Izturis making his mark in the league at shortstop
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis left his feet to try and catch A.J. Pierzynski's liner, but mistimed his jump a bit. The ball hit the top of his glove and bounced into the outfield.
E-6, the official scorer in San Francisco said.
Izturis still doesn't agree with the ruling.
His manager understands why.
"What I remember is it was a tough play to begin with," Jim Tracy said Friday. "It was one of those line drives that knuckles. I'd say quite possibly it could have been ruled a hit."
The error in the eighth inning April 17 was one of only 10 charged to Izturis last season, with the other nine on bad throws. Tracy believes several of those came after Izturis got to balls that would have eluded other shortstops.
No wonder Izturis won an NL Gold Glove.
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| Cesar Izturis was a throw-in during a 2001 trade. (AP) |
The 25-year-old switch hitter from Venezuela didn't just become known as one of baseball's top-fielding shortstops last year. He emerged as an offensive force as well.
After hitting .232 with 102 hits in 2002 and .251 with 140 hits in 2003, Izturis batted .288 with 193 hits in his third full big-league season. He also reached career highs with 90 runs scored, 32 doubles, nine triples, four homers, 62 RBI, 25 stolen bases, 43 walks and 12 sacrifice bunts.
But it's on defense where he's really appreciated, especially by the Dodgers' pitching staff.
"Man, that kid can play - he can play!" left-hander Odalis Perez said. "When you are pitching and that guy is behind you, just close your eyes and try to get ground balls. For his age, the range he has, the arm he has, he might be the No. 1 shortstop in the major leagues."
Right-hander Jeff Weaver agreed, saying: "He's definitely special - at the top of anyone's list as far as I'm concerned. It's hard to get an understanding from just watching the highlights on TV. And he's only going to get better."
