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Soriano Finds Himself in a Good Position
"I always had love for the game. I was smiling and happy because I loved the game. But inside my heart, I didn't feel very happy, because I felt like I [didn't] want to be there -- because of the way the people treated me. It's not the right way," says Alfonso Soriano, of his first -- and only -- spring training with the Nats a year ago.
(Reuters)
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"I was ready to fight, because I didn't want to move," he said. "I was fine at one position. I [didn't] want to try another one. [But] I talked to my agent, a lot of players and friends, and they say: 'Just play one year in the outfield, and try it and see what happens. Maybe you [will] like it.' "
Soriano won't go so far as to say he liked playing left field, but he did not hate it as much as he thought he would. It helped, of course, that his season turned into something historic: With 46 homers and 41 stolen bases, he became just the fourth "40-40" man in baseball history -- joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. He also worked hard to transform himself into a serviceable left fielder, and he wound up leading all major league outfielders with 22 assists.
"I did a game of [the Nationals'] early in the year, and then another game late in the year," said Piniella, who spent last season as a television analyst for Fox. "And the difference [in Soriano's defense] was amazing. His reads on the ball and his instincts were a great deal better."
For the fact his 2006 season turned into something memorable, Soriano thanks former Nationals manager Frank Robinson.
"He saw me working hard and trying to get better, and he never said anything [negative] to me," Soriano said. "He made me believe in myself that I could do it. . . . It was a very difficult year and a happy year, both. It was happy because of the numbers I put up, but difficult because of all the problems I [had] in spring training and the team finishing in last place."
It was commonly assumed that money was at least partly behind Soriano's resistance at a position switch; second basemen generally are considered more valuable than outfielders of the same offensive ability. Soriano and his agents always denied that was his reason, and his contract with the Cubs, in a roundabout way, helped prove his point. He gets paid for offense, not defense -- which is what the Nationals told him all along.
Informed that Soriano credited him for helping him get the Cubs contract, Bowden said: "I am glad he recognizes that moving to left field was in his best interests as well as the Nationals', because that was our goal at the time we made the decision to move him. . . . We appreciate all of Alfonso's special contributions to the Nationals and the excitement he brought to our city and the positive influence his work ethic was for all our young players."
Soriano will be 39 years old when his Cubs contract ends, and perhaps by then he will see an outfielder staring back at him when he looks in the mirror. For now, however, he sees a second baseman who, for reasons largely out of his control, happens to play the outfield.
"It depends on what the team wants," he said. "Before, I didn't think I could play the outfield. But now I know I can be an outfielder or a second baseman. I think I am both."
