Junior Spivey

JUNIOR SPIVEY - ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Second Base
Age: 27 (January 25, 1975)
Height: 6-0 Weight: 185
Throws: Right Bats: Right




History

Ernest Lee (Junior) Spivey, Jr graduated in 1993 from Oklahoma City Douglass High School, then attended Northwestern Oklahoma State for a semester, intending to play basketball. Spivey later transferred to Cowley County (KS) Junior College to test his skills on the baseball diamond and wound up a 36th round draft choice of the Diamondbacks in their original draft effort of 1996. Spivey terrorizes defenses when healthy with his speed and hustle, and he is an above-average second baseman with plus range. Spivey stole a combined 42 bases for High Desert (A) and Tulsa (AA) in 1998, then he played for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League.

A slew of injuries kept Junior sidelined and limited him to 78 games during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Spivey, who missed most of the 1999 campaign with hand injuries, was hitting .282 in 28 games for Triple-A Tucson when, trying to score from second base on May 7, 2000, he suffered a hamstring pull which sidelined the 6-0 , 185-pounder for the next month. Spivey tried to come back with El Paso but was shut down for the season in late June.

2001 Season

In 2001, Spivey performed well in a starting role after a June call-up, but he lost playing time when opposing teams developed a book on him -- a steady diet of breaking pitches. Spivey was a prime example of Bob Brenly's managerial method of riding the hot hand at the right time, providing a mid-season spark to an offense that was in need of a jumpstart. Spivey was recalled on June 2 and brought an infusion of speed and solid defense at second base when called upon. His offensive contributions were welcomed and somewhat unexpected since he was hitting just .232 with 25 RS, six 2B, six HR and 27 RBI in 54 games at Tucson (AAA) at the time of his recall. He finished the season hitting .258 in 72 games with Arizona.

Junior became just the fifth rookie in the last 50 years to record a pair of 5-hit games in starts against a pair of baseball's elite hurlers. He joinied Wally Moon, Ken Hubbs, Rico Carty and Chris Singleton when his first 5-hit effort came against Mike Hampton, going 5-for-6 featuring a triple, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. He duplicated the feat against Greg Maddux, going 5-for-5 with 3 runs scored. The 5-hit games were the only ones recorded by a Diamondback in 2001 and tied the club mark set initially by Tony Batista and tied later by Travis Lee.

2002 Outlook

Until he learns to hit the breaking ball, Spivey, who got a late start in baseball, figures to see only spot work. But if he learns quickly and avoids the injuries that slowed him in the minors, he eventually could turn into a solid roto player. He has blazing speed and could steal a lot of bases.

The Projection

During the off-season, Spivey spent a lot of time working with hitting coach Dwayne Murphy on shortening his stroke. That helped him develop the ability to wait on and better recognize pitches. As a result, Spivey has developed the discipline to lay off pitches out of the zone, and he has cut his strikeout rate nearly in half.

Spivey came to camp with a shot at the 25th spot on the roster, if he showed he could be an extra outfielder and play all over the infield. From the moment he came to camp this spring, however, it was apparent that Spivey, 27, was a changed man. As the injuries mounted -- to Matt Williams and Jay Bell, specifically -- and Spivey hammered the ball, he earned the starting job at second base.

As he has done since being drafted as a raw athlete in 1996, Spivey has continued to improve through the season. He has shown better pitch recognition than during his call-up last year, with improved gap power and improving defense. Spivey has been a valuable righthanded bat in a lefty-dominated lineup, with one of the league's top averages against lefthanded pitching. He has hit in every spot in the order from leadoff to seventh. Spivey’s All-Star selection this season was made possible by his growing discipline, both at the plate and in the field. Barring any further injuries, he should continue to improve and perform at this high level.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Brown
Cubs/Rockies Correspondent