Tulowitzki hits with his heroes

As a kid, Troy Tulowitzki(notes) idolized Nomar Garciaparra(notes). He had posters of him on his bedroom walls, he imitated him in Wiffle ball and, when he was old enough to suit up, he wore No. 5.
Garciaparra made Tulowitzki believe it was possible to play shortstop and still be offensive-minded. And when he transitioned from college to the pros, Tulowitzki switched his jersey to No. 2 in honor of football jersey another hard-hitting hero, Derek Jeter(notes).
When Tulowitzki was a senior in high school in 2002, Baseball Digest declared that the “era of the shortstop” was underway. Jeter and Garciaparra led a group that also included Alex Rodriguez(notes) and Miguel Tejada(notes), following in the footsteps of Cal Ripken Jr. as offense-first shortstops.
“Growing up, you remember that that was the new wave of shortstops,” said Tulowitzki, who is in his fifth season with the Colorado Rockies. “You didn’t lose too much defensively, but you’d get some offensive production. I think that’s really why I looked up to those guys. I thought to myself, ‘Hey, I don’t want to be just a good fielding shortstop, I want to hit, too.’ ”
Originally, there wasn’t even a shortstop in baseball. The position was birthed just before the Civil War, and historically has been much more about defense than offense. Then Ripken came along and won eight Silver Slugger awards and even the 1991 Home Run Derby. Garciaparra won back-to-back batting titles at the turn of the century, and then Alex Rodriguez (while with the Rangers) set a new standard in 2002 with 57 home runs, 142 RBIs and 389 total bases. He was the first player to lead the majors in all three categories in almost 20 years.
And he was a shortstop.
But as it turns out, the era of the slugging shortstop was more an anomaly than an evolution. The prevalence of steroid use was certainly part of it, but don’t discount the rarity of discovering such a player.
Look around the league now and Jeter, despite showing some signs of age, is the only member of that original era still producing at the position. The next generation seems to have just two players in the mold – Hanley Ramirez(notes) of the Marlins and Tulowitzki.
“It’s a very short list,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said of Browns jersey the elite offensive shortstops. “Those three guys might be it.”
The offensive shortstop has become such a rare commodity that teams are doing whatever they can to scout them and then, when they think they’ve found one, sign him as soon as possible. That’s why the Blue Jays and the Red Sox rushed to sign Cuban shortstop prospects Adeinis Hechavarria and Jose Iglesias, respectively, soon after they became eligible.
“It’s much more common to find a shortstop prospect these days who can run a little or hit with gap power than a guy with true pop,” one National League scouting director said. “A rugged guy like Tulowitzki who can hit in the middle of the lineup and also be a plus defender doesn’t come along often.”
Tulowitzki’s contract reflects his value. He’s in the third year of a six-year, $31 million deal he signed after his second season, when he helped the Rockies to the 2007 World Series. At its signing, the deal was the largest ever for a player with fewer than two years of major league service.
Although he’s missed nearly 100 games the last three seasons because of injury, Tulowitzki is a .289 lifetime hitter with a slugging percentage well over .500 the last two years. On Wednesday he drove in the winning run against the Atlanta Braves to cap a record comeback. The Rockies won 12-10 after trailing 10-1 in the third inning.
Tulowizki knows that his all-around excellence – Baseball American rated him last month as having the second-best arm among shortstops beyond Rafael Furcal(notes) – will be an asset when he negotiates his next contract as well.
“It’s a great opportunity for myself,” he said. “I think it gives the team an advantage when you can put the shortstop in the middle of Bengals jersey the lineup. I could stay here my whole career, or if I do become a free agent, I think it will attract a lot of people – all that I can bring to the table every day.”
Despite his talents, teams doubted Tulowitzki’s ability to play shortstop in the majors, even though it’s the position he’d played his entire life and even though he was so good at it at Long Beach State that Evan Longoria(notes) was moved to third base. Several teams told him they would select him if he were willing to play third. He wasn’t.
“I wanna be different, I wanna be great,” Tulowitzki said. “I don’t want to be average. I want to be one of the best players in this game. Some people are afraid of that. Some people don’t want to be the best, they don’t want that pressure, but I want it.”
The Rockies made him the seventh pick overall in 2005 and have been overjoyed by his development.
“It is rare,” Tracy said of finding an offensive shortstop. “He completely over-profiles as a defensive middle infielder. It’s rare. It’s something that comes along maybe once in a managerial career. Power-wise, he profiles a little bit better than Jeter. That’s not taking anything away from Derek, but he’s a little bit different offensively than Jeter. …
“Troy Tulowitzki, for me, is the Derek Jeter of cheap nfl jerseys the National League.”
Tulowitzki knows Jeter now. He even helps with Jeter’s baseball camp for underprivileged kids in New York. He has Garciaparra’s cell number, and they text each other a lot. Ripken is a huge fan of the Rockies shortstop.
Tulowitzki calls the contact with his heroes “surreal,” but really, it’s suiting. He’s one of them now.