Gibbons Hopes to Start With a Clean Slate

Tragedy, Injuries And Scandal Have Beset O's Outfielder

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 20 -- Jay Gibbons was an everyday outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, a position he played with enough skill to earn a contract that would make him a millionaire. He overcame injuries and was the franchise's most valuable player just three seasons after he was taken from the Toronto Blue Jays system via the Rule 5 draft.

At the start of the 2006 season, Gibbons was coming off a rare healthy year and things looked particularly bright.

Then everything went bad.

On May 23, 2006, Gibbons's mother, Linda, died of a heart attack.

"From that day on, everything changed," said Gibbons, a tattoo of his mother's initials visible on his left forearm. "And I haven't been able to rebound."

Since then, Gibbons has mourned the passing of his mother, missed chunks of two seasons because of injury and admitted using human growth hormone, his name linked to the sport's performance-enhancing drug scandal.

Now, after a nearly two-year stretch marked by both personal and professional tragedy, Gibbons has arrived at spring training looking to regain equilibrium in his career.

"I see myself trying to battle for playing time," said Gibbons, who set career lows in almost every major offensive category last season. "Usually things have a way of weeding themselves out. We see it every year. Performance, bottom line, is what will get you in the lineup more than anything else."

Indeed, despite his location in the locker room, on veterans' row along with Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff, Gibbons arrived at camp knowing that his spot may not be guaranteed despite having two years and nearly $12 million left on the contract he signed before the 2006 season.

"There's a lot of guys competing for spots here and I would say Jay fits right into that," Manager Dave Trembley said. "I think he's adequately conveyed that and wants to do well."

Though Gibbons has played right field and first base, Trembley said Gibbons factors in as a designated hitter and a left fielder, part of a crowded pack of outfielders on the roster.

"I'm ready," said Gibbons, who has failed to play more than 100 games in four of his seven major league seasons. "If I fail, I fail. I don't feel bad health-wise. I feel good. Now it's just going out there and playing the game, and trying to remember how to play and play it well. I'm going to have to play well early on in spring and early on in the season to get at-bats. I realize that."

Gibbons will have to wait in his attempt to make an impact. In December, Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig suspended Gibbons for the first 15 games of the 2008 season for using performance-enhancing drugs.

During his career, Gibbons, 30, has proven himself as a viable power-hitting threat, finishing with more than 25 homers in each of the three seasons he has stayed healthy. If all goes well, he could he invaluable in a power-starved Orioles lineup that needs somebody to protect emerging star Nick Markakis.

But Gibbons is coming off a season impacted by a serious shoulder injury that he kept concealed for months. He injured his left shoulder while diving for a ball during a game in May but didn't reveal the extent of his injury until August, when he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum.

"I was playing terrible before the injury so I don't really make that as an excuse. I would have been done for the year anyway," Gibbons said, "But I absolutely did not help the team. I probably wouldn't have played, looking back."

With news stories detailing his use of human growth hormone as a backdrop, Gibbons spent the offseason rehabbing from an injury, familiar work that seems to have paid off. He said the shoulder is pain free, he can lift weights without restriction and he's been able to throw for nearly two months.

Perhaps now he truly can rebound.

"It was just a tough time," Gibbons said. "But you know, I think I'm getting through it now, and it's getting easier every day."