Voice of Experience; A's coach Speier knows what's ahead for Crosby
by John Shea
SF Chronicle
March 25, 2004

Phoenix -- While awaiting a morning workout at the A's training facility, Chris Speier was talking about his first game in the big leagues. It was April 1971, second day of the season, and he was entrusted as the shortstop on an established Giants team with four future Hall of Famers.

In mid-story, Bobby Crosby walked by.

"Hey, Bobby, you gotta hear this one," said Speier, who recalled standing in the batter's box at San Diego Stadium and being stared down by Clay Kirby, visibly shaking and too afraid to swing.

Speier drew a walk, fully relieved as he trotted to first base.

"How old were you?" asked Crosby, respectively.

"I was 20."

"Just 20? Wow."

"I was scared to death."

Speier restrained himself and smoked an RBI double to left-center, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs in a 7-3 victory. He stuck at shortstop, and the Giants won the National League West.

Thirty-three years later, Crosby, 24, will be experiencing a similar sensation, having been promoted from the minors to play shortstop for a team with star players and high expectations.

Speier will be along for the ride, as Oakland's new bench coach, his first coaching gig since he served on the staff of the Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series team and then stepped away for family reasons. Technically, coach Ron Washington oversees the infielders, but Speier's presence can only help Crosby as he launches his own big-league career.

Crosby was called up in September, but it was hardly a sign of things to come. He mostly watched Miguel Tejada, who had a games-played streak and wasn't about to move aside for a minor-leaguer. Crosby still awaits his first big-league hit after going 0-for-12 and starting just one game, as a designated hitter.

"So far, Bobby's done a nice job," said Speier, who's reuniting with manager Ken Macha, his old teammate in Montreal. "I think he's got everything. He plays hard, hits the ball, has power, runs well. Especially with a young guy, you want him to try to make that routine play 99.9 percent of the time. That's all you want. Range and that type of thing, we'll help him out with that."

Crosby has a lot more help than Speier did. These days, a shortstop can realize a batter's tendencies from scouting reports, defensive charts, video replays, pregame meetings and a dugout full of coaches.

What did Speier have? Basically, Willie Mays telling him to move left or move right.

Speier also had Hal Lanier, whose job he took.

Lanier was the shortstop in 1970 and expected to be the guy in 1971, but manager Charlie Fox chose Speier, who grew up in the East Bay and had an arm so strong that he was known as the Alameda Rifle. As Speier tells it, he wasn't shunned by Lanier; he was mentored.

"They came to him at the end of spring training and said we're going with the kid -- and by the way, we want you to room with him," Speier said. "Hal said no way. But he ended up getting a $3,000 raise because of the situation. Having him around was invaluable."

This is 2004, and big-leaguers don't have roommates. But Speier said second baseman Mark Ellis will be a help. So will third baseman Eric Chavez.

Along with the coaches. Early in spring, both Speier and Washington worked with Crosby on improving his pivot at second base, having him decrease his angle to 45 degrees when coming across the bag so that his momentum would make for an easier, quicker throw to first.

"It's good to know I'll have Chris to turn to during the season," Crosby said. "I'm sure we'll be talking throughout the year. I'd like to know what made him have success. Knowing he got to the big leagues in a short amount of time gives me confidence I can do it as well."

After leaving UC Santa Barbara, Speier became a Giant after only 129 games in the minors, all in the Texas League. Crosby, who played at Long Beach State, also made a stop in the Texas League before moving to Triple-A Sacramento last year. In all, he played 270 games in the minors.

Unlike Crosby, who knew he'd be the A's shortstop the moment Tejada signed with Baltimore, Speier had to sweat it out in spring training.

"I guess Charlie liked the confidence I exuded and maybe overdid at times, " Speier said of Fox, who died last month at 82. "I was a non-roster player, and who knows what would've happened if Charlie hadn't invited me to big- league camp? It was pretty gutsy on his part."

On the subject of comparisons, Crosby's dad, Ed, played six seasons in the majors. Speier's son, Justin, has played six seasons in the majors and now is a reliever with Toronto.