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2001 season Former Miami
quarterback making tremendous strides in his baseball career
Just one year ago many Arizona Fall League fans were wondering whether Kenny Kelly should have stuck with his football career. The former quarterback from the University of Miami struggled last Fall before being returned by the parent Tampa Bay organization to their training facility in Florida. What a difference one year can make in a man's career. Since then, Kelly was traded from Tampa Bay to the Seattle Mariners. He repeated the AA level, showing enough progress to be sent to Arizona for the second year in a row. After batting .262 with 11 homeruns and 18 stolen bases at AA San Antonio (Texas League), the 22-year-old Kelly has used his short, compact swing and wiry strength to compile a .362 average with five homeruns after the first four weeks of the Arizona Fall League season. "Last year I had a lot of (problems) with my swing and my footwork," Kelly said about his performance in 2000. "I'm just getting older and just getting better as I play. The Mariners are really paying close attention to the little things, and that's the big key." When asked what part of his offensive game he is working on the most in Arizona, Kelly answered, "Going the opposite way, staying on the ball, cutting down on strikeouts and walking more." To emphasize his point on hitting to the opposite field, the right-handed hitter followed this interview by smacking a tremendous homer to right field on an outside pitch. But he has also shown the ability to turn on a pitch and hit with power to left field. Part of the improvement in Kelly's game can be attributed to good, old-fashioned hard work. "He's putting a lot of time and effort in, and it shows in the ball games," said Kelly's Peoria Javelina manager Duane Espy, who during the regular season is the San Diego Padres hitting coach. Espy added about Kelly, "When we have a morning game ... and I show up at 7:30 in the morning, he's already there. He's headed over to the Mariners side (of the Peoria complex) for an appointment with their base running guy to work on his leads and his breaks, then he's out in the cage doing tee work or doing toss work." Kelly pointed out one difference in the coaching he receives from the Seattle organization. "When I was with Tampa it was basically just go out there and play. You learn from your mistakes. But here (Seattle) ... they teach me the little stuff so I won't go out there and ... make those mistakes." While
it's Kelly's hitting that has drawn the most attention in Arizona thus
far, the 6-3, 180 pound outfielder takes more pride in his
fielding abilities. "I have the capability to throw anybody out,
any guy at any time ... the Lord has blessed me with a strong arm. I can
play any outfield position, and my defense is up to par right now."
Kelly's football training
has helped in some respects with his baseball career. "In this
game you've got to learn to forget your mistakes. Playing quarterback, you're not going to complete every pass.
The passes you don't complete,
you've got to forget about that pass and go on to the next play. That's
the same thing with baseball, you miss a pitch, forget about it and sit
on the next pitch. You have a bad at bat, forget about that at bat and
go on to the next one with the mentality that you're going to get on, steal
a bag and score a run for your team." With the college season in
full swing, one would think that Kelly misses the glamour and excitement
of major college football. "No, I don't even think about it. I
don't run to the tube to watch football. I'd rather watch a baseball
game than football. I'm a hundred percent focused on baseball, trying to
get to where I want to be ... that's in the major leagues to play 10 to
15 years." Considering the way Kelly
has dedicated himself to the game of baseball and the tremendous strides
he has made in the past year, the odds that he'll reach his goal are
looking very favorable. --- Bill Mitchell |
