[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
Brent Abernathy has moved around the order, giving the Rays a boost wherever he bats.

It began in late February, at the Rays' Raymond A. Naimoli Complex in St. Petersburg. Fresh off an Olympic gold medal performance, Abernathy arrived for his first major-league spring training after four years in the minors. He or Bobby Smith would become the starting second baseman.

Six weeks later, on the last day of spring training, the answer came: It was Smith. Abernathy was sent to Triple-A Durham despite hitting .351 and earning the Al Lopez Award as the Rays' top rookie.

"They told me that they thought Bobby had earned the chance to be the quote-unquote opening day second baseman," Abernathy said. "I tried not to think about the fact I was in Triple A and thought I should be in the big leagues or anything like that. I'd be lying if I said it didn't get to me and didn't affect the way I was playing at the beginning of the season, because it did."

To cope with those emotions, Abernathy picked up a Rays schedule and circled July 15-17, the dates Tampa Bay would play in Atlanta. Having grown up in nearby Marietta, Ga., Abernathy had his target date to be back in a Rays uniform.

The 23-year-old opened the season at Durham with a 1-for-20 slump. In the seventh game, Norfolk's Grant Roberts hit him with a 95 mph fastball, breaking the 10th rib on his left side. He played "three more very painful games" before he was placed on the disabled list.

Two and a half weeks later, as he was set to take off for St. Petersburg and a three-day rehabilitation assignment, Abernathy was told that not only was he staying in town, he was starting that night against Richmond. He answered with two hits and another slump.

"The next two weeks especially, I was subconsciously thinking about my rib, trying to protect it, and I was pulling off and getting out of the way of stuff," Abernathy said. "I wasn't swinging the bat well. I was hitting a bingo number for probably a month and a half in Durham."

But Abernathy, a slow starter, sat down with Bulls hitting coach Mako Oliveras and put in some extra work. July 15 was looming.

A doubleheader against Pawtucket the first weekend of June produced a 4-for-6 day, including several line drives into rightfield, a sign his swing had returned. On June 25, he joined the Rays in Boston. But not before he put together the numbers (.396, 13 doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI) to be named the Rays Minor League Player of the Month.

In Boston the story added another twist. Abernathy's first major-league hit was a home run over the Green Monster, and it kicked off a streak in which the second baseman hit safely in his first 10 games. Entering tonight's game at Anaheim, he has hit safely in 17 of his first 22 games and carries a .312 average with three home runs and seven RBI.

And his hits are big ones, including his sixth-inning home run out of the No. 8 spot that broke up Darren Oliver's perfect game Saturday. "What he's done is continue to swing the bat here the way he swung the bat in Durham," Rays manager Hal McRae said. "He gives the club a boost to be able to hit at the bottom as well as the top because we're really suffering at the bottom of the lineup. He's a major plus to be able to hit in the bottom or the top of the order."

Despite all of his success in his short season, July 15 stands out for Abernathy.

When the Rays opened at Turner Field in Atlanta, Abernathy's parents, Pat and Mike, were there -- as were about 75 friends and family members from the Atlanta area. Abernathy answered with a 4-for-4 night, including two doubles and a run scored.

"Just knowing that you're playing in front of the people who have supported you, helped you get where you are today meant a lot to me. It was kind of like a "thank you' because I knew that my family enjoyed that weekend 100 times more than I did," he said. "Then to go out and have the 4-for-4 game the first day in Atlanta was ... it's kind of indescribable really. It's just like having your first hit be a home run over the Green Monster. I mean, what do you say?"

Back to Sports

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times sports desk

Bucs
Ex-Buc big man had big concerns

Bucs' money manager gets new deal, signs 2

College football
No time like the present

UF freshman in coma after heart attack

Clemson plays catch-up

Devil Rays
Grand entrance

Up next: Angels

Trip likely to end with unfamiliar club

NFL
Dolphins up front now

Outdoors
Daily fishing report

Motorsports
Changes to NHIS can't end gripes

Preps
Dunedin quietly approaches title

Steier runs well on world stage

From the wire

From the state sports wire Jacksonville's Spicer placed on IR after leg surgery
FIU-Western Kentucky game postponed because of Jeanne
Brown anxious to face old team for first time
Dolphins' desperate defense readies for Roethlisberger
Former Sarasota lineman sheds tough-guy image with Michigan
Rothstein rejoins Heat as assistant
No. 16 Florida has history on its side against Kentucky
FSU and Clemson QBs both off to slow starts