THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010380
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
If you think the weather's hot, you should see Butch Huskey.
The Norfolk Tides third baseman bounced a home run off the top of the leftfield concession stand, went 4 for 4, scored twice and drove in four runs to lead the Norfolk Tides to a 10-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights on Monday at Harbor Park.
And this performance wasn't an aberration. Huskey has been on fire since mid-July - he's belted nine home runs in his last 12 games.
Huskey, who raised his average to .281, leads the International League in home runs (24) and RBIs (79). With six more home runs, he'll own the Tides' franchise record for home runs in Triple-A.
All this from a player who hit .228 in 1994, was hitting less than .200 in mid-May and had been labeled by some as an underachiever.
``I don't really know why I'm hitting the ball so well,'' said Huskey, a muscular, 6-foot-3, native of Lawton, Okla., who turned down a football grant from the University of Oklahoma to sign with the New York Mets in 1989.
``I just feel relaxed. I'm comfortable and swinging the bat well. I don't think I've ever had a streak like this before, at least not that I can remember. I'm just going to ride that wave as long as I can.''
Tides starter Jimmy Williams (10-3), who won for the seventh time in his last eight outings, became the league's first pitcher to win 10 games, though he struggled much of the game.
Williams gave up eight hits and got himself into potential trouble in the eighth by walking the first two batters. Tides manager Toby Harrah then called upon Bryan Rogers, who got three consecutive Knights out to end any hope of a Charlotte comeback.
``Jimmy didn't want to come out,'' Harrah said with a smile. ``He's a competitor. That's a fine quality to have. It's the pitchers who want to come out that you worry about.
``Jimmy's pitched games like this before where he has to battle and then he wins. He just wins, and that's what it's all about.''
Charlotte starter Kurt Miller, meanwhile, lasted just 5 1/3 innings and surrendered six runs in the sixth, four of them unearned.
The big blow was Huskey's towering home run, which sailed high above the lights and hit the back of the concession stand. It's the second time in the current home stand that he's hit the concession-stand roof.
``If he keeps this up, we're going to have to get the roof repaired,'' Tides general manager Dave Rosenfield said.
``That home run was a bomb,'' Harrah added. ``He's hitting the curveball, hitting the fastball. He's hitting everything.''
And playing nearly every position. Huskey has been at third, first and every outfield position this season.
``I can't say which position he plays best because he plays them all well,'' Harrah said. ``He's a big man with soft hands. He's made himself much more valuable by playing so many positions.
``I wasn't here last year so I didn't see him. But we were hoping he'd have a season like this. I knew he was a talented young man with a lot of potential.''
Potential that finally has been realized.
TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Paul Wilson (2-1, 4.87 ERA) is the starting pitcher for Norfolk tonight against Charlotte in the finale of an eight-game home stand. The Knights counter with Rich Scheid (1-3, 4.91). ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Lawrence Jackson
Tides catcher John Orton tags out Charlotte's Terry Jorgensen in the
first inning of Norfolk's win over the Knights at Harbor Park.
by CNB