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To err is human Knoblauch puzzled after three-error game
Posted: Friday June 16, 2000 11:27 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chuck Knoblauch walked into Yankee Stadium on Friday with a new outlook. The New York Yankees' second baseman joked with reporters, laughed with teammates during pregame stretching drills and playfully tackled Clay Bellinger as he rounded the bases during batting practice. What a difference from a night earlier, when Knoblauch stood alone near second base following his career-high third error while his teammates gathered at the mound for a pitching change. A few minutes later, he summoned manager Joe Torre into the dugout tunnel, said "I'm tired of hurting this team," and was sent home three innings early -- with a driver instead of in his own car. "I wasn't going to go home and do something stupid," said Knoblauch, who led off and started at second base Friday against the Chicago White Sox. "I'm the same guy every day. I woke up today, felt all right, looked outside and the sun was shining." But Knoblauch's latest bout with throwing woes clearly had the Yankees worried. Torre sent him home early Thursday and kept the clubhouse closed for 20 extra minutes to meet with his second baseman. "We all felt for him," Torre said. "He was hurting last night. We're here to support him. He's one of our players and we want him to play." Knoblauch said most of his teammates called him Thursday night or Friday to show their support. Many were worried because of his reaction to one bad throw last month in Chicago, when he said he was close to his "breaking point." "It wasn't like Chicago," he said. "It was a little different. There were different type of errors. I threw these balls hard, but they were just wild. It was a different frame of mind." Knoblauch didn't know what frame of mind he was in during the sixth inning Thursday. After his third error, Knoblauch stood motionless at his position, hands on his hips. "It bothered me," Torre said. "I wasn't angry. I felt bad for him. I knew he had this guilt about what was happening and he felt he was contributing to us losing." After the inning, Knoblauch returned to the dugout. He motioned to Torre, and the two headed toward the clubhouse. "My first instinct was to hug him and make everything feel good," Torre said. Torre, wanting to spare his second baseman the ordeal of postgame questioning by reporters, told Knoblauch to go home. Knoblauch's throwing woes were the talk of the town Friday. Tabloid headlines read, "CHUCK-E-E-E," "Yip-EEE" and "YANKED." There was only one major topic on sports radio stations, with callers suggesting all sorts of solutions to Knoblauch's problems. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said. "Whether I'm under the microscope or not under the microscope it still is a problem. It won't go away if I'm not here." Knoblauch, who was booed after his errors on Thursday night, got a 20-second standing ovation before his first at-bat Friday. "They treated him well and deservedly so," teammate Derek Jeter said. Knoblauch went 2-for-4 and only got one popup in the field before being replaced by Clay Bellinger to start the ninth in New York's 3-1 loss. "It probably would have been better if I did get some grounders," he said. "But I felt pretty comfortable out there for whatever reason." Defense wasn't always a problem for Knoblauch. He made only eight errors in 1996, then won the Gold Glove with Minnesota in 1997, a season that included a 47-game errorless streak. Trouble began to show as soon as he joined the Yankees in 1998. He made 13 errors his first season, doubled the total to 26 last year -- most in the majors by a second baseman and most by a Yankee since Graig Nettles in 1973. He has 12 in his first 43 games this year. "When you make mistakes or errors, you can accept it," he said. "But I can't accept the errors I made last night. These are errors that shouldn't be made. I have a problem obviously. It confuses the hell out of me." Leonard Zaichowsky, a sports psychologist at Boston University, thinks Knoblauch should seek professional help. "Most players don't think consciously about a throw. But make a couple of bad ones and you start dwelling on it," Zaichowsky said. Knoblauch, who talked about seeing a hypnotist or psychologist during the offseason, wouldn't say whether he had sought help in the past but hinted he would now. "Obviously, with the Yankees something will take place," he said. "Whatever road that is remains to be seen." The player remembered for his heady, fundamental play in Minnesota is now being defined by his mistakes: his inability to make the simplest of throws, and for arguing with the umpire while the winning run scored in Game 2 of the 1998 ALCS against Cleveland. But the four-time All-Star has also been a key component of New York's consecutive World Series titles. "We're not winning without Chuck. That's the bottom line," said Jeter, one of Knoblauch's closest friends on the team. "Everyone focuses on the balls he throws away, but the positives outweigh the negatives." The inability to throw the ball has claimed a number of promising careers. Steve Sax, also a second baseman, struggled with the same problem while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Knoblauch sought him out for advice during last year's Series. Catcher Mackey Sasser had trouble throwing balls back to the mound. A similar problem caused Dale Murphy to be switched from catcher to the outfield, where he became a two-time NL MVP and All-Star.
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