Ex-Giant Duffy in familiar position
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Matt Duffy knows what it’s like to replace a productive and popular third baseman. He succeeded Pablo Sandoval in 2015 and enjoyed a fabulous rookie season, hitting .295 and winning the Willie Mac Award as the Giants’ most inspirational player.
Duffy is doing it again. At least that’s the intent.
This time, he’s trying to take over third base for Evan Longoria, which would complete a string of events extending from San Francisco to St. Petersburg, Fla.
Shipped to the Rays in the Matt Moore trade in August 2016 — shortly after the Giants began their season-and-a-half collapse — Duffy is Tampa Bay’s projected third baseman in the wake of December’s trade that sent Longoria to the Giants.
“He’s a solid defender and puts together great at-bats,” Longoria said. “I just hope for his sake, he’s healthy.”
That’s the knock on Duffy, who had two heel surgeries, missed all of 2017 and now says the foot is fully healed. However, a back spasm shelved him the past few days.
Longoria, 32, and Duffy, 27, were infielders at Long Beach State but didn’t get to know each other until becoming Rays teammates. Duffy played 21 Rays games in 2016 before his heel injury shut him down.
“I know he grinded a lot last year with his health,” Longoria said. “It’s hard enough to play this game when you’re healthy. When you’re trying to battle through injuries and just work to get yourself on the field every day, it’s kind of tough to focus on the other stuff.”
The Rays’ projected infield is Duffy at third, Adeiny Hechavarria at short, Daniel Robertson/Joey Wendle (both former A’s prospects) at second and Brad Miller/ C.J. Cron at first. Former Giants infield prospect Christian Arroyo is trying to earn a spot somewhere. Speaking of ex-Giants, Denard Span is playing left, and Sergio Romo is in the bullpen.
Duffy had an upbeat nature as a Giant, the first rookie to win the Willie Mac Award, and Longoria said his fellow Dirtbag (Long Beach State’s nickname) remained positive while dealing with all the health issues.
“He’s the same way, as good as you could be,” Longoria said. “I think mentally, it was a real tough year for him. He did his best to get on the field and probably (pushed) himself through a lot more than he should have to force himself to be on the field. But yeah, when he’s around, he’s always positive and a great clubhouse guy. He did about as good a job as he could.”
Duffy would be the Rays’ first Opening Day third baseman other than Longoria since 2008, when Willy Aybar manned the hot corner. All-Star lineup: It was a spectacular day in Scottsdale on Friday. The cool weather finally moved along, and warmth arrived just in time for a festival of Giants legends.
There were no ceremonies, no announcements. But for different reasons, several franchise cornerstones were in attendance.
Willie Mays was entertaining players and reporters in the clubhouse. Willie McCovey, in his first spring training appearance since 2014, paid special attention to the rounds of batting practice. Gaylord Perry was signing autographs on the concourse for charity.
And Felipe Alou was giving interviews and doing a signing for his new book, “Alou: My Baseball Journey,” a powerful and honest look at his life on the field and off, a must-read that’s not just for baseball fans.
One noticeable absence was Orlando Cepeda, who continues to make daily progress after being hospitalized Feb. 19. Radio man Marty Lurie spoke with Cepeda on Saturday and reported he “sounded strong and clear,” outstanding news in Scottsdale and throughout the baseball community.
A’s quiet: When the union filed a grievance against the A’s and three other teams for allegedly not spending their revenue sharing appropriately, the other teams did a far better job defending themselves.
The Pirates issued a 59-word statement from president Frank Coonelly explaining their revenue-sharing receipts decreased seven straight years while their payroll doubled and investments increased in scouting, player development and facilities.
In Marlins CEO Derek Jeter’s 48-word statement, he said he’ll continue to “build a foundation for sustained success and improve this organization.” Rays owner Stu Sternberg took questions from reporters and said his team is “beyond what compliance is.”
The A’s? Their only response was short with no name attached: “We support Major League Baseball’s statement on the matter.” MLB had stated the grievance has “no merit.”
Crickets from ownership, as usual. It’s not Billy Beane’s job to respond. It’s John Fisher’s or someone on the business side. The A’s had a chance to connect with their fans and provide economic insight, and it was an opportunity lost. Attention for Ohtani: Shohei Ohtani pitched in one of the most heavily attended B games in history. Not many fans showed, but a couple of hundred Japanese media did — plus, it was televised live in Japan even though it was 2 a.m. in Tokyo.
In a controlled setting, the Angels’ pitcher-hitter faced Brewers minorleaguers, and all eight of his outs came on strikeouts. Catcher Rene Rivera told the Los Angeles Times afterward that Ohtani’s two-way impact could be compared with Madison Bumgarner’s. Hitting is more of a hobby for the Giants pitcher, but for Ohtani, it’ll be a regular occurrence.
The previous biggest crowd for an Angels B game (50 media) featured pitcher Jim Abbott.