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Breakthrough?
11/3/2072
Al Vincent
Staff Writer
Has the long awaited resurgence come about? Denver finished the year with a .500 record, the first since 2064, and won 20 more games this season than they did last year. John Dear, as usual, led the way, batting .322 with 41 HR and 131 RBI, but two other hitters enjoyed breakout years. Infielders Mark Francis and Mark Bakke both busted out the big bats, Francis hitting .308 with 46 HR and 136 RBI, and Bakke hitting .296 with 42 HR and 107 RBI. Meanwhile, outfielder Samuel Mendosa hit .332 and stole 37 bases. The only disappointing season among the hitters belonged to last year’s ROTY winner, Ellis Bolling. Bolling got off to a great start in April and May, but completely disappeared in June, hitting just .115 with 1 HR in 87 AB. July was only marginally better, as he hit .232, but managed to hit zero HR in 82 AB. His struggles continued through August, but there may be reason for optimism, as he finished the season on a high note, hitting .291 with 5 HR in 79 AB down the stretch. He finished the season with a .238 AVG and only 22 HR. He also managed to set the Denver single season strikeout record by whiffing 169 times. The hitting coach, Abraham Neiman, did not seem too concerned: “He’ll be fine. It’s just a sophomore slump. Lots of young guys have those. He’ll bounce back next year, I’m sure.”
It wasn’t just the hitters that carried the team, however. While the pitching overall was among the worst in the league, starter Carmelo Fort won 21 games with a 3.49 ERA. Wilkerson said that it was nice to have a guy like Fort in the rotation: “No matter how much some of the other guys might be scuffling at times, it’s nice to know that every 5 days you can turn to a guy like Fort and he can stop the bleeding with a great start.” When asked about his expectations for next season, Wilkerson was very excited: “These guys are coming around. They are really very close. I’ve got three or four sluggers in the middle of the lineup, and Mendosa and Jimenez setting the table for them, and I’ve got an ace in my rotation- a real stopper to throw out there every 5 days. All we need is to get the rest of the rotation figured out, and we are going to be right there in the thick of things.”
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