http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/thurston030703.html
Nickname suits Thurston just fine
By Mike Berardino
March 7, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE–They call him Joey Ballgame, sometimes with a hint of laughter, but Joe Thurston doesn't take offense.
In fact, the rookie second baseman for the Dodgers loves the nickname that goes back to his days at Vallejo (Calif.) High School. Thurston was a 5-foot-2, 130-pound freshman when he showed up for an informal workout in full game regalia.
Cap, jersey, pants, stirrups. The whole deal.
Everybody else was in T-shirts and shorts, the picture of California cool.
"Look at that, boys," Vallejo coach Abe Hobbs said that day. "It's Joey Ballgame."
The name stuck, and it has followed Thurston, 23, throughout a career that has taken him to Sacramento City College, where he won two state championships; and four levels of the Dodgers minor league system, where he has won two league titles and made the playoffs the other two years.
Everywhere he goes, Joey Ballgame just wins. It's no accident.
"Some guys will give me some stuff over it," Thurston says of his nickname.
"I've heard, 'Oh, you copied Teddy Ballgame.' "
After the late Ted Williams, of course. On this charge, Thurston pleads innocent. He respects the self-proclaimed greatest hitter who ever lived, but he's not about to steal his moniker.
"First of all, I never even knew that was his nickname until they told me that," Thurston says by his locker in the Dodgers' gleaming new spring clubhouse. "I'm not going to give myself a nickname: 'Call me this or don't call me this.' "
So let the jealous types stew. Joey Ballgame isn't about to give up the good thing he's got going.
"I love that name," he says. "I think it represents the right thing."
Those who have watched Thurston play believe you could say the same thing about him. He put up big numbers last year at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he led the Pacific Coast League in runs and hits, slashing out 39 doubles and a .334 batting average.
But it's a lot more than stats with this guy, who now packs a solid 190 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame.
"He does a lot of the intangibles really well," Dodgers general manager Dan Evans says. "He understands his role on the club and he understands how to work the count and how to get on base. Good bunter, good hit-and-run guy, makes good contact.
"He just does a lot of little things really well, and I think that's what's conducive to a winning brand of baseball. Best thing about him though is just genuine enthusiasm for playing. He really enjoys it."
Evans, while stressing Thurston is under no pressure to win the job with veterans Alex Cora, Quilvio Veras, Jolbert Cabrera and Terry Shumpert also in camp, admits he dealt incumbent Mark Grudzielanek to the Cubs this winter in part because of Thurston's emergence.
"We think he's mature and physically ready to compete for the job," Evans says. "If he doesn't make it, it's just a matter of time before he does. We're not putting any pressure on him where he's kind of exposed and he's the lone choice and if he fails, he has a world of blame on his shoulders."
Said infielder Chris Clapinski, one of Thurston's teammates at Las Vegas:
"It was refreshing to play with Joe. Very enthusiastic, hard worker. He's very astute and willing to learn and study the game."
In many ways, the game is in Thurston's blood. His father and grandfather were NCAA Division I umpires, his father playing college ball at St. Mary's College in California as well.
Drafted by the Boston Red Sox out of high school, Thurston went in the 45th round in 1997 and never seriously considered signing for the token bonus he was offered. Twenty-six rounds earlier that same year, the Red Sox took a University of Florida infielder named David Eckstein.
Six years later, Thurston could wind up joining Eckstein on the SoCal baseball scene. Their stories are similar in their equal helpings of inspiration and perspiration.
Like the Angels shortstop, Thurston can beat you with his brains as much as his skills. Like the Angels shortstop, Thurston reports to the yard each day with a sense of joy all too uncommon in his profession.
"I just love to compete," says Thurston, who took his cue growing up from Bay Area overachievers like Mike Gallego, Walt Weiss and Robby Thompson. "I've always been told, 'Never let anyone see you're tired.' I might be tired sometimes, I might be worn out from the day before, but I'm not going to let anyone else know that."
It appears impossible to knock the smile off his face when he's between the lines.
"If someone was to tell me, 'We'll give you a million dollars to play Monopoly,' I'm going to have fun doing that," he says. "This is no different. That's my No. 1 thing: I try and have fun every day, try to do something every day to get me going and get my teammates ready to play."
Sixteen Dodgers have won National League Rookie of the Year in the award's 56-year history. That's a ridiculous 29 percent, and a quarter of those were second basemen: Junior Gilliam, Jim Lefebvre, Ted Sizemore and Steve Sax.
Don't be surprised if Joey Ballgame adds his name to the list.
Mike Berardino is the national baseball writer at the (South Florida) Sun-Sentinel.
