"LITTLE PAPI" LASHES OUT AT ROCK CATS
Perhaps Luis Jimenez has been misunderstood.
The burly Bowie Baysox first baseman, who played for the Rock Cats in 2005 and has terrorized them ever since, has been characterized in baseball circles as a “dog,” somebody who doesn’t work hard.
Jimenez, 24, was dubbed “Little Papi” because his mannerisms at the plate resembled those of David “Big Papi” Ortiz. Like Jimenez, Ortiz played for the Rock Cats but was released by the Twins before blossoming into stardom with the Red Sox.
Jimenez had his chance with the Red Sox, too. After the 2005 season, the Twins showed little enthusiasm to sign him for 2006 so he exercised his option as a six-year free agent and signed with Boston.
He kidded reporters after Saturday night’s game, saying he would give no interviews, but he couldn’t keep it in for long. A smile slowly crept over the face of the affable giant from Lara, Venezuela, and he spoke from the heart.
“They asked me to come back (to New Britain) but they didn’t give me a good contract offer,” Jimenez said.
“They believed a lot in (former Rock Cat) Garrett Jones, a very good player and one of my friends. And Garrett’s still in Triple-A and on the 40-man roster and they won’t move him nowhere. And (AL MVP Justin) Morneau up there? They’re very young guys and it’s hard to go up with guys like that because the team believes in them.”
Why didn’t the Twins show more interest in “Little Papi” after letting “Big Papi” slip away? His work ethic was in question. Whether or not he was going all out for manager Stan Cliburn and the 2005 Rock Cats, the perception was that he was not. Perception quite often eclipses reality.
The other issue at hand was his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on the eve of the 2005 season. The Twins were unaware that Jimenez tested positive while with the Dodgers in the South Atlantic League before signing him. Jimenez appealed the suspension after serving part of the sentence but MLB ruled that he had 15 days left at the start of 2005.
Jimenez was forthcoming about the charges. He said that he had visited a GNC in a mall in Carolina and bought a product that would help him manage his weight. (He’s listed as 6-foot-4, 205, but he’s got to be at least 50 pounds heavier than that.) He said he wasn’t aware of what ingredients violated baseball’s doctrine. Perhaps if he had someone advising him, he could have avoided the suspension, but he probably should have sought counsel considering a big league career was at stake. That, however, is a story for another day.
Jimenez hit .278 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs in 116 games for New Britain in 2005. Last year with the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox Double-A club), he displayed uncanny consistency by hitting .276 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 115 games.
“(The Red Sox) gave me a very good contract offer,” Jimenez said. “I went to big league camp and I played very good.
He was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket but when he encountered a prolonged early season slump (.148-1-7 in 81 at-bats), the Red Sox released him.
“When I started in Pawtucket, my average went down,” he said. “Bad luck. Every time I hit the ball hard, someone got it, but no excuse, I was hitting very bad. But they didn’t release me because I don’t work or I made mistakes and have a bad attitude. No chance.”
The Orioles, for whom he played in 2001 and 2002, scooped him up within five hours and assigned him to Bowie.
“They called me at 7 in the morning and asked me if I had already signed with somebody,” Jimenez said. “I said, ‘No, at 7 in the morning I’m sleeping.’ I gave them my agent’s number and they saved me.”
The timing was incredible. The Rock Cats were coming to town, and to nobody’s surprise, “Little Papi” smashed a home run in the series. Since leaving New Britain, Jimenez has hit .337 with four homers and 20 RBI in 24 games. On Saturday night in front of an SRO New Britain crowd, he pounded a solo homer and had a critical ninth-inning single that led to the game-winning run in Bowie’s 2-1 victory.
Jimenez’s words scream that he’s well aware of the perception about him. Maybe it was youthful indiscretion, at least in part, and he says he’s working hard to dispel that allegation. Double-A may not be his preference but it’s better to be on the scouts’ radar than off the screen.
“If you’re going to go up, you still have to play hard, put up numbers and make some plays,” he said. “You don’t go to the big leagues because you’re the best interview guy and you want to be on TV with air-conditioning. You’ve got to work here.
“There is a lot of chance that I will go to the big leagues either this year or next year with the Baltimore Orioles but you still have to play hard. They’ve given me a good opportunity. They’ve told me I’m going to play every day and I said thank you. It’s a good feeling that they believe in me.”
Do the Orioles believe him? They tried to sign him once before (when he signed with the Twins) and they’re overlooking what some view as a negative reputation. With a little patience, they may be chanting “Papi” just like they do at Fenway.
