Silver Slugger has been as good as gold
When he's 40-something and between baseball and what he's doing with the rest of his life, Bill Mueller will allow himself a moment to bask in the glory of a Silver Slugger Award.
The 2003 American League batting champion is not one to talk about individual accomplishments. He deflects all conversations toward the team rather than his exploits.
Five years from now, some fan in San Francisco or Kansas City might be playing trivia and get stumped on this question: Who won the AL batting title in '03? And that's OK with Mueller.
The quiet veteran is respectful of the game and the people in it. He chooses his words carefully. He goes about his work, stressing his defense at third base as much as his hitting.
He is reminded that one of his predecessors at third, five-time batting champion Wade Boggs, was often overlooked defensively. Nothing gnawed at Boggs more than the lack of recognition for his defense. Boggs worked at it for years, taking more than 100 ground balls daily from Johnny Pesky. After he left for Yankee pinstripes, Boggs became a two-time Gold Glove third baseman.
Mueller knows the competition is stiff at third. Oakland's Eric Chavez has already gobbled up three straight Gold Gloves, but Mueller believes he's giving his team a chance to win, either by making a play or getting a key hit.
"Really, I don't think about batting titles and any of that stuff," said Mueller, who blasted a three-run homer in the second inning last night that snapped an 0-for-20 skein. "Winning baseball games is what we're all here for. Each of us has a specific job to do, and my focus needs to be on doing what our manager and our coaches want me to do. The defensive aspect of the game is very important to me. I work at it very hard."
Mueller was scheduled to receive his Silver Slugger from Louisville Slugger representative Chuck Schupp on the field prior to Wednesday's scheduled game with the Orioles at Fenway Park. The game was postponed by rain, and Schupp was unable to stay in town, so the ceremony will take place during the Sox' next homestand, April 27-29 against Tampa Bay.
The team-oriented Mueller didn't want a public ceremony and he suggested Schupp simply present the bat to him in the clubhouse.
That's because Mueller is concentrating on what's ahead. Hard to imagine you could do much better than a .326 batting average, but Mueller bristles when it's suggested that he can't be better.
"There are so many things I could be better with," he said. "This game is an exercise in constantly improving not only year after year but at-bat after at-bat. I'm always working on getting better at something, because that's the only way you can stay ahead."
It would appear Mueller's shift to the Red Sox -- and Fenway Park -- has helped his hitting. He hit .371 at Fenway batting lefthanded with 25 doubles in 197 at-bats last season, a sign that he's mastered the art of going the other way. Mueller insists the jury is still out.
"Ask me in four or five years," he said. "I'm not sure I can say that after one year. I mean, I enjoy hitting here. I think everyone does. I'm not alone. I think our team just feeds off each other. The hitting becomes contagious here. That's what I love about it."
