By A.J. Hayes
Nobody is quite ready to anoint Cal product Brian Horwitz as the next Lou Gehrig. But last Sunday - on the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Yankee legend's Herculean 2,130 consecutive game streak - the San Francisco rookie made the type of dramatic big league entrance the "Iron Horse" would have been proud of.
In his debut big league start, the 25-year-old outfielder drilled his first two major league hits and scored the tying run on Sunday in a thrilling 4-3 comeback win over visiting San Diego. The second knock, a solid 10th inning single off all-time-saves leader Trevor Hoffman, fueled the game winning rally.
Brian Horwitz, slugger
"I couldn't have written it any better than today," said Horwitz, who has scratched and clawed his way through the Giants minor league season since his ignominious beginnings in pro ball in 2004. "I know I can hit up here. I have the confidence in myself to get the job done."
In this current season of Giants rebuilding, Horwitz - who is married, stands 6-foot-1, 187 pounds and has longish straight black hair that parts naturally in the middle - is the latest of a troop of farmhands the club has auditioned. By the end of September, San Francisco hopes to have separated the prospects from the suspects.
If Horwitz's track record is any indication, when 2008 is done he should land in the former category.
Heading into this season Horwitz brought a sizzling .322 career minor league average.
It was on June 1, 1925 that the almost 23-year-old year-old Gehrig pinch-hit in a game for the Yankees. He started the next day, when, according to legend, regular New York first baseman Wally Pipp begged out of the lineup with a headache. Gehrig batted 3-for-5. It would be 13 seasons before Gehrig missed another game.
Horwitz's consecutive game streak was not expected to last nearly as long. Talented left fielder Fred Lewis - the man Horwitz spelled on Sunday - stroked a very un-Pipp-like game tying pinch-hit, two-run triple to drive in Horwitz in the 10th inning Sunday
But the fact that Horwitz has managed to slip on a Giants jersey this season marks a significant accomplishment for the Southern California native.
Despite starring for four seasons in the East Bay as a Golden Bear, Horwitz received little interest from pro clubs when his collegiate playing days were over.
Each of the 30 major league clubs passed on him in the 2004 amateur draft - multiple times.
Horwitz was thinking of ways to put his Cal degree in American Studies to practical use when the Giants phoned and offered him a chance to spend the summer in Salem-Keizer, Oregon as a backup on the team's minor league club on the lowest rung of the bush leagues.
While drafted teammates sped around the woods of the Northwest in flashy cars purchased with their signing bonuses, Horwitz rode only his dreams and a proverbial 0-2 count into his first season of pro ball.
Horwitz knew the higher-ranked minor league players would get multiple chances to fail. He would have to make an impression and do it quickly - then he would have to make that favorable impression again and again and again. So in '04 Horwitz went out and won his league's batting crown. Then he did it again in 2005.
"I knew my chances were going to be slightly slim. What ever opportunity I received, I had to take full advantage of," said Horwitz admiring the dent in the ball he struck for his first major league hit off San Diego's Randy Wolf.
In 71 games for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Horwitz batted a robust .347. In 123 games at Augusta in 2005, he batted at a .349 clip.
Still, despite his masterful mashing at the plate, Horwitz was not mentioned along side the Giants top hitting prospects. The fact that Horwitz plays a corner outfield slot (think Barry Bonds), but does not hit for power - just 9 minor league home runs heading into '08 - has kept him behind other prospects of the Giants depth chart.
But when Horwitz batted .294 and had already clubbed career high 5 home runs through 44 games at Triple-A Fresno this season, the Giants made another phone call. This time he was summoned to San Francisco.
"Power has always been a weak spot in my game," Horwitz concedes. "But I have other tools to offer. As long as I can hit the ball consistently I can help out. Getting called up here was a bit of a surprise - but I'm excited to get noticed. I'm just happy to follow through. (You) always root for the under dog."
digg •
del.icio.us •
sphere •
google
•