The burly Bowie Baysox first baseman, who played for the Rock Cats in 2005 and has terrorized them ever since, has been characterized in baseball circles as a “dog,” somebody who doesn’t work hard.
Jimenez, 24, was dubbed “Little Papi” because his mannerisms at the plate resembled those of David “Big Papi” Ortiz. Like Jimenez, Ortiz played for the Rock Cats but was released by the Twins before blossoming into stardom with the Red Sox.
Jimenez had his chance with the Red Sox, too. After the 2005 season, the Twins showed little enthusiasm to sign him for 2006 so he exercised his option as a six-year free agent and signed with Boston.
He kidded reporters after Saturday night’s game, saying he would give no interviews, but he couldn’t keep it in for long. A smile slowly crept over the face of the affable giant from Lara, Venezuela, and he spoke from the heart.
“They asked me to come back (to New Britain) but they didn’t give me a good contract offer,” Jimenez said.
“They believed a lot in (former Rock Cat) Garrett Jones, a very good player and one of my friends. And Garrett’s still in Triple-A and on the 40-man roster and they won’t move him nowhere. And (AL MVP Justin) Morneau up there? They’re very young guys and it’s hard to go up with guys like that because the team believes in them.”
Why didn’t the Twins show more interest in “Little Papi” after letting “Big Papi” slip away? His work ethic was in question. Whether or not he was going all out for manager Stan Cliburn and the 2005 Rock Cats, the perception was that he was not. Perception quite often eclipses reality.
The other issue at hand was his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on the eve of the 2005 season. The Twins were unaware that Jimenez tested positive while with the Dodgers in the South Atlantic League before signing him. Jimenez appealed the suspension after serving part of the sentence but MLB ruled that he had 15 days left at the start of 2005.
Jimenez was forthcoming about the charges. He said that he had visited a GNC in a mall in Carolina and bought a product that would help him manage his weight. (He’s listed as 6-foot-4, 205, but he’s got to be at least 50 pounds heavier than that.) He said he wasn’t aware of what ingredients violated baseball’s doctrine. Perhaps if he had someone advising him, he could have avoided the suspension, but he probably should have sought counsel considering a big league career was at stake. That, however, is a story for another day.
Jimenez hit .278 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs in 116 games for New Britain in 2005. Last year with the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox Double-A club), he displayed uncanny consistency by hitting .276 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 115 games.
“(The Red Sox) gave me a very good contract offer,” Jimenez said. “I went to big league camp and I played very good.
He was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket but when he encountered a prolonged early season slump (.148-1-7 in 81 at-bats), the Red Sox released him.
“When I started in Pawtucket, my average went down,” he said. “Bad luck. Every time I hit the ball hard, someone got it, but no excuse, I was hitting very bad. But they didn’t release me because I don’t work or I made mistakes and have a bad attitude. No chance.”
The Orioles, for whom he played in 2001 and 2002, scooped him up within five hours and assigned him to Bowie.
“They called me at 7 in the morning and asked me if I had already signed with somebody,” Jimenez said. “I said, ‘No, at 7 in the morning I’m sleeping.’ I gave them my agent’s number and they saved me.”
The timing was incredible. The Rock Cats were coming to town, and to nobody’s surprise, “Little Papi” smashed a home run in the series. Since leaving New Britain, Jimenez has hit .337 with four homers and 20 RBI in 24 games. On Saturday night in front of an SRO New Britain crowd, he pounded a solo homer and had a critical ninth-inning single that led to the game-winning run in Bowie’s 2-1 victory.
Jimenez’s words scream that he’s well aware of the perception about him. Maybe it was youthful indiscretion, at least in part, and he says he’s working hard to dispel that allegation. Double-A may not be his preference but it’s better to be on the scouts’ radar than off the screen.
“If you’re going to go up, you still have to play hard, put up numbers and make some plays,” he said. “You don’t go to the big leagues because you’re the best interview guy and you want to be on TV with air-conditioning. You’ve got to work here.
“There is a lot of chance that I will go to the big leagues either this year or next year with the Baltimore Orioles but you still have to play hard. They’ve given me a good opportunity. They’ve told me I’m going to play every day and I said thank you. It’s a good feeling that they believe in me.”
Do the Orioles believe him? They tried to sign him once before (when he signed with the Twins) and they’re overlooking what some view as a negative reputation. With a little patience, they may be chanting “Papi” just like they do at Fenway.
posted by Ken Lipshez at
10:48 PM
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