We have gathered here today in praise of Joey Cora, the former White Sox second baseman who is in his third season with Seattle and has helped the Mariners jump into first place in the American League West. He is among their leading hitters with a .318 average and, at 5 feet 8 inches and 160 pounds, offers further evidence the smaller player can succeed in big-time baseball.
“Some of ’em have big hearts and some of them don’t,” Seattle manager Lou Piniella said Monday night at Comiskey Park. “Joey happens to be one of the ones who does. I’ve been very impressed.”
So is Randy Johnson, the Mariners’ star pitcher, who has won 16 of 20 decisions and, as usual, leads both leagues in strikeouts. He is averaging 12.5 strikeouts for every nine innings pitched, a ratio that would break the record of 12.35 he set in 1995.
“I’ll tell you what I think tells everything you want to know about Joey Cora,” Johnson said. “It was early in the season, in Detroit, sometime in May. Joey had a terrible game. He was 0 for 4 and his defense wasn’t that good.
“After the game we got on the team bus to go back to the hotel. I pitched that night and was the last one on. When I left the clubhouse I realized Joey had gone back to the batting cage (under the stands). He was taking extra swings.
“This was after a night game. I came to the ballpark early the next day and he was already there. Did he sleep in the clubhouse? I don’t know. I never asked him. But from that day on he began playing extremely well and went on a big hitting streak. I think he hit .500 in May (actually .449) and he has been hitting ever since.
“When he was picked on the All-Star team, I told him, `Joey, I saw what you did that night. You didn’t drag your head. You stuck around and worked hard. I’ve seen a lot of guys work hard but I’ll never forget that night.’ “
Johnson wasn’t finished.
“Maybe he doesn’t have the greatest ability at second base,” Johnson said. “But he makes up for that in his character and hard work. If the smaller ballplayers are looking for a role model, he’s the guy. He’s our sparkplug. He’s the ideal leadoff hitter. He makes things happen. In Seattle, the fans love him.”
Jamie Moyer, the former Cub who for the last two seasons has been among the AL’s most effective starting pitchers, is another of Cora’s big fans.
“He finds ways to win,” Moyer said. “He’s tough to pitch to because of his size. No pitcher wants to walk the leadoff man but a lot of the time it’s ball one, ball two. Another thing: he’s a team player.”
According to Cora, all of the Mariners are team players.
“Our superstars put up big numbers,” Cora said, referring to Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez. But when it comes time to move a runner over or take a guy out at second base, they do that, too. When the superstars slide hard, everyone has to play hard.
“If I don’t do something right, Ken Griffey will get on me and if Junior makes a mistake, Jay Buhner will get on him. Other teams have good talent, too. But we’re more of a team.”
Cora says it starts at the top.
“Lou (Piniella) was a pretty good player himself,” he said. “He did all those things and he demands that from us.”
Cora, 32, was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He’s in his 13th season as a professional. He insists his big break came when he became Ozzie Guillen’s White Sox teammate. The San Diego Padres, Cora’s original team, traded him to the Sox before the 1991 season.
“If it wasn’t for Ozzie Guillen I wouldn’t be here,” Cora insisted. “I was a utility guy. Didn’t know anything. He fathered me, he was like a big brother. He taught me everything about the game, the way it should be played, how I should handle myself. He made me successful.
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“I try to call him every week. I tell him what I’m doing. I ask him, `Am I OK? Am I doing the right thing?’
“When he says `Yes,’ it means a lot to me. And when he says I’m not doing too good, I take it to heart and realize I must work harder.”