|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Associated Press -- February 25, 2002
Nothing seems to rattle Atlanta Braves youngster Marcus Giles, not even getting sent back to the minors last season as a rookie just two days after hitting a game-winning grand slam against Colorado's Mike Hampton.
The 23-year-old second baseman shrugged it off, went down to Triple-A Richmond and hit .333 with six home runs and 44 RBIs in 67 games.
"I had a couple of choices - lick my wounds or go down, work hard and learn from it. That's what I did," Giles said.
Less than two months after his demotion, Giles earned a return trip to Atlanta and a starting job when the Braves released former second baseman Quilvio Veras on July 31.
With the Braves, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Giles hit .262 with nine homers and 31 RBIs in 68 games, helping Atlanta on its way to a 10th consecutive NL division title.
This season, Giles is coming into spring training with a starting job, but he says his attitude hasn't changed.
"What's there to get nervous about. You just go out and play the game," said Giles, the younger brother of Pittsburgh All-Star outfielder Brian Giles.
He learned how to be a major leaguer as a teen-ager by being around the clubhouse with his older brother.
"Just hanging around with him all the time, being in the clubhouse and on road trips with him, I kind of got to see it first hand how things worked," Giles said. "It was a nice advantage to have."
One thing he learned was to work hard, but not to set goals.
"No expectations. None. I don't want any. I just want to improve my defense, my baserunning, everything," said Giles, a 53rd round draft pick in 1997.
The younger Giles began his minor league career as an outfielder, but was switched to second base in 1998 at Class A Macon, where he was the South Atlantic League MVP. He moved up to the higher Class A Myrtle Beach club in 1999 and earned the Carolina League MVP award, winning the batting title with a .326 batting average.
"The kid can hit, and he's learned to play solid defense. He's going to be a good player," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He was pretty good last year."
He has hit at every stop along the way, owning a .322 career average in four-plus seasons in the minors with 81 homers and 332 RBIs.
But even those numbers could be improved, said Giles.
"Why not? I haven't hit 1.000 yet. There's plenty of work ahead," he said.
So his calm approach to last season should have come as no surprise.
"I just tried to take advantage of the opportunity given to me. You've just got to be yourself because once you get up here, nobody wants to go back down," said Giles.
He said there was no pressure on him despite being on a team in a pennant race.
"I think it was comforting being around veteran teammates who could show me the way," Giles said."They made me feel like it was just another game, just like you've played all your life."
Cox expects Giles to play well for quite a while.
"He's got a chance to be a 20-20 guy (20 homers, 20 stolen bases)," Cox said.
He's also going to be a married guy on Thursday.
Giles will marry his high school sweetheart Tracy Sonn in a brief ceremony before the Braves open the exhibition season against the University of Georgia. A reception in his hometown of San Diego will have to wait until after the season.