Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Four years later, and Wilson is a winner

Seven shutout innings in a 5-1 defeat of Toronto provide first victory since rookie year with Mets.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 2000

TORONTO -- Paul Wilson never worried, never wondered, never wavered.

Not through the two years he spent recovering and rehabilitating from shoulder surgery, the year he missed after elbow surgery, the four months the Mets left him in the minor leagues this season, the frustration and disappointment of his first five starts with the Devil Rays.

Always, he was sure he would win again in the major leagues. Monday, he got there -- just 1,465 days since last winning on Sept. 20, 1996 -- pitching seven shutout innings to lead the Rays to a 5-1 victory against the Blue Jays.

"I knew I was going to pitch again," Wilson said, "I knew I was going to pitch in the big leagues and I knew I was going to be a winner again."

Wilson wasn't the only one to hit a milestone as the Rays reached the end of the road, their final homestand starting tonight against the Yankees.

Fred McGriff's three-run homer gave him 102 RBI, marking his sixth season, and second in a row, in triple digits. Gerald Williams tied Quinton McCracken's team record with his 52nd multi-hit game of the season. The combination of Wilson's work and Travis Harper's complete game shutout on Sunday matched the team record of 16 consecutive scoreless innings.

And the Rays finally spoiled something for somebody, putting the Blue Jays on the brink of post-season elimination by taking three of the four games, their first series win in nearly a month.

"Winning games is what it's all about," manager Larry Rothschild said. "If that means the other team gets eliminated or set back, then so be it."

Wilson pitched well in spurts but hadn't lasted past the fifth inning in his three previous starts. He nearly didn't survive the second inning Monday.

He was struck on the right hand and then the throat by Jose Cruz's line drive and appeared headed out of the game until he showed Rothschild he could grip the ball effectively, and promised to tell him if things changed.

"It scared the hell out of me. All that field out there, don't hit it off my face, that's all I ask," Wilson said. "But I didn't want to come out of the game."

Instead, he got stronger throughout the night, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out five. He got his biggest outs with two on in the seventh, when he struck out red-hot Darrin Fletcher on a 1-and-2 curve in the dirt, then retired Tony Batista and Cruz.

"I knew I had to make some pretty good pitches," Wilson said. "I knew I had to get an out."

Wilson's journey has been marked by both pain and heartache. The No. 1 pick in the nation out of FSU in 1994, he moved quickly through New York's minor-league system and went 5-12 for the Mets in 1996 despite missing six midseason weeks with shoulder problems.

He had shoulder surgery in November 1996, spent all of 1997 and 1998 on rehab and in the minor leagues, then just when it looked as if he would be back, he blew out his elbow, resulting in major surgery in April 1999.

Wilson worked his way back again and was pitching successfully in Triple A, though apparently no longer in the Mets' plans, when the Rays acquired him and Jason Tyner in a trade for Rick White and Bubba Trammell.

The Rays used him in relief at first, then eased him into the rotation, making sure to say their goal was to get him through the season healthy, leaving Wilson no choice but to go along with their pitch limits and concerns.

But, as both Wilson and Rothschild said Monday, winning games was right up there on the to-do list as well. "It's beautiful, it's great, this is why we're here, to win," Wilson said. "I'm past the "just happy to be in the big leagues again.' I was past that in the second inning of my first appearance here. My goal all along was to get in this rotation and help this ballclub win."

Williams, in his first game back after a three-game suspension, did his part, helping manufacture a run in the first inning and starting the rally that led to McGriff's big bomb in the sixth.

With Williams on third and Steve Cox at first, McGriff then stepped up and crushed Esteban Loaiza's first pitch into the rightfield seats, his 25th homer of the season and 415th of his career, tying him with Cal Ripken for 28th place on the all-time list.

Getting to 100 RBI was one thing, "my goal at the start of every year," McGriff said. Getting six more in the final week would make this his most productive season ever, surpassing the career-high 107 RBI he had for Atlanta in 1996.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

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

Devil Rays, baseball

Elsewhere