Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505060020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Chris Sexton isn't too surprised he ranks among the batting leaders in the Carolina League.
Nor is he astonished to be second in the league in on-base percentage, reaching base safely 50 percent of the time. He'd rather be first.
Not because he's cocky or overly self-confident.
The Salem Avalanche shortstop isn't surprised because he just sees those accomplishments as part of his job. And he takes great pride in doing it well.
``It's my job to get on base, by a walk or a hit,'' Sexton said Wednesday before helping Salem win another game by hitting a home run and reaching base five times.
Reaching base is a duty he has performed well since joining the Avalanche in mid-April after starting the season with Winston-Salem. Sexton leads Salem in hitting (.344), runs (18), walks (20) and on-base percentage (.506).
In his past six games before Thursday, Sexton had coaxed a dozen walks. Salem won five of those games.
``I need to get on base for the power guys behind me to drive me in,'' said Sexton, the leadoff hitter in Salem's batting order. ``I've always looked at that as my role.''
Sexton said he always has had a good eye at the plate and has been willing to take a walk, which is a concept some hitters never grasp.
Because he is selective at the plate, Sexton usually stays away from bad pitches, rarely swinging at a ball out of the strike zone. That gives him a better chance at getting a pitch to his liking when he does swing.
As a result, he expects to hit the ball hard and to bat around .300.
``I feel like I'm a good hitter,'' he said. ``I'm comfortable at the plate, and I expect it of myself to have a good average.''
Thus far, Sexton has not disappointed himself. The only negative of this season came when he was traded, he said.
Having grown up in Cincinnati, Sexton had realized a dream come true when he was drafted by the hometown Reds in 1993.
``I had grown up rooting for them my entire life,'' Sexton said. ``Joe Morgan was my first baseball hero.''
Sexton began following the Reds during the heyday of the Big Red Machine, when Cincinnati won back-to-back world championships. Like thousands of youngsters, he dreamed when he was 5 years old that someday he would play for his beloved team.
Imagine, then, his euphoria when he was drafted by the Reds after playing collegiately at Miami of Ohio, which is in Oxford, a short distance from Cincinnati.
``I always dreamed about'' getting picked by the Reds, Sexton said of his emotions on draft day. ``My family has liked the Reds ever since I can remember rooting for a team. They were thrilled.''
It was only natural that Sexton would be disappointed to be traded to another organization. He has since turned that emotional letdown into a positive experience for his future.
``I had mixed emotions,'' he said. ``I had made a lot of friends [in the organization], and it was difficult being uprooted. But I have heard nothing but good things about the Rockies, and I think I might actually be in a better situation here. I might have a better chance of moving up.''
Sexton credits the Reds with making him a shortstop after he had played in the outfield at Miami. He said he still is learning the position and is improving defensively.
``With the positive attributes I had, Cincinnati thought I was best suited to be a shortstop,'' Sexton said.
Among those attributes are a good arm and the reflexive ability to reach balls hit in the hole. Sexton also has decent speed as a runner, having stolen 20 or more bases in his previous pro seasons.
``I think I can do some positive things on the base paths and can make some things happen,'' he said. ``I'm not a burner, but I think I can steal some bases by being smart and aggressive.''
Kind of like the way Joe Morgan used to run the bases.
by CNB