Monday, February 28, 2000
REDS NOTEBOOK
Reds minor-league coach once hit wall . . . and kept going
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SARASOTA, Fla. — You know Rod McCray. You just don't realize it.
About 10 years have passed since McCray, then an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox's Triple-A Vancouver affiliate, pursued a home run hit by Chip Hale and ran through the outfield wall in Portland, Ore. The scary yet entertaining moment was captured on videotape and has been played on highlight films and blooper reels thousands of times since.
McCray, now a roving minor-league instructor for the Reds who has been helping manager Jack McKeon's staff during spring training, has better things to do than recount his 1.5 seconds of fame. But, he cheerfully said Sunday, “As long as I'm involved in baseball, I'm going to get that question. I have no problem discussing it.”
McCray recalled that during the game's first six innings, the Portland team, a Minnesota Twins affiliate led by Paul Sorrento, unleashed a steady stream of hits that were slowed by gusts blowing toward home plate.
In the seventh inning, up came Hale, who wasn't known for his power. Though Hale made solid contact, McCray never seriously thought the ball would carry over the wall, given the hitter's reputation and the wind.
“I was thinking, "No way,'” McCray said. “So I'm just running, running, running. Being on an AstroTurf field, there was no warning track. It was just rubber.”
The lack of gravel, along with the center fielder's failure to yell at McCray, were crucial factors. McCray crashed through the one-inch-thick ply wood barrier at full speed. “It was kind of old,” he said.
McCray escaped uninjured, though he said he remained on the ground, slightly dazed, until the trainer arrived.
Armed with that experience, it's easy to guess what McCray stresses to the young outfielders he tutors:
“Communication,” he said. “That's the No.1 key.”
FREAK INJURY: Minor-league first baseman D.T. Cromer suffered a cut near his left eye when a ground ball took a bad hop and struck him during fielding practice.
Though Cromer needed no stitches, the area around his eye was bruised and swollen, which may force him to miss today's workout.
“I'll be out here. I don't know how well I'll be able to see,” Cromer said. “I don't think it's an injury that will keep me out for a while.”
As soon as I can get the swelling down I'll be able to see well.”
Cromer, who hit .310 with 30 homers and 107 RBI with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate last year, was initially worried because he fractured the orbital bone around the same eye in the 1996 season and missed a month. But trainer Greg Lynn said that no complications seemed to have developed.
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