Cactus League Baseball

SL notes: Pollock proves clutch

The Arizona Diamondbacks prospect is hitting .304, his recent 20-game hitting streak falling just one short of the BayBears' record. Along with that has come 38 extra-base hits and 22 stolen bases, to say nothing of 55 RBIs.

"To me, he's been the best clutch hitter we have," Mobile manager Turner Ward said.

That's high praise indeed. After all, BayBears first baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the Southern League in RBIs (82) as well as home runs (27). But Pollock is hitting .343 with runners in scoring position, even better than Goldschmidt's .320.

"He's come through time after time with a runner on second base and two outs or a runner on third with one out," Ward said of Pollock, taken by the Diamondbacks with the 17th overall pick in the 2009 Draft.

Ward doesn't limit his praise of the right-handed hitting Pollock to just his offensive contributions, either.

"He gets good jumps and makes strong, accurate throws," the manager said. "He plays a solid center field."

Last season, Pollock couldn't play at all.

"It was very frustrating," Pollock said.

The former Notre Dame player was hurt during Spring Training. Battling the sun, he put his right arm down to brace himself as he reached for a fly ball and heard something pop.

"It was a very, very innocent play," Pollock said. "But I knew something was wrong."

Pollock had fractured the growth plate in his throwing elbow. It was a potential problem that an MRI had revealed when Pollock signed with the Diamondbacks, receiving a bonus of $1.4 million.

Pollock thought he would be out for three months. Instead, it stretched across the entire Minor League season. Finally, he was cleared to play in the Arizona Fall League.

"I think I would have gone crazy if I'd had to wait until this spring to play again," he said. "I was really champing at the bit to get back out there."

Pollock, 23, got 64 at-bats as he eased back into things, batting .313. Then he hit .413 in 46 at-bats in Cactus League play this year with the Diamondbacks.

"There's no doubt in my mind he's going to be a good big league player," Arizona general manager Kevin Towers said this spring.

"Solid" was the assessment by Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson.

100 Years Of Baseball History Unveiled At New Cactus League ...

Mesa, AZ (PRWEB) February 28, 2010

Spring training travelers flocking to Arizona have a new baseball attraction to add to their itinerary. Play Ball The Cactus League Experience is now open in Mesa, Ariz. at the Arizona Museum for Youth. The 2,000-square-foot exhibit chronicles the 100 year history of major league baseball spring training in Arizona from the barnstorming days before statehood to the inauguration of the Cactus League in 1947 to the present day, with 15 teams playing the 2010 spring training season.

Arizona has a rich history to share and incredible stories to tell baseball fans young and old. Ty Cobb once soothed his old spring training aches and pains at the Buckhorn Baths mineral spas in Mesa. Willie Mays was the first to hit a homer at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. And Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played one season of spring training baseball together in Arizona.

The Play Ball exhibition is phenomenal in that it combines historical memorabilia with fun, interactive displays that will appeal to all ages, Cactus League President Robert Brinton said. It pays tribute to the pioneer days of the Cactus League while focusing on todays accomplishments.

Guests at the museum can participate in a cell phone talking tour of the exhibition; engage in touch screen kiosks for added historical content; construct a three-dimensional puzzle to build their own stadium and enjoy videotape and film montages featuring Cactus League stadiums, legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray, vintage film montages of players dating back to the 1950s and more. Also on display, is an entertainment gaming center featuring Nintendo Wii stations with simulated versions of baseball . Children can also participate in the interactive displays including a locker room with replica vintage baseball uniforms for dress-up and make your own pennant stations.

The expanded exhibition also features numerous donated items including a uniform from the early 1900s, a rare autographed Ernie Banks little league bat, and signed memorabilia from former Cactus League stars including Reggie Jackson, Mark Grace, Gaylord Perry and Bob Feller. On display is the original massage table and weight scale from Arizonas Buckhorn Mineral Baths used for player conditioning in the early days of spring training and an installation describing the story of how former Arizona Governor Rose Mofford saved Cactus League baseball for the state in the late 1980s.

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