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Vina's Persistent Spark Finally Might Be Igniting Other Cardinals
Bernie Miklasz St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 23, 2001
Did you see Fernando Vina on television Monday night? The camera zoomed in on Vina after his collision with Reds baserunner Wilton Guerrero. It wasn't pretty.
Vina had a bloody nose. He was bleeding from the mouth. Trainer Barry Weinberg jammed some gauze up Vina's right nostril, then trimmed the dangling threads. It was painful to watch. Imagine how Vina felt. "I was seeing stars," he said.
Take the rest of the night off, Fernando.
"Not a chance," Vina said in a telephone interview. "There's no way I was leaving that ballgame. You have to keep playing."
Vina sleeps, but he rarely rests. The hyper second baseman is always squirming. Baseball is too slow to contain his energy, so Vina goes at his own tempo. Vina is a pest. A perfectionist. A passionate player. It took most of his teammates about five months to match his intensity. Vina leads the Cardinals in dirty uniforms.
Vina entered Wednesday's game with a .307 batting average, 44 RBIs, 66 runs scored. In the National League, only Luis Gonzalez, Rich Aurilia and Lance Berkman had more hits than Vina's 151. Among major-league leadoff hitters who have at least 300 plate appearances, Vina ranks fifth with a .359 on-base percentage.
Though his style is a little unconventional, Vina is one of the top leadoff hitters in the business. He doesn't fit the exact prototype. He has stolen only 12 bases. He has drawn only 24 walks, and his at-bats last an average of only 3.16 pitches, the lowest rate in the NL.
To put it another way: Vina is the most impatient hitter in the league. Aren't leadoff men supposed to stand there for 20 minutes to force the pitcher work, waffle and wiggle? Don't look at the out-of-town scoreboard or call for the beer vendor during a Vina at-bat, or you miss it.
"I'll look at one pitch," Vina said. "And then it's time to get rolling."
Then Vina almost certainly will make contact. He has the second-lowest strikeout rate in the league. He hits an impressive .274 even when the pitcher seemingly has him penned in with a two-strike count. That's when Vina does his best clawing and scratching.
"I'm going to battle, battle, battle," Vina said. "I don't ever want to give in."
Vina observes an old-school tradition by putting the ball in play. Line drives are preferable; he has 26 doubles and eight triples to go with 24 infield hits. Just don't expect Vina to stand there and do nothing -- unless he has a chance to aggravate opponents by getting grazed by a pitch. It's happened 46 times in two seasons. Amazing, how Vina's quick reflexes fail him when a pitch threatens him.
"Sometimes a guy on the other team will say, 'Hey, you have to get out of the way of the pitch.' But growing up, I was taught to take one for the team," Vina said. "And I like to bother the other team. You have to put pressure on them. I'm the first guy up, and I want to set the tone for how we play the game."
Vina is at his daredevil best in the dirt around second. No modern second baseman turns the double play with more polished dexterity than Vina. Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has compared Vina to Julian Javier, who played exquisite second-base defense for the Cardinals from 1960-71.
Vina leads all NL second basemen with 82 double plays. That's one reason why he deserves to win the Gold Glove award. He has above-average range and is a ballhawk on bloopers hit beyond the infield.
"I think I've proven that I'm worthy of a Gold Glove," Vina said. "I've worked real hard on my fielding, and I'm playing at that level."
Even if he wins the Gold Glove, Vina will be defined by the bloody-nose scene in Cincinnati. And if the other Cardinals continue to match Vina's contributions, this team-wide blood drive could lead to the NL Central title.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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