SLUGGER SHOWS HUGE PROMISE
AUSTIN CONNER PRODUCT OF LAID-BACK SOUTH
BY PAT DORWIN
SPORTSWRITER
WHITE SOX BASEBALL WEEKLY
CHICAGO - AUSTIN CONNER NEVER SEEMS OUT OF PLACE: NOT AS AN 18-YEAR-OLD SLUGGING AT A RECORD PACE AND NOT IN SPRING TRAINING WHEN HE SAW HIMSELF ATOP THE DEPTH CHART IN CENTERFIELD AFTER JUST SEVEN DAYS.
CERTAINLY NOT A SEASON AGO, WHEN AFTER LEADING HIS HIGH SCHOOL TEAM TO ITS THIRD STRAIGHT STATE TITLE, HE RIPPED 31 HOMERS IN 42 ROOKIE-LEAGUE GAMES.
WHY, CONNER COULD EARLIER MANAGE "ONLY" 28 DINGERS IN 45 HIGH SCHOOL GAMES, FOR GOSH SAKE. HE WAS A THREE-YEAR STARTER FOR FARRAGUT, STARTING AT THREE DIFFERENT POSITIONS FOR THE ADMIRALS, LOCATED IN A TOWN NEXT TO KNOXVILLE, TENN.
CONNER, WHO TOTALED A CAREER 52 HOME RUNS, SHIFTED FROM FIRST BASE (10 HOMERS AS A SOPHOMORE) TO RIGHTFIELD AND FINALLY CENTERFIELD FOR HIS BIG SENIOR SEASON.
SO 59 HOME RUNS IN HIS LAST 57 GAMES DIDN'T MAKE CONNER STICK OUT? NOT TO SOX MANAGER OZZIE GUILLEN.
"THE ONLY THING I NOTICED ABOUT HIM WAS THAT HIS JERSEY NUMBER (14) WAS ONE (NUMBER) HIGHER THAN MINE," SAYS GUILLEN, WHO HAS LONG WORN NO. 13. "I JUST THOUGHT HE WAS MAYBE SOME DOUBLE-A GUY WHO'S DAD MUST HAVE LIKED PETE ROSE (WHO WORE NO. 14)."
INDEED, CONNER LOOKS ABOUT "25 YEARS OLD," ACCORDING TO ONE SOURCE.
CONNER.
"I'VE HAD THE SAME GOATEE AND CHOPS (LONG SIDEBURNS) SINCE I WAS 15," CONNER SAYS. "I'M JUST USED TO THEM AND DON'T REALLY THINK MUCH ABOUT (MY LOOKS)."
KEEPING UP HIS CURRENT PACE OF 20 HOME RUNS IN HIS FIRST 44 WHITE SOX GAMES UNTIL HE REALLY IS 25 YEARS OLD WOULD PROPEL CONNER (WHO IS SLUGGING AT A WHOPPING .799 PERCENTAGE) INTO ELITE COMPANY.
CONNER, PARTY OF ONE.
"GIVEN THE FACT HE HASN'T EVEN PLAYED IN 20 OF CHICAGO'S GAMES, MAKES HIS STATS ALL THE MORE IMPRESSIVE," SAYS AN AL SCOUT. "I'D SAY HE'S WORN DOWN SOME FROM THE LAST YEAR, BUT THE BALL STILL ROCKETS OFF HIS BAT. IT'S ELECTRIC.
"WHAT, 300 HOMERS BY THE TIME HE'S 25? THAT'S RUTHIAN."
ARE THE 20 MISSED GAMES A RED FLAG SOMETHING'S AMISS?
"DON'T THINK SO," SAYS GUILLEN, WHOSE CLUB IS 32-32. "HE JUST NEEDS MORE REST AT THIS TIME OF HIS LIFE."
CHICAGO TRAINERS AND DOCTORS HAVE PUT CONNER THROUGH A BATTERY OF TESTS, BUT HAVE FOUND NO CAUSE FOR HIS PHYSICAL UPS AND DOWNS.
"I CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN IT," SAYS CONNER. "I'VE NEVER HAD THE DAILY UPS AND DOWNS I HAVE BEEN HAVING. ON MY BAD DAYS, WHEN I WAKE UP, IT FEELS LIKE MY SHADES ARE SHUT AND IT'S A CLOUDY DAY, EVEN IF THEY'RE WIDE OPEN AND IT'S A SUNNY DAY."
HIS ENERGY SAPPED, CONNER CAN ONLY SIT AND WATCH HIS TEAMMATES AT TIMES, BUT GUILLEN ALSO SAYS CONNER WAS BENCHED TOO MUCH AT THE START OF THE SEASON.
"HE WAS AN UNKNOWN COMMODITY TO ME," GUILLEN SAYS OF CONNER LOSING OUT ON EARLY PLAYING TIME.
"I'M NOT BUYING THAT ONE," THE SCOUT SAYS. "AARON HIT 15 HOMERS IN 26 SPRING GAMES. SURE, FOUR (OF THE HOME RUNS) WERE IN 'B' GAMES, BUT OZZIE HAD EVERY NOTION WHO CONNER WAS."
A WORKOUT REGIME CONNER BEGAN IN EARLY APRIL IS STARTING TO SHOW POSITIVE RESULTS, PUTTING HIS WEIGHT UP FOUR POUNDS TO 191 ON HIS 6-1 FRAME.
"REALLY, THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN KIND OF DRAINING, SO I HOPE I'M JUST FEELING A SORT OF EXTENDED 'JET LAG.'" CONNER SAYS. "IT'S NOT PRESSURE, I KNOW THAT, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CALM AND LAID-BACK. IT'S KIND OF FUNNY, BUT I PLAYED IN FRONT OF MORE PEOPLE AT FARRAGUT THAN I DID IN ROOKIE-LEAGUE BALL."
DESPITE DROPPING TO THE NINTH-ROUND OF THE DRAFT, CONNER SAYS HE WAS READY TO GO PRO DESPITE A SCHOLARSHIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, JUST 25 MINUTES FROM HIS HOME.
"WELL, EVERYBODY TOLD ME MY DRAFT STOCK FELL BECAUSE ALL THE TEAMS THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO UT," SAYS CONNER. "I NEVER TOLD A SINGLE SCOUT THAT."
THE AL SCOUT, WHOSE OWN TEAM CONSIDERED CONNER TO LAST AT LEAST A DOZEN ROUNDS, SAYS MOST TEAMS WERE SCARED OFF BY CONNER'S LACK OF BULK.
"TRUTHFULLY, HE WAS ABOUT 165 POUNDS AFTER THEY WON THE STATE," HE SAYS. "LOOKING AT HIM AND HIS FAMILY, WE DIDN'T SEE HIM GETTING BUT ABOUT 10 POUNDS HEAVIER.
"A BIG MISREAD ON OUR PART."
THE SCOUT SAYS CONNER PROJECTED "AS A 15- TO 18-HOMER GUY, AND THAT WAS FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD."
CONNER BULKED UP OVER THE WINTER.
"I CAN THANK DAILY DOSES OF MY MOM'S CHEESE GRITS FOR THAT," CONNER SAYS WITH A SMILE.
NOW, IF HE CAN ONLY FIND A SOUTHERN-FRIED DINER IN CHICAGO.
"IF THAT HAPPENS, AARON MAY JUST START BEING COMPARED TO ANOTHER AARON," THE SCOUT SAYS. "HENRY AARON, THAT IS."
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