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Friday, July 19, 2002

Of the many tributes the Pirates can pay second baseman Pokey Reese, this is by far the greatest: Pokey Reese Bobblehead Night has been scheduled for Sept. 21.

It took Jason Kendall more than six years, an amazing comeback from a gruesome ankle injury and the biggest contract in team history to get his bobblehead night.

It took Brian Giles three seasons of averaging 37 home runs and 111 RBIs to get his.

What did it take Reese? A .246 hitter? A little more than three months?

Only in Pittsburgh, where the fans love their defense.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. And you don't have to get a doll of Reese -- it's an amazing resemblance, complete with cornrows and braids -- to know he belongs on the list of this town's defensive heroes, right there with Ulfie Samuelsson (who will have his own bobblehead night at Mellon Arena next hockey season), the Steel Curtain and, yes, Bill Mazeroski. All you have to do is watch him play.

"He makes us 10 or 12 games better when he's out there," Pirates Manager Lloyd McClendon said late Wednesday night after Reese had made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder catch in shallow center field in a 6-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds.

McClendon was reminded he had said Reese was worth eight or 10 games after he had made an even-better play Saturday night in Milwaukee.

"After this game," McClendon said, grinning, "I'm raising my total."

It's no wonder. Reese also hit a home run and drove in four runs in the victory. But it was the seventh-inning play he made to take a hit from Aaron Boone that they still were talking about in both clubhouses before the Reds got even with a 7-5 win last night. That's also what the Wednesday night crowd of 32,864 at PNC Park went home talking about.

"Pokey is the only guy in the major leagues who can make that catch," said Reds first baseman Sean Casey.

Casey should have seen Reese's play in Milwaukee. The Brewers' Lenny Harris bounced a ball over first baseman Kevin Young. Somehow, Reese got to it and threw out Harris. Young then turned and threw out Tyler Houston, who was trying to advance from first to third base.

"You could read [Houston's] lips when he got to third," McClendon said. " 'I thought that ball was in right field.' "

Casey laughed.

"I did see Pokey make that play. He made it all the time when he played for us.

"I hit a ball up the middle off Mike Fetters earlier this season that I thought was a hit. Then, as I was running to first, I remembered Pokey was out there. So much for my hit. He slid, caught the ball, got up and made the play.

"He's just flat-out special."

Said Reds Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman, who's in his 38th season, "He's the best I've ever seen."

Brennaman knows those are fighting words around here. Ask any of the old-timers. They'll tell you there never will be anyone better than Maz, who might be the best defensive player of all time at any position. It's why he's in the Hall of Fame and, of course, why he had his bobblehead night two years ago at Three Rivers Stadium.

Reese isn't Mazeroski. He can't turn the double play the way Maz could, although he did turn a sweet one late in the win Wednesday night. He also isn't nearly as durable. Mazeroski had tree trunks for legs. You could count on him. Reese is fragile. He missed 43 starts for the Reds last season with a variety of injuries. He also was on the disabled list this season because of a hamstring problem and missed time because of a bad thumb, an oblique muscle injury and child-custody problems. You hate when that happens.

But even Mazeroski's No. 1 fan, former teammate and Pirates bench coach Bill Virdon, concedes Reese has better range. McClendon said he has better range than even his former teammate, Pirates second baseman Jose Lind, who seemed to get to every ball and make every play, at least until one unfortunate Game 7 night in 1992 in Atlanta.

"My instructions always were to stay away from any ball hit to my right when Pokey was in there because he would get to it," Casey said.

"I always tell my first baseman to go get nachos when a ball is hit to our side of the field," Reese said. "I think I can get to anything."

Reese does, almost all of the time. He has made just two errors in 62 games this season.

"That's why they pay me."

And why they're putting him in bobblehead infamy.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.