There's a mountain of work ahead for Hampton

Sporting News, The, Dec 18, 2000 by Ken Rosenthal

Mariners scout Luke Wrenn had been bugging his scouting director, Roger Jongewaard, to come see the senior left-hander at Crystal River (Fla.) High School. That was in 1990. Wrenn had first watched Mike Hampton in February. Mariners cross-checker Bob Harrison had scouted him later in the season. And now, with the draft fast approaching, it was Jongewaard's turn.

Wrenn thought Hampton might be a first-round pick.

Jongewaard attended a summer-league game, and Hampton didn't make it out of the first inning.

"Luke was devastated when I came back and told him," Jongewaard says. "He said, `Oh man, I'll never get him.'"

Wrenn, now a scout with the Diamondbacks, recalled Jongewaard's saying that Hampton didn't do too well--and that Hampton didn't like it too well, either.

That was an early glimpse of his competitive spirit, the fierce intensity that will power Hampton's Everest-like quest to succeed at Coors Field.

Wrenn saw it all--the toughness, the live arm, the athletic ability that enabled the 5-10 Hampton to dunk a basketball and become an all-state defensive back in football.

And in the sixth round of the 1990 draft, Wrenn got his man.

That night, he drove to the Hampton home in Homosassa Springs, Fla., to make the kid an offer. Hampton retreated to a back room with his father, Big Mike, and his high school coach, Joe Buccheri. He signed with the Mariners that night for $40,000. Last week, he signed with the Rockies for $123.8 million.

Wrenn was surprised. Jongewaard was surprised. The entire baseball world was surprised that an elite pitcher would choose to spend the prime of his career at Coors Field.

But if there's one pitcher who can succeed in Colorado, it's Hampton.

The odds are against him, of course. And if Hampton fails, the Rockies will never again sign a top pitcher, perhaps dooming their franchise.

But Hampton isn't another Darryl Kile, a pitcher with a big, sweeping curveball and a fragile psyche--both of which worked against Kile at Coors.

Hampton was second in the National League in groundball/flyball ratio last season. Perhaps even more important, he relishes a challenge.

Too small to play football? Hampton rejected a two-sport offer from Florida State and was recruited by Florida and Notre Dame.

Too small to be a successful major league pitcher? Hampton recovered quite nicely after getting traded from the Mariners to the Astros, thank you very much.

That was in 1993. The Mariners coveted Eric Anthony's power and--how quaint--wanted to save money b57 exchanging Mike Felder's $850,000 salary for Anthony's $350,000.

The deal was completed at the winter meetings, and the Astros demanded that Hampton be included, though he had appeared in only 13 major league games.

Seven years later, Hampton was in a different kind of demand at the meetings.

And whatever his motivation--lifestyle, money, the Wheat Ridge (Colo.) school system to which major league executive Sandy Alderson made sarcastic reference--Hampton chose the road not taken, an extraordinarily difficult career path.

"I think you can pitch in Coors Field," Hampton says. "I watched (Rockies reliever) Gabe White pitch last year. He was outstanding.

"That's the start of the turnaround. When you get the thought process that you can pitch there, you're going to believe in yourself."

The lefthanded White indeed excelled at Coors last season, posting a 3.13 ERA at home and a 2.36 overall.

White, however, was an exception.

The Rockies had a better record at home (48-33) than on the road (34-47), but their pitchers still were abused. Their team ERA at home (6.06) was far higher than on the road (4.39).

One of the season's memorable images was of Hampton pummeling a water cooler at Coors after a dismal start April 28. And now Hampton is going to pitch half of his games in a park where his career ERA is 6.48.

Wrenn points back to Hampton's second professional season, when the pitcher made the jump to a high Class A club. Hampton went 1-7, then was demoted to a lower Class A team.

Two years later, he was in the majors.

"I've seen him take adversity and turn it around," Wrenn says. "He got his feet kicked out from under him, then regrouped. He's got that personality. This will be a real challenge for him. But I think he'll rise to the challenge."

Hampton's power sinker will work to his advantage. So will his cut fastball, which bores in on righthanded hitters and induces grounder after grounder to third base.

He proved he could pitch in New York last season after going 2-3 with a 6.99 ERA in April, winning the game that sent the Mets to the World Series.

But can he succeed at Coors?

"He may," says Jongewaard, now a Mariners vice president. "He keeps the ball away, and he keeps the ball down. That's a pretty good combination. He's got very good body control. He can command his pitches. Most home runs and long balls are mistakes. He doesn't make many mistakes."

The problem is the focus that Coors requires. As Hampton says, "It takes total mental and physical concentration and effort. You've got to be into it on every pitch--or you'll pay the price."