A slap in the face won’t make Aaron Rowand’s eyes water. He
broke his cheekbone when struck by a pitch a year ago. He’ll always
be remembered in Philadelphia for the reckless catch he made while
smashing his nose in a collision with the outfield wall.
SAN JOSE
A slap in the face won’t make Aaron Rowand’s eyes water.
He broke his cheekbone when struck by a pitch a year ago. He’ll always be remembered in Philadelphia for the reckless catch he made while smashing his nose in a collision with the outfield wall.
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So by comparison, the scattered boos he heard in the Giants’ exhibition opener at AT&T Park last month didn’t sting one bit. If he let the crowd sentiment affect him, he probably wouldn’t have responded with an MVP performance in the club’s first homestand.
“The fans obviously voice their opinions when things aren’t going well,” Rowand said Wednesday. “But they’re not here with me at 1:30 p.m. in the batting cage when I’m taking swings. I know the effort and time and preparation that I put into my at-bats. You gain confidence through the work that you do.”
For the second consecutive year, Rowand had the walk-off hit to win the Giants’ home opener. He tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in Tuesday’s rousing, comeback victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite a shaky spring that led to speculation he might be released, Rowand is getting a chance because of injuries to Andres Torres and Cody Ross. Rowand is off to a blazing start, hitting .367 in nine games.
A year ago, he was off to a similar start through nine games. Then came an April 17 matinee at Dodger Stadium, when Vicente Padilla threw a pitch that fractured the outfielder’s cheek and orbital bones in three places and left him with a concussion. Rowand missed two weeks on the disabled list, and he never regained the feeling he had at the plate.
“Well, obviously it derailed my season,” Rowand said. “I felt good at the plate. Everything was rolling the way you want. During that down time, you’re just hoping and praying you don’t lose that feel that you had. And I don’t think I ever got it back.”
Rowand hit .149 over a 26-game span through June 11, and with Torres making an impact whenever he played, Giants manager Bruce Bochy’s hand was forced.
It’s one thing to ask a competitive player like Rowand to accept a reduced role during the middle of a contending season. It’s another to ask him to accept that role from Day 1 of spring training — especially when the remaining two years and $24 million on his contract make him virtually untradable.
It’s one more reminder that Bochy isn’t just paid to manage the games. He’s paid to manage people.
Entering the spring, he was concerned Rowand could be his greatest challenge.
“I was, being honest. Sure I was,” Bochy said. “I was concerned about his psyche. He’s used to being out there every day. I know he has a lot of pride. He signed a nice contract, and he wants to be out there earning it. I knew he wanted to get his job back.”
That’s why Bochy didn’t anoint Torres as the opening-day center fielder until the final two weeks of the spring, even though the job wasn’t really in doubt.
“As it turned out, Row didn’t have his best spring,” Bochy said. “Maybe he thinks at times that people here have given up on him. That’s not the case at all. You have to look at the way Torres and others have played, and we’ve had to make tough decisions.
“But I knew he worked hard in the offseason. He’s continued to work hard every day. We’re certainly glad he’s here, and we appreciate what he’s doing for us now.”
The Giants asked Rowand, after two unproductive seasons, to overhaul his swing over the winter and work to keep his head still as the ball is delivered. If anything, Rowand’s forward, head-dipping movement is more exaggerated than ever. He also hasn’t hidden the fact that he often feels cheated at AT&T Park, where balls crushed to right-center often end up in a squeezed glove.
At least for now, the results are there.
“It’s being comfortable in the box, having good balance, good rhythm with the pitcher, being in good hitting position as the ball is coming at you, recognizing pitches — all those things,” Rowand said. “Last year, it just ended up not working out.”
And now?
“Right now I feel pretty good,” he said.
Rowand figures to start again Friday, when the Giants begin their road trip in Arizona. But with Torres (strained left Achilles’ tendon) perhaps just one more day away from returning and Ross (strained right calf) nearing a minor league rehab assignment, Rowand knows his place in the lineup is not guaranteed.
Rowand remains guarded when talking about his role, careful not to air any grievances publicly. But he acknowledged it hasn’t been easy. Baseball is what he’s known and loved, going back to the days when he’d beg his father, Robert, to pitch him Wiffle balls in the backyard.
“You suit up every day to go out and compete, and when you’re not out there, that’s tough,” Rowand said. “I don’t think anything takes the place of competing, especially at this level . . . Like anything else in life, when you go through adversity, you deal with it like a man. That’s all you can do. Be a man about it.”
— Story by Andrew Baggarly, San Jose Mercury News
