So what were you doing when you were 19? Looking for somebody to make you
a phony ID card? Living on a nutritious diet of chips and diet soda? Wearing the same pair of jeans for the eighth day in a row?
Yeah, well. That was you. OK, that was all of us.
|  | | Rafael Furcal doesn't turn 20 until August 24. |
And then there's Rafael Furcal.
Rafael Furcal is 19 right now. And all he's doing at 19 is playing
shortstop in the major leagues -- for the winningest team of the '90s, those
equal-opportunity Atlanta Braves.
But not just playing. How about exploding off the screen in pretty much
every Braves nightly highlight tape.
The players around him, remember, are the Atlanta Braves. They've
seen it all. They've done it all. But they've never seen anything quite like
Rafael Furcal.
Wally Joyner, now in his 15th season in the big leagues, sits at his
locker. He is asked if he has seen this kid shortstop do something on a
baseball field that has made him shake his head in disbelief.
"Yeah," he says. "Daily. It's incredible what he does."
Mike Remlinger, now in his 14th professional season, sits at a table in
the middle of the clubhouse. He isn't sure which Rafael Furcal quality to wax
superlative about first -- his arm or his legs.
"I think you need to write two columns," Remlinger suggests. "One on how
he throws. The other on how he runs."
You want to talk throws? Great. We'll talk throws. Because no one can
remember a middle infielder with an arm this supersonic since a young Shawon
Dunston.
|
So young, so good
|
|
Since 1970, the following position players have had at least 100 at-bats during a season they began at age 19 or younger: |
|
Player
|
Team
|
Year
|
AB
|
HR
|
Avg.
|
|
Cesar Cedeno
|
Hou
|
1970
|
355
|
7
|
.310
|
|
Claudell Washington
|
Oak
|
1974
|
221
|
0
|
.285
|
|
Robin Yount
|
Mil
|
1974
|
344
|
3
|
.250
|
|
Robin Yount
|
Mil
|
1975
|
558
|
8
|
.267
|
|
Jose Oquendo
|
Mets
|
1983
|
328
|
1
|
.213
|
|
Ken Griffey Jr.
|
Sea
|
1989
|
455
|
16
|
.264
|
|
Ivan Rodriguez
|
Tex
|
1991
|
280
|
3
|
.264
|
|
Alex Rodriguez
|
Sea
|
1995*
|
142
|
5
|
.232
|
|
Edgar Renteria
|
Fla
|
1996
|
431
|
5
|
.309
|
|
Andruw Jones
|
Atl
|
1996
|
106
|
5
|
.217
|
|
Adrian Beltre
|
LA
|
1998
|
195
|
7
|
.215
|
|
* Also had 54 at-bats as an 18-year-old in 1994. |
"But Shawon Dunston threw straight over the top, and he'd get his whole
body into the throw," says Terry Mulholland. "Raffy makes his throws with
such a quick release, it doesn't look like the ball is ever going to drop.
It's like it defies gravity. If Cat (that would be Andres Galarraga over at
first base) doesn't catch it, somebody is going to end up with a dent on his
forehead in the third row."
Even now, a month and a half later, the Braves still talk about the relay
throw Furcal made in the last exhibition game of the spring, against
Cleveland at Turner Field.
Sandy Alomar was the runner on first with two outs. He thought he was
going to score easily on a double to the gap in left-center. But that was
only because he'd never laid eyes on Rafael Furcal.
Alomar already had rounded third and was sprinting home when Furcal took
the relay from Andruw Jones 40 feet out in left-center. He whirled,
flicked and delivered your basic beam-of-light throw to the plate. Not only
was Alomar out. He was out from here to Hahira.
"I think the comment I heard in the clubhouse afterward was," Joyner says,
"we can trade our closer now. And Raffy can close."
The arm, however, is just half of the Rafael Furcal Show. Want to talk
legs now? Great. We'll talk legs.
"He's so fast," Remlinger says, "he needs to take something to slow
himself down."
"We had a game in Florida the other day," Mulholland says, "where he had
a base stolen. But by the time he hit the bag, he had so much momentum and
speed going, he overslid it, and they tagged him out. He's so fast, he has to
throw an anchor out there to slow himself down."
|
A kid's game
|
|
The following list includes all position players who made their big-league debuts at age 19 or younger since 1970 and the number of career games they played: |
|
Player
|
Year
|
Team
|
G
|
|
Greg Luzinski
|
1970
|
Phi
|
1821
|
|
Cesar Cedeno
|
1970
|
Hou
|
2006
|
|
Jeff Burroughs
|
1970
|
Was
|
1689
|
|
Tim Foli
|
1970
|
Mets
|
1696
|
|
Darrell Porter
|
1971
|
Mil
|
1782
|
|
Mike Ivie
|
1971
|
SD
|
857
|
|
Rod Gilbreath
|
1972
|
Atl
|
500
|
|
Rowland Office
|
1972
|
Atl
|
899
|
|
Miguel Dilone
|
1974
|
Pit
|
800
|
|
C. Washington
|
1974
|
Oak
|
1912
|
|
Robin Yount
|
1974
|
Mil
|
2856
|
|
Jack Clark
|
1975
|
SF
|
1994
|
|
Alfredo Griffin
|
1976
|
Cle
|
1962
|
|
Brian Greer
|
1977
|
SD
|
5
|
|
Alan Trammell
|
1977
|
Det
|
2293
|
|
Ed Romero
|
1977
|
Mil
|
730
|
|
Brian Milner
|
1978
|
Tor
|
2
|
|
Brian Harper
|
1979
|
Cal
|
1001
|
|
Tim Raines
|
1979
|
Mon
|
2353
|
|
Ricky Seilheimer
|
1980
|
CWS
|
21
|
|
Fred Manrique
|
1981
|
Tor
|
498
|
|
Gil Reyes
|
1983
|
LA
|
122
|
|
Jose Oquendo
|
1983
|
Mets
|
1190
|
|
Junior Noboa
|
1984
|
Cle
|
317
|
|
Ken Griffey
|
1989
|
Sea
|
1572
|
|
Gary Sheffield
|
1989
|
Mil
|
1344
|
|
Juan Gonzalez
|
1989
|
Tex
|
1277
|
|
Ivan Rodriguez
|
1991
|
Tex
|
1205
|
|
Alex Rodriguez
|
1994
|
Sea
|
677
|
|
Karim Garcia
|
1995
|
LA
|
246
|
|
Edgar Renteria
|
1996
|
Fla
|
580
|
|
Andruw Jones
|
1996
|
Atl
|
542
|
|
Adrian Beltre
|
1998
|
LA
|
264
|
|
Rafael Furcal
|
2000
|
Atl
|
30
|
"I'll tell you what," says Braves' assistant general manager Frank
Wren, "put him in a wishbone offense, and he'd make an unbelievable scatback."
