David Segui

Segui, the Prodigal Oriole derided by many fans upon his free agent signing at the tail of last year's off-season, was glad to be back in Baltimore. In recent years, Segui had become a 'bat for hire," being traded several times at the deadline to clubs looking for an offensive boost to their playoff aspirations. Now, he was back in Baltimore to provide insurance for the assumed failure of Albert Belle to play ball, and to supply a little pop, offense, and a lot of stability to the Orioles' infield.

Unfortunately, there is a 'flip side' to David Segui. He had played in 140 or more games exactly twice in his career, in 1998, and last season. Since he had accomplished this last year, the Orioles were poised to take a gamble and count on Segui for similar production and longevity in 2001.

Neither would prove to be the case. Segui had only one healthy month in the entire six month season. His injuries included a recurring hamstring problem, foot, and hand ailments that limited him to just over half the 2001 season, and only 347 plate appearances. When he was playing, he was reasonably productive, but not to the tune of his career 2000 season. At the end of May, one third of the season on the books, he had two home runs.

In June, he broke loose, managing a .321 batting average with five homers and a .509 slugging percentage. But that was just an anomaly; he was only to play 27 games the rest of the way. When Segui was healthy, and Jeff Conine was hitting well, the Orioles' offense "improved" from putrid to merely flabby. With the Orioles' overall improved pitching, this was enough to give fans hope. Without Segui, however, and with Chris Richard's own hitting and injury woes, this was simply a horrible offensive club.

Segui had already drawn the ridicule of many Orioles' followers, because of the length of his contract. His signing was often cited as the example of the wrong-headedness of Warehouse thought. Here's hoping that the resentment doesn't carry over to personal criticism of Segui's performance, and that he might return to his overall form of his past three 'full' seasons (BA .297, SLG .482) to provide replacement value for the Orioles at first base.

to contribute to the 2002 Orioles, Segui must:

(1.) stay healthy enough to provide the Orioles with 130 games of typical Segui production.

(2.) maintain a bit more even keel. The famed Segui temper at the plate would serve the younger players better if he were a bit more constructive in channeling that energy in a positive fashion.

NOTES: hit .338 right-handed, .288 left-handed, .325 on the road, .270 at home...eight of his ten home runs were solo shots...got hot again right before his last trip to the DL (.345/.419/.618 over his last 13 games)...has three years left on his contract...seemed to press in his 12 games as the cleanup hitter (.244/.360/.293) but loved the #3 hole (.335/.433/.525)only hit .218 in counts that began 0-1...struck out 11 times in only 34 AB against the Red Sox...hit .419 against the Devil Rays...originally traded by the Orioles to the Mets for SS Kevin Baez and P Tom Weggman...demonstrating the Orioles' dearth of baserunners, Segui was headed for an all-time low at hitting into double plays per plate appearance.