Tuesday, July 10, 2001
Cameron emerges as star
SEATTLE — Mike Cameron returned from the road a changed man. In the middle of Sunday's game in Los Angeles, the Seattle outfielder was summoned to the visitors clubhouse and advised that he would be heading home as an All-Star.
He reached Seattle's Safeco Field late Sunday night, and headed straight for the clubhouse.
“When I went in there and saw my jersey, it was like a kid getting his first bicycle,” Cameron said. “I wanted to try it out.”
Forsaking the cultivated cool typical among big-league ballplayers, Cameron approached his locker with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a small boy before a pile of Christmas presents. He tried on the dark green jersey, then
turned to teammate Bret Boone with a look that registered 9.0 on the rapture scale.
“Hey, Booney, look at me,” Cameron said. “Wow.”
He was a last-minute addition to the American League roster, selected Sunday to replace Tampa Bay's injured Greg Vaughn, picked as much for his proximity to Safeco Field as his performance inside it. Yet if Cameron has learned anything in his baseball career, it is that perceptions are subject to change and that behind every obstacle lies an opportunity.
A year ago, Cameron was the player who made it possible for the Cincinnati Reds to get Ken Griffey Jr. He was seen in Cincinnati as eminently expendable, in Seattle as inadequate compensation. He has since carved out his own identity, become a standout player on the best team in baseball, and been embraced by the city Griffey spurned.
“I get that sick feeling when I see a guy like Mike Cameron,” Reds first baseman Sean Casey said. “He's such a great teammate. Anytime you can get a Ken Griffey Jr. on your team, you're excited about that. But part of me wishes Mike was still with the Reds.”
Thriving in Seattle
This is not to suggest Cameron has surpassed Griffey as a player. Far from it. But on a team that has been transformed from star-driven streakiness to ensemble excellence, Cameron's athleticism and affability have tempered the trauma of Junior's departure.
“This young man's a player,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said Monday. “He's got wonderful physical tools and plays center field so well. He's got power. He's got speed. He's just an all-around excellent player.”
Cameron could still make better use of his legs. He strikes out too often and bunts too seldom for a guy who makes the phrase “routine grounder” an oxymoron, as reflected by a pedestrian .277 batting average. Yet with 15 home runs and 18 stolen bases, Cameron is close to the pace of a 30-30 player. Even in this age of inflated offense, that's a feat.
“I want to reach that,” he said. “I don't know if I'm going to get there, but I want to model my game after that because of the different weapons I bring to the table day-in and day-out.”
If he's something less than Griffey, he's a lot more than good. Last April, when Seattle was still smarting from Junior's loss, Cameron leaped above the fence to steal a home run from New York's Derek Jeter. The cheers from that evening still echo in his ears.
“The best thing I ever felt in my life,” Cameron said. “There were forty-five or fifty thousand people at one moment cheering only for you. I didn't know what to do. They were still cheering when I came up and struck out.”
Mike Cameron figured he'd found a home.
E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.
Complete All-Star coverage from Associated Press
Reds Stories
Wimbledon champ will play here
Field for Tennis Masters Cincinnati
Ivanisevic buries Wimbledon frustrations
High school champ plays Wimbledon, then Met
Met tennis results, schedule
Celebrity Classic golf field set
McCord medals at N.Ky. Women's Am
N.Ky. Women's Met golf results, pairings
N.Ky. Men's Met golf pairings
Greater Cincinnati Mixed Golf Results
Women's U.S. Amateur qualifier results
Second commissioner asks for review of Bengals lease
• Return to Reds front page...
SULLIVAN: Cameron emerges as star