THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290661
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Kevin Flora had just about everything going for him that he could imagine.
The California Angels were beginning to take a very serious look at the young prospect, who had hit .324 the previous season for their Triple-A affiliate, then opened the first 10 games of the 1993 season in Vancouver batting .359.
Life off the field was just as good for Flora and his bride of almost 18 months, MaryAnn.
``We'd just bought a new house, we were planning for our future, doing all the things young couples do,'' Flora said.
Then with one phone call, it all crashed around him.
Flora was standing in a clubhouse in Calgary when his father told him MaryAnn had died in a car accident near Van Horn, Texas. She had lost control on Interstate 10, the car turning sideways and flipping. A 4-year-old nephew also died and Flora's mother-in-law was seriously injured.
Flora threw the telephone receiver against the wall and started screaming. Teammates were unable to console him. And, on the flight to Texas the next day, Flora kept hoping every bump of turbulence was a signal the plane was about to tumble to earth, ending his life as well.
At night for months, he would dream about his own death, the only place where he and MaryAnn would be reunited.
``For a year-and-a-half, I didn't care about anything,'' Flora said following a workout at the St. Lucie County Sports Complex, where he is in camp with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. ``It affected every aspect of my life. I wanted to get better and do well and I kept coming to the park.
``But everything reminded me of her. I could give you a thousand specifics. If a teammate told a joke, all I could think was, `Wow, his life is fine.'
``There was a total lack of concentration. I'd always taken pride in everything I did. But for the longest time I really couldn't care less.''
He played in only 20 games the rest of 1993. Then he played in a combined 25 games in 1994, bouncing between Vancouver and the Angels' Class-A team in Lake Elsinore, Calif., mixing in leaves of absence as he searched his soul for answers to life's biggest question: Why?
And he wondered often if he wanted to continue playing baseball or do something else.
``But something else wouldn't have solved anything,'' Flora said. ``What was bothering me would have still been there, no matter what I was doing.''
He found that the only cure for his problem was time. And he met someone, eventual fiancee Danniele Olsen, who didn't know he was a baseball player and didn't care.
``And that was good for me,'' Flora said. ``We were introduced by a married couple we both knew. They didn't fix us up on a blind date or anything. They just invited both of us out one night with some other friends and gave us the opportunity to meet.''
Eventually, his love of baseball returned.
He started 1995 with the Angels, part of their expanded roster following the strike. He hit .298 at Vancouver after being reassigned, then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies and spent the remainder of the season with their big-league team, platooning with Andy Van Slyke in centerfield after Lenny Dykstra's season ended prematurely due to injury.
Now 26, Flora, a 6-foot, 185-pound centerfielder, is with the Mets' organization after a series of offseason moves that indicated at least to him that a slew of teams still believe he has a bright future.
First, the Angels re-signed him as a free agent in November. Then, the Mets traded Aaron Ledesma to get Flora in January.
``Before I re-signed with the Angels, my agent had had talks with the Padres, the Red Sox and the Tigers,'' Flora said. ``It made me feel good that others were interested.
``(Angels GM) Bill Bavasi told me later that he didn't re-sign me just to use me for a trade. He said the Mets came to him twice wanting me and he couldn't turn them down the second time.''
Flora attended the Mets' spring training camp as a non-roster invitee, lasting eight days before being assigned to the Tides.
He has been inactive since. A collision with the outfield fence at Thomas J. White Stadium during his last day with the Mets caused an injury to his left thumb. The thumb has been in a form-fitting, rubber brace ever since.
But that hasn't kept him from running. And during a team drill Tuesday, Flora and established Tides speedster Jay Payton were timed rounding the bases.
Flora went around in 13.84 seconds, Payton in 13.97, timings that moved Payton to wrap an arm around Flora and proclaim to the rest of the team with a huge smile on his face, ``This is one fast white boy.''
He's always had speed, stealing 40 bases for the Angels' Double-A club in Midland, Texas, in 1991 while collecting a league-high 15 triples.
Bobby Valentine, the Tides' manager, forecasts a huge year for Flora, who is projected to return to the field in full playing capacity Monday.
``Kevin Flora has a chance to be a special player for the Tides and for the International League,'' said Valentine, who intends to bat Flora in the cleanup spot. ``He is a high-quality performer with exceptional speed.
``As for his past, I haven't talked about it with him. We've talked about his future, because that's where we're headed.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Three years after the loss of his wife, Kevin Flora, 26, is off to a
fresh - and promising - start in the Mets' organization.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB