Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993 TAG: 9307110040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Pirates have done their level best to frighten the daylights out of the Salem Buccaneers right-hander. Nothing personal, you understand, just the normal course of baseball operations.
It wasn't just the time they told the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder they were going to make a reliever out of him after he'd fancied himself a starter, although that disturbed him mightily.
Nor was it the time before this season they told him they were going to hurl his experience as a reliever into the dumper and refashion him into a starter, although that shook him like a temblor that went 7.5 on the Richter scale.
No, the time De los Santos almost went looney tunes was when they told him they thought he ought to be released.
"That really ticked me off," he said.
Fortunately the fellow who believed that, former Pirates chief scout Chuck LaMar, was hired as the Atlanta Braves' bush-league boss before he could accomplish the foul deed. Jack Zduriencik took over the job, thought better of the prospects for De los Santos, and the Dominican has been an employee in good standing to this day.
It's been an interesting career for a guy who was spotted by a scout playing the outfield in a bumpy vacant lot in Santo Domingo. Young Mariano made a corker of a throw, it seems, and that's all the scout needed to see.
Problem was, De los Santos didn't want to play the outfield, be it bumpy or otherwise.
"I played outfield, catcher, second base - but in my mind, I was always a pitcher," he said. "When the scout asked me to come to a tryout, I told him I wanted to pitch for him."
By that roundabout way, De los Santos started his heavy-duty hurling after signing as a free agent in 1989. The first three years, when he toiled at Bradenton, Fla., for the Dominican Pirates and at Welland, Ontario, he started and relieved, making 17 more relief appearances than starts and earning four saves. Then at Augusta last year, among his 96 innings was only one start. He did well, posting a 2.25 earned run average, 12 saves, seven victories and 103 strikeouts. Even so, it took him a while to like it.
Then just as he was growing used to the job, back to a starter's role he went in the off-season.
"It scared me," he said. "I was worried that I wouldn't do the job as well as I'd done starting."
Somewhere along the line he mustered enough courage to now be frightening the rest of the Carolina League with a good fastball, an improving change-up and assorted breaking nasties. The report card through Friday read 9-5, 3.44 ERA and a better than decent chance at an All-Star game invitation.
He needn't be reminded that game won't be contested in a vacant lot.
\ LOCAL GUY MAKES GOOD: The Charlotte Knights were supposed to have good pitching.
By all accounts, the Cleveland Indians' Class AAA affiliate was going to have some speed.
Anybody could have told you that the Knights were going to have a lineup that had some pop.
And any dummy could have offered assurances that the Knights stood no chance in the International League's Western Division against the soon-to-be legendary Richmond Braves.
But an amusing thing happened on the way to the soothsayers' booth at the county fair:
Charlotte got caught in the whirlwind that ripped through the Cleveland organization's pitching structure after the deaths of Steve Olin and Tim Crews and the injuries to Bob Ojeda in a boating accident. As soon as somebody would pitch well for Charlotte, he was Cleveland-bound on the fastest mode of transportation available. Then Charlotte's best mound prospect, Alan Embree, tore up his pitching arm, had surgery in late June and was done for the year.
Charlotte had a right speedy team for a while. Then, Wayne Kirby got called up. Now the Knights are as slow as a yacht race.
The Knights did turn up some guys who can smack a baseball a long way - when they hit it. Sam Horn (65 strikeouts), Jim Thome (48 whiffs), Roanoke's George Canale (33), Jeff Kunkel (40) and Mark Lewis (39) can hit it into orbit. They also can stir the stagnant air in the dugout area regularly with whooshing bats.
And about those R-Braves. They went into Saturday's action only a half-game ahead of Charlotte, which had won 53 games and was 18 games over .500.
Charlie Manuel, the Buena Vista guy who now lives in Roanoke when he isn't managing the Knights, is tickled at the way things are going. Not that he's sure he has a firm handle on why it's happening.
"They've been calling up our pitchers so fast I can't keep up with it," he said. "Richmond has got one of the best minor-league teams I've seen in a while. They've got a major-league prospect at every position.
"We're slow in the outfield. It's not like we have a real strong team here. But these guys do have an idea about how to play this game. And they play well together."
Manuel might have a lot to do with that. He's been in the business awhile now, with some notable success along the way, the most recent being the Pacific Coast League title that his Colorado Springs club won last year.
Manuel passes on the accolades to the others this season.
"For us to be where we are is a tribute to our coaches and our players," he said. "They're the ones who are doing it."
\ FOR SHORT ATTENTION SPANS: It was so hot in Prince William last week that Salem's Angelo Encarnacion, filming a day game in the uncovered aluminum bleachers, was overcome and had to be packed in ice to be revived.
The same day the Kinston Indians caused a national uproar by offering NBC television comic Jerry Seinfeld a one-day contract on the dubious premise that he looked like the Indians' Marc Marini, the Kinston outfielder smacked a game-winning three-run homer in a 7-6 victory over Wilmington. Marini, hitting his first home run, went 4-for-5. "The things that have happened this week have just been mind-boggling," he said.
Charlie Manuel on George Canale, who was batting .213 with six home runs and 26 RBI: "He's hitting a little better. I'd like to see him get hot with the bat. George is his own worst enemy. He's a worrier. He's got to learn to relax."
Phil Leftwich, the former Radford University right-hander now pitching for Vancouver (Angels) of the Pacific Coast League, is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his past four starts. During that span, he had a two-hitter in a 1-0 complete game victory over Portland on June 29. Leftwich is second in the league with 74 strikeouts.
Seen at the Salem Fair this week: Strongest arm at the guess-your-pitching-speed booth belonged to All-Timeslander Kelly Dampeer of Northside High School. Dampeer, a Radford signee, flung a ball 84 mph, according to the posted sign.
Dampeer is one of three finalists for the Roanoke-Salem Baseball Hall of Fame's Ray Bellamy Award as high school player of the year. The presentation will be made Thursday before the Bucs' game against Winston-Salem at Municipal Field. The other finalists are Al Holland Jr. of William Fleming and Donnie Meador of Lord Botetourt.
\ MORE PHILLY PHACTS: Philadelphia first baseman John Kruk, on his selection as an All-Star Game starter: "It's a scary thought that the fans want to see me play. What is society coming to these days?"
Headline in the Philadelphia Daily News after Ruben Amaro had the first four-hit day of his career: "Don't Stop Thinking About Amaro."
\ OTHER STUFF: Jeff McCurry's 21st save, accomplished in a 5-2 victory over Lynchburg on July 8, set a club record. Joe Ausanio's 20 in 1989 was the old mark. . . . Outfielder Ramon Espinosa, promoted from Augusta, hit a home run, his first, in his first game at Salem Municipal Field. . . . Eric Parkinson, Dan Jones and Doug Harrah, who started the season at Class AA Carolina, are a combined 8-0 since being demoted to Salem.
by CNB