Nickname suits Thurston just fine
By Mike Berardino
March 7, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE–They call him Joey Ballgame, sometimes with a hint of laughter, but Joe Thurston doesn't take offense.
In fact, the rookie second baseman for the Dodgers loves the nickname that goes back to his days at Vallejo (Calif.) High School. Thurston was a 5-foot-2, 130-pound freshman when he showed up for an informal workout in full game regalia.
Cap, jersey, pants, stirrups. The whole deal.
Everybody else was in T-shirts and shorts, the picture of California cool.
"Look at that, boys," Vallejo coach Abe Hobbs said that day. "It's Joey Ballgame."
The name stuck, and it has followed Thurston, 23, throughout a career that has taken him to Sacramento City College, where he won two state championships; and four levels of the Dodgers minor league system, where he has won two league titles and made the playoffs the other two years.
Everywhere he goes, Joey Ballgame just wins. It's no accident.
"Some guys will give me some stuff over it," Thurston says of his nickname.
"I've heard, 'Oh, you copied Teddy Ballgame.' "
After the late Ted Williams, of course. On this charge, Thurston pleads innocent. He respects the self-proclaimed greatest hitter who ever lived, but he's not about to steal his moniker.
"First of all, I never even knew that was his nickname until they told me that," Thurston says by his locker in the Dodgers' gleaming new spring clubhouse. "I'm not going to give myself a nickname: 'Call me this or don't call me this.' "
So let the jealous types stew. Joey Ballgame isn't about to give up the good thing he's got going.
"I love that name," he says. "I think it represents the right thing."
Those who have watched Thurston play believe you could say the same thing about him. He put up big numbers last year at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he led the Pacific Coast League in runs and hits, slashing out 39 doubles and a .334 batting average.
But it's a lot more than stats with this guy, who now packs a solid 190 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame.
"He does a lot of the intangibles really well," Dodgers general manager Dan Evans says. "He understands his role on the club and he understands how to work the count and how to get on base. Good bunter, good hit-and-run guy, makes good contact.
"He just does a lot of little things really well, and I think that's what's conducive to a winning brand of baseball. Best thing about him though is just genuine enthusiasm for playing. He really enjoys it."
Evans, while stressing Thurston is under no pressure to win the job with veterans Alex Cora, Quilvio Veras, Jolbert Cabrera and Terry Shumpert also in camp, admits he dealt incumbent Mark Grudzielanek to the Cubs this winter in part because of Thurston's emergence.
"We think he's mature and physically ready to compete for the job," Evans says. "If he doesn't make it, it's just a matter of time before he does. We're not putting any pressure on him where he's kind of exposed and he's the lone choice and if he fails, he has a world of blame on his shoulders."
Said infielder Chris Clapinski, one of Thurston's teammates at Las Vegas:
"It was refreshing to play with Joe. Very enthusiastic, hard worker. He's very astute and willing to learn and study the game."
In many ways, the game is in Thurston's blood. His father and grandfather were NCAA Division I umpires, his father playing college ball at St. Mary's College in California as well.
Drafted by the Boston Red Sox out of high school, Thurston went in the 45th round in 1997 and never seriously considered signing for the token bonus he was offered. Twenty-six rounds earlier that same year, the Red Sox took a University of Florida infielder named David Eckstein.
Six years later, Thurston could wind up joining Eckstein on the SoCal baseball scene. Their stories are similar in their equal helpings of inspiration and perspiration.
Like the Angels shortstop, Thurston can beat you with his brains as much as his skills. Like the Angels shortstop, Thurston reports to the yard each day with a sense of joy all too uncommon in his profession.
"I just love to compete," says Thurston, who took his cue growing up from Bay Area overachievers like Mike Gallego, Walt Weiss and Robby Thompson. "I've always been told, 'Never let anyone see you're tired.' I might be tired sometimes, I might be worn out from the day before, but I'm not going to let anyone else know that."
It appears impossible to knock the smile off his face when he's between the lines.
"If someone was to tell me, 'We'll give you a million dollars to play Monopoly,' I'm going to have fun doing that," he says. "This is no different. That's my No. 1 thing: I try and have fun every day, try to do something every day to get me going and get my teammates ready to play."
Sixteen Dodgers have won National League Rookie of the Year in the award's 56-year history. That's a ridiculous 29 percent, and a quarter of those were second basemen: Junior Gilliam, Jim Lefebvre, Ted Sizemore and Steve Sax.
Don't be surprised if Joey Ballgame adds his name to the list.
Mike Berardino is the national baseball writer at the (South Florida) Sun-Sentinel.