NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Mike Cuddyer just shakes his head when he thinks about the 2000 baseball season. Words like frustrating and disappointing quickly come to mind.
This season has been different, though, for the 22-year-old third baseman. He is considered one of the crown jewels in the Minnesota Twins farm system. The former first-round pick in the 1997 free-agent draft (ninth overall) has been tearing up the AA Eastern League while playing for the New Britain Rock Cats and is among the top five in most of the league's major offensive categories. He is rated by Baseball America as Minnesota's second-best prospect and has given no indication this season that he intends to betray that lofty ranking.
Cuddyer had 20 home runs and 55 RBIs through 78 games in only 284 at-bats. His batting average, sitting at .282, is also 20 points higher than it was a year ago. He was one of three Rock Cats named to play in the AA All-Star game later this month.
"This is more indicative of how I play," Cuddyer said. "Some people are making a big deal about it, saying I'm having a breakout year. I say I'm playing to my potential. Prior to last year, I plated to that potential. This year I've elevated it more."
Cuddyer's numbers are a far cry from last summer, when, during his first year in Double-A, he struggled like never before. The highly touted Cuddyer just wasn't living up to expectations. He hit only six homers in 490 at-bats and knocked in 61 runs after averaging 15 homers and 81 RBI in Single-A ball. It didn't help that the Rock Cats were losing, which only made Cuddyer put more pressure on himself.
Towards the end of the season, then New Britain manager John Russell pulled out some videotape of Cuddyer and began to study it. What he discovered made all the difference. It seemed the right-handed hitting Cuddyer was concentrating on hitting to the opposite field too much. As a result, his stroke was losing power.
"John Russell pointed that out at the end of the year and I ended up hitting three or four homers in the final month," Cuddyer said. "When I went to the instructional league, I focused on driving the ball again. I wasn't hitting the inside pitch. I couldn't turn on anything. I wasn't getting my hips or the lower half of my swing involved. I was too concerned with hitting for power to the opposite field. I spent the whole year trying to figure things out.
"It was a mechanical thing and once you start to struggle it has a snowball effect. Last year was very frustrating. Not only because I was struggling personally but because we lost a lot of games, too. It takes a toll on you as well. I put too much pressure on myself because, in a sense, I felt like I let the team down. You struggle and you hope to learn, but I don't want to dwell on it."
Cuddyer spent too much time "dwelling on it" last season. He was down in Florida for five weeks this winter and says he spent "90 percent of the time hitting". Swing after swing, pitch after pitch, use your hips, and use your whole body. It shows.
He cracked his 21st double of the season Sunday afternoon during the Rock Cats, battle with the New Haven Ravens, the Cardinals affiliate, at historic Yale Stadium. He's received a great deal of attention this season because of his turnaround. But Cuddyer handles all the attention his turnaround has generated as well as the pressure of being a former No. 1 pick with ease.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Virginia native never seems to tire of signing autographs. He loves to talk -- former Yankee Don Mattingly is his favorite player -- and has a wonderful relationship with the fans in each of the Eastern League cities. Cuddyer sits outside the Rock Cats' clubhouse inking cards, gloves and hats for a steady stream of fans before almost every game. He is certainly a star in the Eastern League but is hoping to shine brighter somewhere else.
If he and the Rock Cats, who held a 2 1/2-game lead over Binghamton in the Eastern League's Northern Division heading into Sunday's action, remain hot, then Cuddyer will get his chance to move on. He's benefited greatly this season from some hot teammates, a luxury he didn't enjoy in 2000.
Outfielder Dustan Mohr was tabbed to the All-Star team after collecting 12 homers and 48 RBIs while posting a league-leading .338 average through the weekend. Outfielder and close friend Mike Restovich has also had a strong season, collecting 15 homers and 48 RBI heading into Sunday.
In fact, Cuddyer and Restovich have a friendly rivalry going which seems to have made both better players. The 6-4, 230-pound Restovich was Minnesota's second pick in the 1997 draft. He too struggled last year [at Class A Fort Myers] after a huge season in 1999 at Quad City.
"We both came up the same year and as people, we're a lot alike," Restovich said. "From the start we had a connection and became friends right away. This is the first year we've played together, though.
"We have a friendly rivalry. We don't root against each other. We kind of push each other every day in batting practice with a little home run derby. Right now he has a few more than I do and I'm trying to catch up. A couple of weeks ago, I hit a home run to take the lead and he hit one in his next at-bat. It's good that we push each other."
If things continue as they are going, not only for Cuddyer but for Restovich as well, they could be pushing each other straight to Minneapolis.
"Obviously I want to get to the big leagues as quick as I can," he said. "Mostly I just want to go out and have fun. I'll play the game the way I know I can play and everything will take care of itself."
