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'Hounds enjoying Guzman's torrid start
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| Rockhounds Jesus Guzman, batting over 500 this season. Photo by Tim Fischer 4/14/08 |
by Oscar Leroy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Jesus Guzman was not going to let a little obstacle like not having an apartment ready prevent him from having one of the best starts of his career.
The Midland RockHounds third baseman is hitting an astonishing .490 and leads all Texas League hitters by 80 points. He has also hit three home runs, driven in a team-high 15 runs and has a slugging percentage of .745, which also leads the league.
Not bad for a guy who had to live in the RockHounds' clubhouse up until Monday night. But considering the RockHounds started the season with six games on the road, Guzman only had to make the clubhouse his home for four nights.
"That might have been the key to my hitting. We'll see," said the 23-year-old native from Sucre, Venezuela.
Thanks in part to that fast start by Guzman, the RockHounds are 9-3 as they head into a four-game series with San Antonio, beginning at 7:10 p.m. today at Nelson Wolff Stadium.
For Guzman, who is almost shy talking about his fast start, as long as the RockHounds are successful this season, that's all that really matters.
"Truthfully, I'm happy with the way I've started but I'm most happy with the way the team has started off by winning and being in first place in the division," Guzman said. "I'm just doing the best that I can to help the team win and qualify for the playoffs. Making the playoffs is the most important thing."
However, it's hard not to admire the way Guzman has swung the bat through the first games of the season. During a recent eight-game hitting streak, Guzman had multiple hits and at least one RBI in every game.
The Texas League took notice when they awarded him Player of the Week honors for April 3-13 as Guzman was batting .535 through the first 10 games of the season.
"That's a personal honor for me," he said. "Anybody would be happy to win that award. It's still early and I would like to win many more weekly awards, but we're just starting."
Opponents are certainly noticing too.
"He's on fire," said Springfield catcher Bryan Anderson about Guzman. "Anything over the plate, he's crushing it right now."
And of course his team has taken notice. Midland manager Webster Garrison said Guzman's start is one of the best he's seen in his more than 20 years in professional baseball.
"This is a great start for anybody, especially Guzman because I saw him in the league a couple of years ago and he was a pretty good player, but he looks outstanding right now," Garrison said. "He's not trying to do too much with it. That's his approach in (batting practice) and everything he does."
Guzman said after he signed with the Oakland Athletics organization as a free agent he worked hard with hitting coaches in Arizona on fixing some flaws in his hitting. The right-handed batter said he's always been able to hit to the opposite side of the field but got into a bad habit of trying to pull everything he tried to hit. He said his approach is much smoother and the adjustments he's made have really made a big difference.
But Guzman has always been able to hit. During his seven years in the Seattle Mariners organization, he never hit lower than .258 and that was when he was playing for the San Antonio Missions during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Still, Guzman never went above the Double-A level with the Mariners organization and was even playing in Advanced-A High Desert of the California League last year. Even with his demotion, Guzman hit .301 with 25 home runs and 112 RBI.
Guzman said he has no hard feelings with the way things didn't work out with the Mariners since they gave him the opportunity to play professional baseball after signing him at the age of 16.
Guzman, however, said signing with the Athletics has given him an extra boost this season.
"They have treated me really well and they have respected me," Guzman said about the A's. "Respect is very important to me and (the A's) let you play the game without any pressure. That's probably another thing that has helped me out this season."
This season might be one of many firsts for Guzman as he recently passed his driver's test. He said he's never really liked to drive in the United States and mostly relied on friends to help him get around.
Now with the driver's test and an apartment to temporarily call home while he's in Midland, Guzman said he's ready to concentrate on helping the RockHounds get back to the postseason.
"The team is really good and we've been playing really well," Guzman said. "The games we've lost we've fought until the end. But that's baseball. We're not always going to win. We try to win all of them but that's not always the case."
But if Guzman keeps hitting the way he has this season, it's safe to say the RockHounds will have a chance to continue to be very successful.
The Midland RockHounds third baseman is hitting an astonishing .490 and leads all Texas League hitters by 80 points. He has also hit three home runs, driven in a team-high 15 runs and has a slugging percentage of .745, which also leads the league.
Not bad for a guy who had to live in the RockHounds' clubhouse up until Monday night. But considering the RockHounds started the season with six games on the road, Guzman only had to make the clubhouse his home for four nights.
"That might have been the key to my hitting. We'll see," said the 23-year-old native from Sucre, Venezuela.
Thanks in part to that fast start by Guzman, the RockHounds are 9-3 as they head into a four-game series with San Antonio, beginning at 7:10 p.m. today at Nelson Wolff Stadium.
For Guzman, who is almost shy talking about his fast start, as long as the RockHounds are successful this season, that's all that really matters.
"Truthfully, I'm happy with the way I've started but I'm most happy with the way the team has started off by winning and being in first place in the division," Guzman said. "I'm just doing the best that I can to help the team win and qualify for the playoffs. Making the playoffs is the most important thing."
However, it's hard not to admire the way Guzman has swung the bat through the first games of the season. During a recent eight-game hitting streak, Guzman had multiple hits and at least one RBI in every game.
The Texas League took notice when they awarded him Player of the Week honors for April 3-13 as Guzman was batting .535 through the first 10 games of the season.
"That's a personal honor for me," he said. "Anybody would be happy to win that award. It's still early and I would like to win many more weekly awards, but we're just starting."
Opponents are certainly noticing too.
"He's on fire," said Springfield catcher Bryan Anderson about Guzman. "Anything over the plate, he's crushing it right now."
And of course his team has taken notice. Midland manager Webster Garrison said Guzman's start is one of the best he's seen in his more than 20 years in professional baseball.
"This is a great start for anybody, especially Guzman because I saw him in the league a couple of years ago and he was a pretty good player, but he looks outstanding right now," Garrison said. "He's not trying to do too much with it. That's his approach in (batting practice) and everything he does."
Guzman said after he signed with the Oakland Athletics organization as a free agent he worked hard with hitting coaches in Arizona on fixing some flaws in his hitting. The right-handed batter said he's always been able to hit to the opposite side of the field but got into a bad habit of trying to pull everything he tried to hit. He said his approach is much smoother and the adjustments he's made have really made a big difference.
But Guzman has always been able to hit. During his seven years in the Seattle Mariners organization, he never hit lower than .258 and that was when he was playing for the San Antonio Missions during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Still, Guzman never went above the Double-A level with the Mariners organization and was even playing in Advanced-A High Desert of the California League last year. Even with his demotion, Guzman hit .301 with 25 home runs and 112 RBI.
Guzman said he has no hard feelings with the way things didn't work out with the Mariners since they gave him the opportunity to play professional baseball after signing him at the age of 16.
Guzman, however, said signing with the Athletics has given him an extra boost this season.
"They have treated me really well and they have respected me," Guzman said about the A's. "Respect is very important to me and (the A's) let you play the game without any pressure. That's probably another thing that has helped me out this season."
This season might be one of many firsts for Guzman as he recently passed his driver's test. He said he's never really liked to drive in the United States and mostly relied on friends to help him get around.
Now with the driver's test and an apartment to temporarily call home while he's in Midland, Guzman said he's ready to concentrate on helping the RockHounds get back to the postseason.
"The team is really good and we've been playing really well," Guzman said. "The games we've lost we've fought until the end. But that's baseball. We're not always going to win. We try to win all of them but that's not always the case."
But if Guzman keeps hitting the way he has this season, it's safe to say the RockHounds will have a chance to continue to be very successful.
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