So to sum this tale up so far, he's a blur. He takes a howitzer out to
shortstop with him. He switch-hits. And he's hitting .294, with a .394
on-base percentage, nine stolen bases and 20 runs scored in only 85 at-bats.
And (let's all repeat this one more time now) ... he's 19!
But playing baseball with the big kids is nothing new to Furcal.
In fact, he can't remember a time since he started playing ball, back home in
Loma de Cabrera in the Dominican, at age 3, that he wasn't playing with the
big kids.
"My father and my mother used to say sometimes, 'Why are you playing with
these guys? These guys are too old for you,' " Furcal says, laughing. "My mom
would always say to the other guys, 'Be careful of my son.' And I say,
'MOMMMMMMMM.'
"One time, a ground ball bounced up and hit me in the eye. So when I went
home, I covered my eye. I went like this. (He pulls his cap way down over his
forehead, almost to his nose.) My mom looked and she said, 'Let me see you.'
So I did this. (He pulls his cap down even further.) She said, 'What
happened?' I said, 'A ground ball hit me.' She started yelling, 'What did you
do? What did you do?' But my older brother said, 'Mom, don't say nothing.
Baseball is like that.' "
And in the Furcal family, even mom should have known that.
"In my family, everybody plays baseball," Furcal says. "My grandfather.
My father. My brothers. My sister. My mother played fast-pitch softball when
she was in high school. In my family, everybody loves baseball. So I played
every day. I never missed a day."
His two older brothers -- Lorenzo and Manny -- both played pro ball but
never made the big leagues. Their little brother is so special, though, he
needed just 242 games in the minor leagues to make it to Atlanta. And if
anything he has done since he got there comes as a shock to Rafael Furcal, he
sure never lets on.
"When I came from the Dominican to here," Furcal says, "I said, 'I can
play in the big leagues.' I see these guys playing in the Dominican
Republic, and a lot of these guys play in the big leagues. I see good
pitchers -- guys like Bartolo Colon and Miguel Batista. These guys throw fast,
and I can hit them. So guys like Fernando Tatis, they told me,'`Go hard in
spring training. You can make the team.' "
Of course, a 19-year-old kid who played in A ball last year has no
business thinking that's true. But this is no ordinary 19-year-old kid out of Class A.
For one thing, in that '99 season at Macon and Myrtle Beach, Furcal
stole 96 bases, hit .310 and scored 105 runs. For another thing, he played
with such presence even the Braves didn't go to spring training thinking of
him as just another 19-year-old kid dropping by their camp for a cameo
appearance.
"We had a lot of discussions about him over the winter," Wren says. "Our
minor-league people said, 'Don't be surprised if he comes to spring training
and he doesn't let you send him out -- because he's not your typical
19-year-old.' Well, they couldn't have been more right."
The idea at first was for Furcal to play a little at second behind
Quilvio Veras, play a little at short behind Walt Weiss, pinch-run a little,
play defense a little, get a feel for life in the big leagues.
"We just felt," says manager Bobby Cox, "like he could help us and we
could help him."
But then Weiss went on the disabled list May 4 with a strained left
hamstring. In his place, Furcal has been a jolt of electricity, despite his tender age.
"He only knows he's 19 when the other players tell him he's 19," Joyner
says. "Other than that, he fits right in. He's very mature. He understands
the game. He understands how to play the game. He's been well-taught. It's
obvious he has a lot of respect for the game and for his teammates.
"The thing about him is, he doesn't get caught up in all this. I think he
has it in perspective. It's a game. It's what he does. And he's very good at
what he does. But just because he's good at baseball doesn't mean he thinks
he knows everything or he can do everything."
You never know what anyone might be when they're 19. But bear in mind
that in the last half-century, only four players have gotten as many as 455
at-bats in a season at age 19 -- Ken Griffey Jr., Robin Yount, Al Kaline and
Rusty Staub. And that turned into a pretty fair group.
Meanwhile, only Ty Cobb ever stole as many as 23 bases at age 19. And
no 19-year-old has scored 75 runs since 1936 (when Buddy Lewis scored 100 for
the Senators).
So Rafael Furcal has a chance to head for mostly uncharted waters this season. And who knows what uncharted waters he might
sail in the seasons to come?
"He already makes plays that no other shortstop can make," Wren says.
"The other guys may have the range to get there. But no other shortstop has
the gun to make these plays he makes. You hate to hang a tag on a guy this
guy. But he can be a real special player, no doubt about that."
Then again, he already is. And he's only 19!
Whew. Pass the chips.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | |
ALSO SEE
Jayson Stark archive
|
