News
Long road back to health for Hundley
Padres catcher returns after nearly two months on DL
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
08/12/09 7:22 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- It was almost like Nick Hundley never left, the way that he reached into the nearby locker of teammate and San Diego roommate, Padres left fielder Chase Headley, to steal a few hangers for his things on Wednesday.In reality, Hundley hasn't played for the Padres in nearly two months after he suffered a small fracture in the ulna bone near his left wrist. But after missing 50 games, the Padres catcher has returned to the Major League roster.
The Padres reinstated Hundley from the disabled list prior to their game at Miller Park against the Brewers, optioning catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to Triple-A Portland. Hundley arrived three hours before the game with Thursday's starting pitcher, Cesar Carrillo. The two had been in Round Rock, Texas, with the Portland squad.
"It's been longer than I thought it was going to be, so that made it tougher," Hundley said of his time away. "When I was on the DL, I was there with [catcher] Henry Blanco and CY [Chris Young] so I got a chance to sit back and talk about the game with those guys and pick up on a lot of nuances of the game.
"But there's no replacing game experience. You try to stay as involved as possible and keep your mind involved so it's not a complete waste of time."
Hundley played four games with Portland on an injury rehabilitation assignment, getting four hits in 16 at-bats and spending significant time behind the plate. He said it wasn't until five or six days ago that the pain in his wrist completely subsided. He's been on the disabled list since June 18.
At the time of his injury, the 25-year-old Hundley was hitting .236 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 140 at-bats.
The catchers the Padres used in his absence -- Blanco, Alfonzo and Jose Lobaton -- hit a combined .210 during that span. Alfonzo hit .182 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 110 at-bats.
Hundley will be in the starting lineup on Thursday to catch Carrillo, who will be making his Major League debut.
San Diego manager Bud Black, while agreeing that there's no substitute for playing time, didn't have any concerns Wednesday that Hundley's time away was misspent.
"Knowing Nick like I do, I know he observed a lot from watching, but nothing beats the experience of playing. It would have been nice to get another couple hundred at-bats ... but hopefully in the span of his career [it won't mean much]," Black said.
The Padres are still trying to figure out what kind of catcher they have in Hundley, who has a quick release on defense but is still trying to clean up his mechanics to a certain extent. Offensively, he's hitting .237 with eight home runs in 337 career at-bats.
Ted Simmons, bench coach for the Padres, played 20 years as a catcher for the Cardinals, Brewers and Braves. Simmons said in June that Hundley's young age makes it difficult to determine his progress and project the span of his career.
"You have to remember that coming into the Major Leagues as a catcher is a very, very difficult process," Simmons said. "I believe he's approaching his 100th game as a catcher. Until a guy gets two or three years out from that, it's very difficult to assess how he's improving or if he isn't."
When can you make a proper assessment on a young catcher?
"What he needs is about 400 [games]," Simmons said. "That's how we're looking at this as we go about making a Major League catcher. We're just building a foundation. That's what the process is. Assessing it to this point, the best way I can put it is he's progressing."
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
