SAN DIEGO -- The Olympic gymnastics competition ended a couple of weeks ago, but what's the big deal? Khalil Greene is playing gold-medal shortstop for the San Diego Padres.
He dips. He dives. He vaults and glides. I don't know how he'd look in a leotard, but I know how he looks in baseball double-knits. Like a cross between Ozzie Smith in mid-flip and a Swiffer. Talk about graceful. This guy is capable of making the Olympic pixie set look like a bunch of clods. And that's just by dinner.
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| Khalil Green isn't all about defense -- the shortstop has the pop to hit 20 home runs one day. (Getty Images) |
"I get asked about him more than anybody else," Bochy says.
Whenever an opposing team lines up against the Padres, Greene is the guy they're talking about when they leave.
"He's terrific," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox says. "A terrific player. He's a beauty. He's got a lot of confidence when the ball is hit to him."
The Padres are dangerously close to dropping out of the NL playoff hunt, but they wouldn't even have been on the same IM board with the contenders if not for their budding superstar shortstop.
Already named NL rookie of the month in both April and August, Greene is closing in on winning the rookie award for the entire season. You'll get plenty of argument from Pittsburgh, where outfielder Jason Bay leads NL rookies in home runs (21), RBI (66), on-base percentage (.370) and slugging percentage (.574).
Pittsburgh has never had a rookie of the year, and Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon is campaigning with such verve that the Republicans or Democrats might want to consider hiring him after the season as a consultant heading into the November elections.
"It would really be a shame if he doesn't win it," McClendon says.
Bay is an honorable and deserving candidate, and Pittsburgh certainly is overdue to have some things fall in its favor. But whatever offensive numbers Greene lacks in comparison to Bay -- the San Diego shortstop has 11 homers, 57 RBI, a .344 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage -- playing lights-out shortstop for a contending team is a whole different breed of cat.
Particularly for a team that essentially has become an overnight success after compiling the NL's worst record last season.
