979 season, his first in Toronto after being traded by Cleveland. He was batting .080 and manager Roy Hartsfield called him into his office. Griffin's career would be riding on the next game. Start producing or start packing.

"I didn't know what to do," Griffin said.

He produced, got two hits that day. It was the start of a 19-game hitting streak. At season's end he shared American League Rookie of the Year honors with Minnesota's John Castino.

"That was a special year," Griffin said. "It built my confidence and made me think I was ready to play. I competed with the best during my career. I wasn't a superstar, but I was a team player. I used to play this game for fun."

A TOUCHY SUBJECT: It would have given the Angels a 2-1 lead. Instead, a run was taken off the scoreboard Monday and Anaheim wound up losing 7-1 at Toronto.

Mo Vaughn missed third base.

He doubled in the sixth inning and Garret Anderson followed with a fly ball to centerfield. As Vaughn approached third, he looked over his shoulder to see if the ball dropped in. It did, but Vaughn failed to touch the bag on the way home. The Blue Jays appealed and Vaughn was called out.

"I've been in this league 10 years," he said. "I've been around too long for something like that to happen. You go up a run, you never know what could've happened. ... It's just stupid. Really. I'm disgusted."

SEE YOU NEXT TIME: Shortstop Gary DiSarcina, sidelined with a bruised thumb, is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday.

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