Melvin Mora

Melvin began his second full season with the Orioles wondering about his role. As he was entering an arbitration-eligible year, he was concerned that reduced playing time would lessen his stature with the Orioles or the arbitrator. Mike Hargrove assured Melvin that he was a valuable cog of the team, and that he would get at least 400 AB.

Once Chris Singleton got off to a very slow start, and Mike Bordick went down with a long-term injury, Mora went way beyond Grover's original projection; possibly too far beyond it.

Here's the skinny: whether or not it's fatigue, just that he's a first half player, or just kismet, Melvin Mora in 2001 and 2002 put together similar seasons...a blazing first half, followed with a virtually non-existent second half. Considering that's it's the Orioles we're talking about, this hasn't been enough of a cause for concern. The Orioles have needed every bit of Melvin's offense, no matter how top-heavy it has been.

In the first half of the 2001 season, Melvin put up a .277/.360/.415 in 260 AB, while fading to a .210/.283/.284 in the second half. It was thought that possibly the position change to shortstop after the trading deadline move of Mike Bordick that season may have led to Mora's second half slump at the plate, or the fact that he had never posted that number of at-bats at the ML level, and that either fatigue or familiarity had become Mora's enemy.

With the beginning of the 2002 season, it at least became apparent early that it wasn't familiarity, because Mora slugged .465 in April, establishing himself as one of the few offensive weapons the club would wield early in the season. He picked up the slack at the top of the order, and ended up hitting leadoff more often than did any other Oriole.

He actually posted some really solid first-half numbers; he, Tony Batista, Gary Matthews, and Jay Gibbons were the only offensive highlights for the year. His second-half plummet, however, was certainly cause for concern. His total silence in September (.137/.247/.233) was a major factor in the season-ending team collapse.

Defensively, he was solid in both center and left field, and played a more solid shortstop in 2002 than he had in his longer term at the position in 2001. Despite the collapse, he still managed 19 HR. Melvin Mora proved he belonged on a big league ballclub, though probably more as a super-sub/part-time outfielder rather than a starter, unless he can manage to put TWO solid halves together.

TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT SEASON IN 2003:

(1) Must find a way to establish some sort of consistent performance throughout a year, as he did with many fewer AB in the 1999 season.

(2) Should probably move to a reserve/sub role, though the Orioles will have to improve in the outfield to make that happen.

PROJECTION: Will likely be a solid ML player again in 2003, though his impact would possibly be greater with fewer at bats.

NOTES: hit .296./367/.541 in June, with 6 HR...had OPS of .908 in both April and June...hit .326 against "finesse" [pitchers, but was overpowered by hard throwers to a .211 clip...best hitting counts in 2001: 1-0 (.378 with 8 HR in 45 tries), 0-1 (.320) and 1-1 (.321)...hit .178 against the Devil Rays, and .182 at Yankee Stadium.

BACK TO THE INDEX