THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090548
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
From Tim Bogar to Paul Wilson and the many alphabetical stops in between, the New York Mets will feature an army of former Norfolk Tides when they visit Harbor Park at 7:15 tonight for their annual exhibition game with their Triple-A affiliate.
The Mets have relied heavily on their minor-league system in the last few years to form a foundation for its major league club. That's not always easy to do in today's world of free agency.
Among the pillars who are former Tides:
First baseman Rico Brogna, who was hitting .309 through Monday.
Catcher Todd Hundley, who is among league leaders in home runs with eight and is batting .307.
Shortstop Rey Ordonez, who everyone expected to be a defensive wiz in the majors, but is hitting a surprising .320 in his rookie season.
Utility man Butch Huskey, last year's International League player of the year, who has struggled with a .232 average, but has shown improvement the last two weeks.
Hundley, Ordonez and Huskey were drafted by the Mets and came up through the system. The same is true for 60 percent of New York's starting pitching rotation. And that would be 80 percent had Bill Pulsipher not injured his pitching elbow.
There's no chance of seeing pitchers Bobby Jones (compensation pick between the first and second rounds of 1991), Wilson (No. 1 pick in 1994) or Jason Isringhausen (44th round in 1991) on the mound tonight. The Mets will not disrupt their rotation for an exhibition game. Other minor-league pitchers within the organization, who will be designated today, will pitch the exhibition.
But Jones, Wilson and Isringhausen have all pitched at Harbor Park and are indicative of the Mets' approach in the amateur draft.
``The draft is not a cookie cutter,'' said Jack Zduriencik, director of minor league operations for the Mets. ``You've got to remember every other team out there is trying to build with its draft picks as well. You just do the best you can.
``You're pretty much drafting from three different pools - high schools, junior colleges and the college ranks. Some guys take five, six or seven years to get to the majors (Huskey). Some take two (Wilson).''
There will be 10 former Tides wearing Mets colors tonight. In addition, Edgardo Alfonzo came up through the Mets' chain but skipped Norfolk, going directly from Double-A Binghamton to New York last season.
Asked to pinpoint another franchise that has had similar success with its homegrown talent in the last few years, Zduriencik mentioned the Atlanta Braves.
``Tom Glavine, Dave Justice, Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Mark Lemke, Javier Lopez,'' Zduriencik said. ``They've done pretty well.
``The Mets did well in the '80s with the Goodens and the Strawberrys. Then they made significant moves to surround those players with other quality players. We're looking to do that again.''
AUTOGRAPH SESSION: All the Mets who make the trip to Norfolk are scheduled to appear at an autograph session from 2-3 p.m. today under the Nauticus Pavilion. The first 500 fans will receive an 8-by-10 color photo of the 1996 Mets. ILLUSTRATION: [Graphic]
Box
Ex-Tides with the Mets
How the former Norfolk Tides are with the New York Mets are faring
in the major leagues in 1996:
[For complete list, see microfilm.]
by CNB