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Catcher leading league in walks, getting on base
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Jun 12, 2008
Snow was swirling outside on the streets of Cleveland while a handful of minor league prospects were squirreled away in the bowels of Progressive Field.
It was January. And while the season felt so far away for many, it was already under way for the young players working out and listening to class instructors and guest speakers at the Indians Winter Development League.
It was there that Chris Gimenez made the decision that would translate into the makings of a career year for the young Aeros catcher.
''[Former Indians third baseman] Travis Fryman came in to speak to us and talked about his best years being the years he walked the most,'' Gimenez said.
That would be Fryman batting .300 with 77 walks in 1993 with Detroit and hitting .321 with 73 walks in 2000 with the Tribe.
''It just made sense to me,'' Gimenez said. ''The better strike-zone awareness you have, the more you're going to walk. But at the same time, you're going to hit more, too.''
That begins to explain how a catcher, who also plays three other positions, can have the kind of season Gimenez has so far. In 48 games he's batting .318 (49-for-154) with 14 doubles, a triple, four home runs, 18 RBI and a league-leading 47 walks and .478 on-base percentage.
The two days a week that he's not catching, the versatile Gimenez will fill in at first base, third base or even the outfield.
''With Chris originally coming in as our main catcher, early on I just wanted him to get locked in behind the plate,'' Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said. ''But what's he's done offensively with the on-base percentage has warranted him getting every day at-bats.''
Moving around the field hasn't distracted Gimenez, whose motto this season is ''getting a walk and a knock a night.''
Gimenez has been so locked in at the plate, his teammates playfully razz him about appearing to be invincible.
''[Infielder] Brandon Chaves said one night it's like I have a force field around me up there,'' Gimenez said with a laugh. ''So when I come back to the dugout a lot of times now they're making the noise 'zzzzzzzz' like electricity. The crazy thing is, I'm beginning to believe it myself.''
That's because Gimenez understands he's not always going to be in an offensive groove.
''Slumps are going to happen,'' he said. ''But the true character of a baseball player is how quickly a guy can get himself out of one. Understanding what I need to do to get out of a slump is something I've begun to figure out.''
For Gimenez that means quickly transitioning ''into take mode'' on the rare occasions that he feels out of sorts at the plate.
''My swing is where I want it to be, so I'm not going to mess with that,'' he said. ''When I start to get away from my approach, it's because I'm getting away from my strike zone. So I focus on making sure I see the ball, see the spin on it, then tighten that zone back up.''
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
Snow was swirling outside on the streets of Cleveland while a handful of minor league prospects were squirreled away in the bowels of Progressive Field.
Get the full article here.
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