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Rays Beat: Rays Working To Fill Clubhouse Leadership Void

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Marc Lancaster/The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Measuring leadership in a baseball clubhouse is a tricky endeavor.

Aside from being an intangible quality, the moments that build a player's reputation as a leader tend to unfold behind closed doors or are otherwise hidden from the prying eyes and ears of the media.

Still, there was no question the Rays had a gaping leadership void in 2007. A roster brimming with young talent lacked the kind of magnetic personalities that can shape a group of 25 players and keep everything in line over a long season without involving the coaching staff.

It says plenty about the 2007 Rays that the most vivid display of leadership all season came midway through March. Ty Wigginton was hit by a pitch (intentionally, it appeared) in a spring training game against the Tigers and yelled into the Rays' dugout as he headed to first base that his teammates could "get one of them, too." Even then, it took three more innings before the Rays managed to retaliate by plunking Gary Sheffield.

As executive vice president Andrew Friedman set out to remake his team this winter, he acknowledged that it would help to bring in some players with more presence.

"I think we're always looking to further that, and it's certainly an area we'd like to address," Friedman said at the general managers' meetings last month. "That being said, they'd have to be a valuable, contributing member of our team for that to make sense."

The Rays found a player who fit both criteria in Troy Percival. Obviously, they wouldn't have signed the 38-year-old to be their closer if they didn't believe he could get batters out, but a chance to take a leadership role was part of the team's sales pitch.

"He's great in the clubhouse," said Rays manager Joe Maddon, who spent 10 years with Percival in Anaheim. "He's great during the game in the bullpen - he really brings that group of people together. He's just going to add a different element to our group in regard to not only being a veteran but also the character that he brings and also the accountability that he brings."

The Rays' brain trust has been nudging the team in that direction for the last couple of years, mostly by removing players who didn't fit the profile. Now they're looking to add an element of leadership whenever possible, hoping that players like Percival can exert a positive influence on a young core that in most cases hasn't been in another big-league clubhouse or had a winning season on the highest level.

"Regardless of the years in the game of a manager or a coach, there's always the potential for players to look for allies to be on their side regarding their agenda," Maddon said. "When a guy like Percy says something, there are no allies against what he says. That applies to any veteran with his kind of presence and background."

Including free-agent 1B Tony Clark, one of the most respected players in the game, who has been mentioned as a potential Rays target. If he ends up in Tampa Bay, you can bet his bat won't be the only reason the Rays sought his services.

JUST SAY NO: Brendan Harris spent less than a month with Cincinnati at the end of the 2006 season, but he still flew back into town last December to serve as a model when the team unveiled its new uniforms at the annual Redsfest. Less than a month later, he was traded to Tampa Bay.

A little over three weeks ago, Harris was on hand as the Rays rolled out their new look in downtown St. Petersburg. He joked that night that his presence there probably meant he would be traded before spring training.

Wednesday afternoon, before the deal that sent him to Minnesota was officially completed, Harris already had made a vow for 2008.

"The Twins, if they have a uniform unveiling next year, I'm not going," he said.

NOTEWORTHY: The Rays did not offer salary arbitration to either of their free agents, Josh Paul and Greg Norton. The Rays still could re-sign either player, but it appears unlikely they will do so. ... The Rays have two 2008 rotation spots to fill, with four in-house pitchers considered serious candidates: Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann. ... LHP David Price accepted the Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year award Friday in Atlanta. ... The Rays have hired Dave Haller, a former writer for Baseball Prospectus, to round out their communications department.

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