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Vina Shines In His First Game With The Cardinals:
Second Baseman Makes His Mark In The Field, At Bat
Mike Eisenbath of the Post-Dispatch
April 4, 2000
Fernando Vina came to the Cardinals last winter in a trade as a little man - 5 feet 8 1/2 inches - with some tall orders. He set about trying to fill them Monday, in the Cardinals' season-opening game:
Provide energy? Check.
Play excellent defense at second base? Check.
Spark the offense as the leadoff man? Triple check.
"We saw them all today," manager Tony La Russa said. "He doesn't throw anything away when he's at the plate. He's going to be among the fan favorites here."
If the reception given Vina from fans when Jack Buck introduced the players before the game is any indication, he already has established himself.
Vina solidified that standing with his defense and three hits in five at-bats. That included a first-inning triple, a run scored and an RBI single.
"I've worked hard," Vina said. "It's still early, and we have a long way to go. A long season. But it's good to get a win. The fans get you real excited around here.
"I had some butterflies last night and early today. I really wanted to get the ball in my hands on defense in that first inning, to get a good sweat going, so that made me feel really good to be able to turn that (double play). And when I went up to hit in the first inning, I really battled on that one. It felt good to get something out of it."
Vina had a terrific start to the spring exhibition season, hit a lull, then finished by reaching base in 12 of his last 22 plate appearances. He credits the work he has done with hitting coach Mike Easler lately. But it was the right time, too.
"As a player, when you get to the middle of spring training, it's kind of hit and miss," Vina said. "I've always been one who doesn't want to leave all his hits in spring training, I want to save something. But the last 10 days in camp, you really feel it. You feel ready."
He's ready defensively. Teammates have marveled at the range Vina showed in the field this spring and have wondered aloud if they ever have seen a second baseman turn a double play better than he does.
It didn't take long for him to flash that skill.
Speedy Eric Young singled to open the game against Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile. Then Ricky Gutierrez, not exactly slow, lashed a grounder to the left side. Third baseman Fernando Tatis fielded the ball well and threw to second in time for a forceout, and Vina quickly got the ball to first - with Gutierrez just a little more than halfway down the line.
"That helped me settle down a little bit," Kile said. "If that ball goes through, then it's runners on first and third with nobody out. But (Tatis) makes a nice play, and Vina makes a great throw to finish it off. That was big."
An All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers, Vina is proud of his double-play reputation.
"That's something I've loved to do all my life," he said. "Defense is a big part of my game. I don't underestimate the momentum that can turn our way when you come up with a good defensive play or turn a double play."
He gave the Cardinals some offensive momentum in the bottom of the first , when he lined a ball off the wall, near the top, in right-center field. Vina raced to third base and later scored on Tatis' single.
"I was hoping the wind would pick up and blow it over the fence," Vina said.
He felt a special energy waking up Monday morning, and he felt it again riding onto the field in the parade of players before the game.
"Unbelievable," Vina said. "I felt goose bumps getting out of the car, and then running down the line shaking hands with the other guys I felt those goose bumps again. All I could think was, 'Thank God I'm here.'"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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